Eden Shand

{{Short description|Trinidad and Tobago environmentalist and politician (1939–2021)}}

{{Infobox Politician

| name = Eden Shand

| party = National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR)

| birth_name = Eden Arthur Shand

| footnotes =

| website =

| signature =

| religion =

| occupation =

| residence =

| children =

| spouse =

| relations =

| death_place = Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

| image = Eden Shand (cropped).jpg

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|1|20|1939|9|14|df=y}}

| birth_place = Trinidad and Tobago

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1939|9|14|df=y}}

| majority =

| constituency = St. Ann's West

| successor =

| predecessor =

| term_end = 19 November 1991

| term_start = 12 January 1987

| office = Member of Parliament

| caption = Shand in 2007

| primeminister = A. N. R. Robinson

| alma_mater = University of Aberdeen
University of British Columbia

}}

Eden Arthur Shand (14 September 1939 – 20 January 2021) was a Trinidadian environmentalist and politician. He worked toward establishing environmental standards in Trinidad and Tobago.

Shand served as an MP for St. Ann's West (1987–1991) under the National Alliance for Reconstruction. He was a Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Food Production, Marine Exploitation, Forestry and the Environment (1987–1988) and the Minister of External Affairs and International Trade (1988–1991).

Early life

Shand was born on 14 September 1939. He received a BSc (Hons) in Forestry{{Cite web|last=Shand|first=Eden|date=January 2008|title=CV|url=https://members.tripod.com/~EMPAL_2/eascv.html|url-status=live|website=Environmental Management and Planning Associates Limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050408090740/http://members.tripod.com:80/~EMPAL_2/eascv.html |archive-date=2005-04-08 }} from the University of Aberdeen in 1963, and an MBA from the University of British Columbia in 1968.{{Cite thesis|last=Shand|first=Eden Arthur|title=The development of the Japanese market for Pacific Northwest lumber : A historical survey|publisher=University of British Columbia|year=1968|location=Vancouver|doi=10.14288/1.0102406|hdl=2429/36231|doi-access=free|hdl-access=free}}

Shand worked in the Trinidadian government Division of Forestry from 1963 to 1965. After finishing his MBA, he worked as a forest economist in Vancouver from 1968 to 1972, then returned to Trinidad. In 1979,{{Cite web|title=About Us|url=https://citizensforconservationtt.org/home/about-us/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119031712/https://citizensforconservationtt.org/home/about-us/|archive-date=19 November 2020|website=Citizens for Conservation Trinidad & Tobago}} Shand was one of the founding members of Citizens For Conservation.

In the 1980s, Shand hosted a youth-focused talk show called Feedback on Trinidad and Tobago Television.

Politics

In 1986, Shand won the St. Ann's West seat in the House of Representatives as a candidate of the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) party,{{Cite web|title=Report of the E&BC on the Parliamentary Elections 1986 (15th December 1986)|url=https://www.ebctt.com/report-of-the-ebc-on-the-parliamentary-elections-1986-15th-december-1986/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-23|website=Elections And Boundaries Commission|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924080856/https://www.ebctt.com/report-of-the-ebc-on-the-parliamentary-elections-1986-15th-december-1986/ |archive-date=2020-09-24 }} defeating the incumbent candidate of the People's National Movement (PNM).{{Cite web|title=Report of the E&BC on the Parliamentary Elections 1981 (9th November 1981)|url=https://www.ebctt.com/report-of-the-ebc-on-the-parliamentary-elections-1981-9th-november-1981/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-11-13|website=Elections And Boundaries Commission|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020080704/https://www.ebctt.com/report-of-the-ebc-on-the-parliamentary-elections-1981-9th-november-1981/ |archive-date=2020-10-20 }} The newly-founded NAR became the first opposition party to win a national parliamentary election since independence in 1962.{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/58051010|title=Elections in the Americas : a data handbook|date=2005|others=Dieter Nohlen|isbn=0-19-925358-7|location=New York|pages=639–641|oclc=58051010}}

Shand was sworn in on 12 January 1987. He was initially appointed a Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Food Production, Marine Exploitation, Forestry and the Environment.{{Cite web|title=Mr. Eden Shand, MP|url=http://www.ttparliament.org/members.php?mid=26&pid=12&id=ESH03|url-status=live|access-date=24 April 2021|website=Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526083958/http://www.ttparliament.org/members.php?mid=26&pid=12&id=ESH03 |archive-date=2011-05-26 }} However, he was removed from this portfolio in 1988 after proposing restrictions on deliberate forest burning.{{Cite web|last=Gibbings|first=Wesley|date=1998-03-24|title=ENVIRONMENT-TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: Surviving the Bush Fire Season|url=http://www.ipsnews.net/1998/03/environment-trinidad-and-tobago-surviving-the-bush-fire-season/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-23|website=Inter Press Service|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423112404/http://www.ipsnews.net/1998/03/environment-trinidad-and-tobago-surviving-the-bush-fire-season/ |archive-date=2021-04-23 }}{{Cite journal|last1=Leach|first1=Melissa|last2=Fairhead|first2=James|date=2001|title=Science, policy and national parks in Trinidad and Tobago|url=https://www.ids.ac.uk/files/TrinidadNationalParks.pdf|journal=Forest Science and Forest Policy: Knowledge, Institutions and Policy Processes|publisher=Institute of Development Studies}} He then became the Minister of External Affairs and International Trade.{{Cite web|date=2021-01-23|title=Former NAR minister Eden Shand dies|url=https://newsday.co.tt/2021/01/23/former-nar-minister-eden-shand-dies/|access-date=2021-04-23|website=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday|language=en-US}} Together with Sylvia Kacal and other conservationists, he founded the Caribbean Forest Conservation Association (CFCA) in 1988.{{Cite web|last=Hilton|first=Anne|date=2003-11-16|title=Sylvia Kacal an extraordinary life|url=https://archives.newsday.co.tt/2003/11/16/sylvia-kacal-an-extraordinary-life/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-26|website=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday Archives|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426084600/https://archives.newsday.co.tt/2003/11/16/sylvia-kacal-an-extraordinary-life/ |archive-date=2021-04-26 }}

Shand was one of the MPs held hostage during the Jamaat al Muslimeen coup attempt in 1990.

St. Ann's West was merged with Port of Spain North for the 1991 elections. Shand did not stand for reelection.{{Cite web|title=Report of the E&BC on the Parliamentary Elections 1991 (16th December 1991)|url=https://www.ebctt.com/report-of-the-ebc-on-the-parliamentary-elections-1991-16th-december-1991/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-23|website=Elections And Boundaries Commission|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929165245/https://www.ebctt.com/report-of-the-ebc-on-the-parliamentary-elections-1991-16th-december-1991/ |archive-date=2020-09-29 }}

Later activism

After leaving Parliament, Shand gained certification as an Associate Environmental Auditor from the Environmental Auditors Registration Association (UK). He set up a consultancy, Environmental Management and Planning Associates Limited. Shand also became the chairman of the Caribbean Forest Conservation Association; during his tenure, the organisation began setting up conservation parks.{{Cite web|last=Gibbings|first=Wesley|date=1997-04-08|title=TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO-ENVIRONMENT: Illegal Logging Taking a Toll|url=http://www.ipsnews.net/1997/04/trinidad-and-tobago-environment-illegal-logging-taking-a-toll/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-24|website=Inter Press Service|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424061805/http://www.ipsnews.net/1997/04/trinidad-and-tobago-environment-illegal-logging-taking-a-toll/ |archive-date=2021-04-24 }}

Shand campaigned against projects to build over the Queen's Park Savannah. During a 1999 sit-in, builders attempting to pave over a section of the park dumped a truckload of gravel on Shand. He was excavated alive, but had lasting injuries. He opposed a 2006 government proposal to build a stadium at the park,{{Cite news|last=Sheppard|first=Suzanne|date=12 March 2006|title=Stop Savannah construction|work=Trinidad & Tobago Newsday|url=http://www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/forum/webbbs_config.pl?md=read;id=3521|via=trinidadandtobagonews.com}} and exposed other cases where construction projects had been approved without securing environmental assessments.{{Cite web|date=2008-05-02|title=Mystery hotel|url=http://archives.newsday.co.tt/2008/05/02/mystery-hotel/|access-date=2021-04-23|website=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday Archives|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Richards|first=Peter|date=2000-08-24|title=ENVIRONMENT-TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Conservationists Halt Ferry Port Project|url=http://www.ipsnews.net/2000/08/environment-trinidad-tobago-conservationists-halt-ferry-port-project/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-24|website=Inter Press Service|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424061806/http://www.ipsnews.net/2000/08/environment-trinidad-tobago-conservationists-halt-ferry-port-project/ |archive-date=2021-04-24 }}

Shand wrote articles in the Trinidad Express and the Trinidad Guardian where he critiqued the governance structure of the state Environment Management Agency.{{Cite book|last=Paddington|first=Luke|url=https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/theses/gt54kq04k|title=An appraisal of environmental management in Trinidad and Tobago|publisher=McGill University|year=1999|type=MA Thesis}} He was chairman of Trinidad and Tobago's Earth Charter National Committee.{{Cite web|title=Earth Charter National Committee|url=https://members.tripod.com/~EMPAL_2/ecnc.html|access-date=2021-04-24|website=members.tripod.com}}

Personal life

Shand had five children.{{Cite web|title=Eden Shand|url=http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/eden-shand-6.2.1314194.3264a4d8a5|access-date=2021-04-23|website=www.guardian.co.tt|language=en}} His two younger children were from his marriage to Mary Schorse, an American social scientist. Shand and Schorse co-founded the Tropical Re-Leaf Foundation.{{Cite journal|last1=Lum Lock|first1=Alana|last2=Geoghegan|first2=Tighe|date=2006|title=Rewarding community efforts to protect watersheds: Case study of Fondes Amandes, St. Ann's, Trinidad and Tobago|url=http://216.119.77.147/documents/rewardingcommunityeffortstoprotectwatershedscasestudyofFondesAmandes.pdf|journal=CANARI Who Pays for Water Project|issue=3}}

= Death =

Shand died on 20 January 2021 at the age of 81 after a long illness. The House of Representatives paid tribute to Shand at the beginning of the 27 January session.{{Cite web|date=27 January 2021|title=Unofficial Hansard - House of Representatives|url=http://www.ttparliament.org/hansards/hh20210127.pdf|url-status=live|website=Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423022201/http://www.ttparliament.org/hansards/hh20210127.pdf |archive-date=2021-04-23 }}

Electoral history

{{Election box begin | title=1986 Trinidad and Tobago general election: St. Ann's West}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|

|party = National Alliance for Reconstruction

|candidate = Eden Shand

|votes = 6,305

|percentage =

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|

|party = People's National Movement

|candidate = John Stanley Donaldson

|votes = 6,196

|percentage =

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|

|party = National Joint Action Committee

|candidate = Anum Bankole

|votes = 452

|percentage =

}}

{{Election box candidate no change|

|party = PPM

|candidate = Solange Bailey

|votes = 68

|percentage =

}}

{{Election box total valid no change

|votes = 13,021

|percentage =

}}

{{Election box rejected no change|

|votes = 68

|percentage =

}}

{{Election box turnout no change|

|votes = 13,089

|percentage =

}}

{{Election box registered electors no change|

|reg. electors = 24,339

}}

{{Election box gain with party link|

|winner = National Alliance for Reconstruction

|loser = People's National Movement

|swing =

}}

Partial bibliography

= Books =

The Development of the Japanese Market for Pacific Northwest Lumber (1968, thesis)
The Estates Within: A Docu-Drama (1992) {{Cite book|last=Shand|first=Eden|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/26872995|title=The estates within : a docu-drama|date=1992|publisher=Caribras|isbn=976-8012-92-7|location=St. Ann's, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago|oclc=26872995}}

= Articles =

"Global Warming and the Caribbean" in Caribbean Beat (1992) {{Cite web|last=Shand|first=Eden|date=1992-07-01|title=Global Warming and the Caribbean|url=https://www.caribbean-beat.com/issue-3/global-warming-and-caribbean|access-date=2021-04-23|website=Caribbean Beat Magazine|language=en-GB}}
"Rehabilitating Our Forests" (2009) {{Cite journal|last=Shand|first=Eden|date=2009|title=Guest Editorial: Rehabilitating Our Forests|url=http://ttfnc.org/livingworld/index.php/lwj/article/view/165|url-status=dead|journal=Living World|publisher=Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club|page=iv|issn=1029-3299|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927105606/http://ttfnc.org/livingworld/index.php/lwj/article/view/165|archive-date=27 September 2020}}

References

Category:1939 births

Category:2021 deaths

Category:Alumni of the University of Aberdeen

Category:Conservationists

Category:Environmental writers

Category:Government ministers of Trinidad and Tobago

Category:Members of the House of Representatives (Trinidad and Tobago)

Category:National Alliance for Reconstruction politicians

Category:Trinidad and Tobago columnists

Category:Trinidad and Tobago environmentalists

Category:UBC Sauder School of Business alumni