The crucial importance of sea defence in our country can never be over emphasised as the bulk of the population reside along the coast and it is also where most of the economic and commercial activities take place. But the underlying reason for having proper sea defence is the fact that we are below sea level.
Unfortunately, during the long reign of the previous government scant attention was paid to the maintenance of our sea defence, consequently large sections of it deteriorated terribly and in extreme cases even collapsed. One notable example was the collapse on the West Demerara in the Meten-Meer-Zorg-De Willem stretch in the 1980s. They were also several serious breaches across the coastal belt.
In fact, under that government neglect of all types of infrastructure was a characteristic feature because it had its own priorities which ran counter to development and improving people’s lives.
One would recall the infamous Ministry of Mobilisation and national Development which actually housed the Office of the Secretary of the then ruling party and financed the activities of that party to a large extent. Financial allocations under this Ministry were voted en bloc with no accountability provided for its expenditure. Such was the priority of that government and therefore monies could not have been found to maintain an essential and crucial infrastructure as se defence.
When this government came into office in 1992, under heavy financial constraints and a bankrupt economy it had to find resources to repair the sea defence structure and the entire infrastructure system of this country which was in a virtual state of collapse. And immediately it embarked upon an aggressive campaign to garner funds to refurbish sea defence. The amount of work to be done was enormous so everything could not have been done but the government prioritised and embarked on a massive rehabilitation of the sea defence structures and much to its credit impressive strides have been made in this regard albeit there is much more to be done which has been acknowledged by the relevant authorities.
On this note the announcement that through collaboration between the Government of Guyana and the European Commission, physical works on the 9th European Development Fund (EDF) has commenced on three sites out of the 33 slated to be constructed, restored and rehabilitated within 23 months.
To strengthen Guyana’s defence against the rising sea level which could adversely affect the majority of Guyanese living on the coastland, government has awarded the contract to BK International in November 2009 to reconstruct 1.6 kilometres and rehabilitate or maintain approximately 18 kilometres of sea defence from Regions Two to Six.
Physical construction under this project began in January 2010, Chief Sea and River Defence Officer (ag), of the Ministry of Public Works and Communications, Geoffrey Vaughn noted.
Rehabilitation works are currently being expedited at Kitty, Region Four, to strengthen its capacity in protecting the city against flooding. In the same district, 1.4 kilometres of sea defence structure are being reconstructed at Clonbrook, East Coast Demerara, while approximately 200 metres of rip-rap design is ongoing at Springlands, Region Six.
“We have not seen any physical work being executed and we have had several meetings with the contractor highlighting the urgency in executing these works. Also there are penalties if work is not completed within the specified time. BK will have to take that into consideration and accelerate its work programme, so physical work can commence and be completed within a specific period of time as per contract,” Vaughn stated.
Works are also expected to be expedited on the Essequibo Coast, Region Two, by that company. Vaughn observed that some areas on the Coast are experiencing the erosion of groynes and these works will help to prevent further erosion and the effects of overtopping during spring tides.
Some other areas slated for construction works under the 9th EDF include Wakenaam and Greenfield, Region Three and Better Hope, Region Four.
The fund provided by the European Commission amounts to over Euro $17M. The utilisation of the grant will foster preventative maintenance and reconstruction, as well as the Institutional Capacity Building components, including the expansion of the already established Shore Zone Management System.
These projects are extremely timely and important, particularly against the backdrop of climate change and rising sea levels which are a serious threat and have already caused catastrophic damages in other parts of the world.
According to scientific experts sea level is rising and the rate of change is accelerating. The combination of warming ocean water expanding and rapidly increasing melt of land and polar ice has increased the rate of sea level rise from about 6.8 inches average during most of the 20th C to a current rate of 12 to 14 inches per century. Based on this increase in rate of change, scientists are estimating that by the end of this century, the oceans will be from 20 inches to more than three feet higher — and increasingly the higher levels seem probable.
So it is clear that our work with respect to ensuring we have a sound and solid sea defence is cut out.