THE Environmental Community Health Organisation (ECHO) hosted a conference, recently, to address issues surrounding climate change and global warming.
It was held last August 19, at Cara Lodge in Quamina Street, Georgetown, under the theme ‘Uniting against poor environmental practices; protecting our communities; developing Guyana in this era of Climate Change’. “Our planet is in peril. In almost every corner of the earth, climate change and global warming are affecting the way we organize our local communities, the internal and external structures of commercial and other organizations and the development of our world,” ECHO Executive Director, Mr. Royston King told those who attended.
In his welcoming remarks, he remarked that the amazing advances in technology continue to contribute to the increase in greenhouse gases, increase in global temperatures and certain consequential events, which put at risk the sustainability of the environment.
Continuing, King said: “The way we account for environmental resources in our production processes, our approach to the use of energy, the type of buildings we construct, the type of technologies we use and the way we handle the collection and disposal of our waste and our general attitude and behaviour towards our environment are all crucial to making our environment safe and healthy.”
Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) Mr. Ramesh Dookhoo, who also made a presentation at the forum, spoke on approaches used by local corporations to ensure the integrity of the health of the environment.
Representative of the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO), Ms. Beverly Barnett also made remarks.
Other speakers dealt with corporate social responsibility and the environment; high-rise buildings and climate change in Georgetown; the effects of improper environmental practices by businesses and citizens on the health of local communities in the city; the impact of improper environmental practices on the natural environment in Guyana and the reciprocal influence of good environmental stewardship and the development of sustainable communities in Guyana in this era of climate change.  (Telesha Persaud)