A battle is set between one of this country's oldest nature reserves – the Asa Wright Nature Centre – against one of the country's biggest contractors – Junior Sammy – over access to a goldmine of limestone aggregate in an area known as Verdant Vale, in the Northern Range, just beyond the borough of Arima.
Naturalists see the fight as one between David and Goliath, and hope the quarry operator will concede or the High Court rule in its favour and benefit from millions of dollars in restitution, as well as have its lands restored.
The William Beebe Tropical Research Station, built in the early 1950s, stands on 31 acres right between two active quarries – one operated by National Quarries and the other by Sammy Minerals Ltd. The nature centre is on the St Patrick's Estate, north of the Verdant Vale quarry, commonly referred to as the PTF 1 quarry.
Beebe, the renowned American explorer who founded the station, named it Simla because it bore a striking resemblance to the reserve of the same name that he visited in India.
The research station annually hosts international students from top universities as well as local students researching tropical wildlife. It accommodates 24 students at a time for three-month internships. The next intake is in October.
Simla was once home to 164 species of birds, 27 species of snakes, including the venomous mapepire balsain and mapepire zanana, and 16 species of amphibians.
But maintenance manager of the station Rupert Radix said the quarries have significantly reduced the number of birds, snakes, butterflies, agoutis and hunting ants once in abundance on the estate, and also destroyed a natural water source, leaving Simla dependent on a truck-borne supply.
[caption id="attachment_971892" align="alignnone" width="768"] A view from the William Beebe Tropical Research Station off Blanchisseuse Main Road, Arima. - Darren Bahaw[/caption]
During a visit on August 24, the roar of heavy quarry machinery drowned out the sound of pouring rain and birdsong at the station.
According to court documents seen by Sunday Newsday, three trustees of the nature centre – senior counsel Fyard Hosein; Akilah Jaramogi, managing director of the Fondes Amandes Community Reforestation Project in St Ann's; and Ruben McSween, former Unit Trust director – sued PTF Mining Ltd and Baksh Construction Services Ltd on February 8, 2019. They were seeking an injunction to cease mining operations on lands belonging to the nature reserve and compensation for over 125,000 cubic metres of aggregate, an estimated value of $14 million, which they claim was removed. A claim rejected by the quarry operator.
They also wanted compensation for damage to the "natural and delicate ecosystem," the degradation of the tropical rainforests, soil erosion and damage to the natural hydrology and watersheds. The quarry operator said its activities did not cause any such damage.
The trustees are also seeking compensation for the destabilisation of the slopes, which caused land slippage, and costs to restore the area.
