Local, international researchers examine capacity building in mangrove restoration and management

Researchers from Guyana, the Caribbean and further afield and mangrove managers today began a three-day round-table discussion to address all aspects of mangrove restoration and management from the technical aspects to approaches to restoration and sustainable use.

This first Guyana Mangrove Forum which is being hosted under the theme “Restoring and Managing Mangrove Ecosystems in a Changing World” got underway at the Grand Coastal Inn, East Coast Demerara.

Minister of Agriculture Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn, CEO, NAREI Dr. Oudho Homenauth, Head of European Union Delegation, Ambassador Robert Kopecky and Chair, Mangrove Action Committee Annette Arjoon-Martins at the opening of the first Guyana Mangrove Forum at the Grand Coastal Inn, East Coast Demerara

Minister of Agriculture Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) Dr. Oudho Homenauth, Head of Delegation, European Union (EU) Ambassador Robert Kopecky and Chair, Mangrove Action Committee (MAC) Annette Arjoon-Martins opened the forum which seeks to build local and regional capacity in mangrove restoration and management and to raise the public awareness of the values of mangroves.

The forum is a venture of the Ministry of Agriculture, through NAREI and the Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project (GMRP).

Minister Ramsammy explained that Shore Zone Management has been a permanent programme of the Government and told the participants that mangrove restoration and protection have long been a part of the Shore Zone Management programme. “We see it as important in our economic and social development. We see it as an imperative in developing our country in ensuring our people are safe, in ensuring that the shore zone itself is a part of the economic and social life of our country,” he stated.

National, regional and international researchers and mangrove managers at the opening of the first Guyana Mangrove Forum

“The Government of Guyana does not see the mangrove restoration project that is ongoing as just a one-off project, but indeed see it as part of a programme for Shore Zone Management that started before this project and that will continue for as long as there is Guyana.”

The GMRP, which started in 2010, caters for mangrove restoration under Shore Zone Management and was always allocated funding through several Ministries inclusive of Agriculture, Public Works, and Local Government.

The Agriculture Minister stated that with Guyana being surrounded by shores that are battered everyday by the sea, coupled with river bed erosion and the challenge of climate change, such programmes are significant. He said that in Guyana’s case, defence against the rising sea level is vital, and building capacity on the use of mangrove in this area is crucial to addressing this issue.

The Agriculture Minister also clarified misleading remarks made during the Budget debate related to the GMRP. He said that a Parliamentarian gave the impression that the restoration effort on-going is an effort by the Government to shift from concrete structures like the seawalls to a mangrove sea defence mechanism. “Mangrove Restoration is being done in Guyana as an additional part… mangrove is but one of the elements of a shore zone defence mechanism, and a shore zone programme for the economic and social life of the communities,” the Minister clarified.

Minister of Agriculture Dr. Leslie Ramsammy underscores the importance of Guyana’s Shorezone Management at the opening of the three-day Mangrove Forum

He stated clearly that there is absolutely no plan to replace the sea defence structures with mangroves, mentioning also that this does not mean, the Government will not bring the two together to constitute even stronger sea defence mechanisms for the country.

Minister Benn expressed satisfaction with the forum from the standpoint of the Ministry of Public Works, and explained that knowledge that will assist the rapid restoration of mangrove in Guyana would reduce the ministry’s capital work programme as it relates to resources spent on sea defence.

“ The cost of building sea defences has ranged from over US$3500 for a linear meter. We brought it down now to some range between US$2000-US$2500. At best, we want to save these monies, it is an enormous cost, and we want to optimise the restoration of the mangrove as a cost optimisation effect…optimise the use of money and we bring back in place an eco-system which brings benefit to the communities,” he said.

The Minister explained that Guyana would have lost its entire mangrove patch along the East Coast stretch due to persons using them as firewood. Much was also lost when the engineers who did the new sea defences cut off the groynes from the seawalls. The groynes attached to the sea defence stablised the current flow and slowed down the sediment movement, the Public Works Minister said. “Those mistakes were made, we have an opportunity now to learn from the experiences of other countries … these meetings, these relationships should be lasting ones so that we should capture back the time and experience that we need to deal with this problem which is a very severe one,” Minister Benn said.

Kopecky used the opportunity to applaud the effort of the GMRP, a project co-funded by the Government of Guyana and the EU. Kopecky spoke with pleasure of the multiplying effect the project is creating in producing spin- off agricultural projects, like the Victoria Women’s Group which is now producing bottled pepper-sauce, among others and another group in Litchfield, West Coast Berbice, involved in bottling honey and condiments.

Rising sea levels and variations in climatic conditions putting the coastal land at risk, led to the strengthening of the GMRP.

The three-day forum is an important event for this project as it provides an opportunity for experience sharing and reflection on the work completed over the last two years.