crusade moves to Region Five today
THE Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project (GMRP) will take its crusade, on the importance of safeguarding and protecting the trees, to Region Five (Mahaica/Berbice) today.
The activity will take the form of a one day regional stakeholders workshop to be conducted in the boardroom of the Regional Democratic Council  (RDC) at Fort Wellington, West Coast Berbice, starting at 09:00 hrs.
GMRP Coordinator, Mr. Bissasar Chintamanie said it is one of several public awareness programmes being hosted countrywide and that presentation and discussion of the Updated Mangrove Management Action Plan (UMMAP) will be the main topic on the agenda.
The European Commission (EC) is providing G$5 billion in grants towards the protection and sustainability of Guyana’s sea defences and the preservation of existing mangroves and the exploration of possibilities to revive the plants, where they once formed the natural sea defence, are the main elements of the scheme.
Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh and Head of the European Union (EU)  Delegation, Ambassador Geert Heikens signed the agreement for the funding in December  2007.
Earlier in March 2007, a similar agreement, for 900,000 Euros, was inked.
Chintamanie said acceptance of the UMMAP, by stakeholders and its approval by Cabinet, is the performance criteria for disbursement of the initial tranche of budget support from the EC to the Government of Guyana, with respect to mangroves..
Co-presenters at the Friday forum are Chintamanie; Mr. Owen Bovell, Mangrove Specialist and Mr. Paul Mac Adam, Community Development Specialist.
Regional Chairman of Region Five, Mr. Harrinarine Baldeo will deliver welcome remarks and another speaker is Mrs. Annette Arjoon-Martins, who chairs the Mangrove Action Committee (MAC).
The closing statement will be by Mr. John Townend, Team Leader, Capacity Building of the Works Services Group (WSG) in the Ministry of Public Works.
The GMRP is managed by the MAC within the Climate Change and Agricultural Adaptation Unit of the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) within the Ministry of Agriculture.
The committee comprises representatives of Government agencies, namely Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), Ministry of Public Works and Communications, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Fisheries Department; the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), University of Guyana (UG), Ministry of Education, Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture, Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society (GMTCS), and NARI.