THE Mangrove Action Committee (MAC) yesterday kicked off a working relationship with the first and second year Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) students with a workshop. And Agriculture Minster Robert Persaud said this is a step towards sustainability.
“This is an important collaboration,” he stressed.
Brought on board as new stakeholders of the Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project (GMRP), the GSA students interacted with key persons involved with the project in the school’s auditorium.
Addressing the gathering, Persaud made it clear that the buy-in from the community, particularly the youths, is quintessential to the success of the project, since a sense of ownership at the grassroots level will ensure sustainability.
The GMRP is a $100M coastal development project funded by the government, with additional funding of 4.165 million euros from the European Commission.
The overall objective of the project is to abate climate change (carbon sequestration through reforestation and forest preservation) and to mitigate its effects (sea defence, biodiversity).
It is managed by the MAC within the Climate Change and Agricultural Adaptation Unit of Guyana’s National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of Guyana.
The Agriculture Minister noted that while much has been accomplished since the project started in March 2007, there is still much more to be done; there is room for young people to make their contribution.
He said in the coming month, the MAC work programme will reflect increased efforts to ensure that Guyana’s mangroves are protected, managed and restored.

Collaboration

“We want youths to be involved,” Persaud said.
The GSA students are expected to support the MAC in the areas of research, data collection and monitoring, and community mangrove committees.
Three Forestry students from the University of Guyana (UG), at the start of the project, supported the research component and are currently continuing on that path with support from the MAC. The GSA students are expected to benefit from a mentorship programme set up with the UG Faculty of Forestry. Agriculture, forestry and fisheries, as they relate to mangrove management, are also areas of research opportunities.
Data collection and monitoring will involve GSA students in a temporary, but paid, engagement in the areas that have been replanted.
At the grassroots level, GSA students are expected to act as resource persons for community mangrove committees established in different communities, with priority given to their own communities.

Essential Project

According to him, the GMRP is essential, primarily because of the fact that it is a low cost form of defence of the coastal zone, which dampens wave action and protects coastal banks.
Also, an important point to note is that mangrove forests have the potential to sequester 17 metric tonnes of carbon per hectare annually, and this therefore increases their importance in the climate change fight.
The Government of Guyana’s recent inclusion of climate change considerations in public policy has been enshrined in the Low-Carbon Development Strategy (2009) wherein there is a central focus on forest conservation, including the protection of the substantial mangrove belts along the coasts and estuaries.
The Agriculture Minister stated that protection of the coastline is necessary, expressly in light of the climate change impacts, something which cannot be done via concrete structure because of the exorbitant cost.
Persaud explained that focusing on concrete structure would mean redirecting resources from other key development areas.
The GMRP, he stressed, allows both the focus on different development agendas, as well as adaptation to climate change.
“The project fits,” he said.
In February last Persaud signed the amended Forestry Act of 2010 that also provides for penalties in the event of mangrove destruction.
Also, at present, under Guyana’s Sea Defence Act of 1998, destruction of mangrove forests carries a fine of $12,000 and a sentence of 12 months imprisonment.
Under the project, an estimated 11 kilometers of mangrove forests are expected to be restored across Guyana by 2012.
To date, a number of advances have been made under the GMRP, including the completion of the National Mangrove Management Action Plan (NMMAP), which was submitted to Cabinet and tabled in the National Assembly; the establishment of the MAC, which is currently fully functional; the replanting of some 60,239 mangrove seedlings at six pilot sites, La Belle Alliance and Lima in Region Two (Pomeroon/ Supenaam), and at Hope, Mon Repos, Triumph, Beterverwagting and Chateau Margot on the East Coast of Demerara, in Region Four (Demerara/ Mahaica); the signing of 26 contracts with community groups and individuals for the production of an additional 153,000 mangrove seedlings to continue replanting; the completion of the Mangrove Nursery, housed at the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI), which is also fully staffed; the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) for the implementation of mapping and inventory of Guyana’s mangrove forests; the completion of a formal website, www.mangrovesgy.com; and community involvement in mangrove management and support to project activities.
The Agriculture Minister stated that, in the future, an expert from Indonesia is expected, a result of a partnership between Guyana and Indonesia, and students with a keen interest in mangroves can benefit from scholarships to specialize in the area.
Persaud made it clear that the project is a comprehensive one with many benefits, since mangroves not only protect the sea defence and sequester carbon, but also supports the livelihoods of many persons.