Over 100 persons attended the fifth regional stakeholders’ workshop on mangrove restoration Friday at Number 28 Village, West Coast Berbice, where they examined the draft National Mangrove Management Action Plan 2010.
And Chairperson of the Mangrove Action Committee (MAC), Mrs. Annette Arjoon-Martins, urged the gathering to know their role in the preservation of the mangroves, a recently declared endangered species.
The National Mangrove Management Action Plan 2010 covers a three year period, 2010 to 2012, and the momentum built through successful implementation is expected to aid long term sustainability.
The objectives of the Plan are to promote sustainable management of mangrove forest, develop effective protection of mangrove ecosystem and rehabilitation, increase public awareness and education on the benefits of the mangrove forests, establish and complete a legal framework for mangrove ecosystem management, encourage community-based mangrove management, and establish the administrative capacity for the management of mangroves in Guyana.
The $100M, government funded, Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project (GMRP) has seen some advancement in the achievements of these objectives. For example, the MAC – the administrative capacity for the management of mangroves– has been developed and public awareness and education is being done.
Arjoon-Martins explained the importance of mangroves, to sea defences primarily, and pointed out that the participation of all stakeholders would ensure the success of the project.
“Only a small fraction of the mangroves that protected our coastland 300 years ago remain. Mangrove protection concerns all of us,” she said.
The MAC Chairperson observed that feedback from the stakeholders contribute to better management of the mangrove forests.
Arjoon-Martins said, “We need to hear from you. You are the people on the ground. You are the ones who will have to go out there and assist us to protect the mangroves. Your role in this project is very important. We are here to work together to make this a success.”
GMRP Coordinator, Mr. Bissasar Chintmanie, concurred with these views and said the action plan cannot succeed without regard of all people.
He added that the objectives of the MAC need to be matched with the interest of local populations.
To this end, he said self-management will be encouraged among the various users of the mangrove environment.

Approach

Additionally, the GMRP Coordinator said the approach to restore the mangrove will be Ecosystem Protection and Rehabilitation (EPR).
Following the EPR approach, he explained that step one will be to understand which mangrove species belongs at a particular site and what conditions it needs to grow successfully.
After that, the next moves will be to understand the existing conditions at the site and to figure out what is preventing the normal growth of the mangrove trees.
He said, “When we understand these things, we can amend the site condition so that they meet the needs of the mangroves and only plant new mangroves if re-growth is not occurring.”
Looking to the future, Chintamanie pointed out that Regions One (Barima/ Waini), Two (Pomeroon/ Supenaam), Three (West Demerara. Essequibo Islands), Four (Demerara/ Mahaica), Five (Mahaica/ Berbice) and Six (East Berbice/ Corentyne) are identified as sites for mangrove restorations projects.
He made it clear that technical assistance for research and development will be provided by the Guyana Forestry Commission.
Relative to enforcement, he pointed out that a review and strengthening of enforcement policies, procedures and penalties will have to be addressed.
“We will have to develop new rules and regulations in consultation with the appropriate agencies,” he said.
At present under the Sea Defence Act of 1998, destruction of mangrove forests carries a fine of $12,000 and a sentence of 12 months imprisonment.
The amended Forestry Act of 2010 also provides for penalties in the event of mangrove destruction.
The GMRP Coordinator said monitoring and reporting in the promotion of sustainable management of mangrove forests will depend significantly on the Regional Mangrove Officers, who will be on board with the restoration project in three weeks time.

Additional Funding

Mr. John Townend, Team Leader from the European Union (EU) – Technical Assistance, lauded the progress that has been made and said it is possible that by June the first tranche of the funds will be available through an agreement between the EU and the Government of Guyana.
Under the EU’s Global Climate Change Alliance budget line, a programme linked to sustainable Coastal Zone Management was developed and the funds available total 4.165M euros.
The overall objective of the programme is to abate climate change and to mitigate its effects via sea defences biodiversity, etc.
Townend observed that the response from stakeholders at the consultations have been positive.

Mangroves

Mangroves are essentially forests that are found on the seacoast and riverside that can grow in areas of high salinity and tidal flooding.
There are seven types of mangroves, but the more popular ones are the Red, Black and White mangroves.
Apart from strengthening sea defences,
mangroves serve to shield inland areas during storms, trap sediments and break down pollutants, serve as a source of food for fish, shrimp and crabs that live in rivers and shallow areas of the ocean, provide homes and nurseries for many animals, primarily fishes, and provide a safe haven for juvenile fish, shrimp and crab on Guyana’s coastline.
Actions such as grazing animals in the mangroves, dumping garbage in mangrove forests, fishermen pulling their boats through mangroves and cutting mangrove trees for fuel and other purposes lead to their destruction.
Support for the GMRP is expected to mitigate the impacts of such actions.