Senior Reporter
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
Severe staff shortages and outdated legislation have crippled the efforts of state agencies to combat illegal squatting in Trinidad with devastating consequences for the country’s forest reserves. Commissioner of State Lands (COSL) Paula Drakes revealed that squatter developments have encroached on 50-60 per cent of forest reserves in North and Central Trinidad.
Drakes, speaking before the Public Accounts Committee during its inquiry into the Land Settlement Agency’s (LSA) audited financial statements from 2010 to 2013, said time was running out to save the nation’s forest reserves. She recounted a discussion with Conservator of Forests Denny Dipchandsingh, noting that lower-level forest reserves had been transformed into residential squatting zones or quarry sites.
“At least with legal quarrying, we know rehabilitation will follow,” Drakes said. H
owever, she highlighted the growing issue of squatters invading higher-elevation reserves, particularly above the 300-metre contour in the Northern Range.
She revealed that most of the Northern Range was private land, but even within designated reserves, many areas remained undesignated or unprotected.
Drakes and Dipchandsingh have been working to restore some forested areas and secure others for preservation, but their efforts have been hindered by limited resources and enforcement capabilities.
LSA CEO Hazar Hosein disclosed that a recent survey of the Valencia and Long Stretch forest reserves uncovered over 5,000 squatter structures on just 4,000 acres—one-third of the reserves in that area. He said the agency aimed to survey the remaining 8,000 acres soon.
Hosein explained that the encroachments began decades ago but had escalated due to limited state lands elsewhere. Squatters have increasingly settled above the 300-foot contour, the maximum elevation approved by the Town and Country Planning Division.
“If you look along the hillsides from Port-of-Spain to the east, squatting above the 300-foot contour is widespread,” Hosein said.
While the LSA monitors and reports squatting activity to the COSL, municipal corporations, and other agencies, its capacity to act is constrained by manpower shortages. The agency currently operates with a 45 per cent staffing deficit.
Drakes lamented the chronic lack of resources to address the crisis.
“I have no equipment, and my office has not received new field staff since 2011. Almost all have retired. I am down to one or two officers per county,” she said.
Emergency interventions are sometimes made to remove illegal structures, but without sustained security, squatters often returned.
Hosein echoed these concerns, noting that the LSA’s ability to fill vacancies depended on annual budget allocations. Therefore, it engages temporary and project-based staff to cope, which Hosein said was far from ideal.
Compounding the issue, the LSA lacks the legal authority to remove squatters. A 2011 ruling by Justice Carol Gobin clarified that the agency cannot act against illegal structures.
The LSA has proposed several legislative amendments to address these challenges. These include clearly defining state land, empowering the COSL to delegate authority to the LSA, and reclassifying squatting from a criminal to a civil offence with fines. The agency has also recommended granting it ownership of certain lands to streamline administrative processes and improve enforcement.
Additionally, the LSA has identified 24 areas to be declared land settlement zones, which would enable it to issue leases and regularise certain occupants under existing tenancy, self-help, and Petrotrin policies. These recommendations are currently under review by the Legislative Review Committee.
Without swift action, the LSA warns that pristine forests will continue to be lost, with an estimated 400-500 new squatter families settling annually, adding to the existing estimated 60,000.
