– Significant depletion from 1990’s cover of over 80,000 hectares
– Persaud announces restoration target of 50 per cent of current forest cover
THE Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), yesterday handed over a report on the inventory of mangrove forest cover along the coastal zone and the report found that from 1990 Guyana’s mangrove forests have been significantly depleted from over 80,000 hectares to only 22,632 hectares. In July 2010 the GFC and the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which stated that GFC will be provided funding to implement the Mangrove Species Inventory Programme.
Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud, who received the report, stressed that it forms the baseline for moving forward with efforts to protect, restore and manage Guyana’s mangroves forests.
Speaking at a stakeholder meeting, he noted that these efforts will continue long after the three-year Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project (GRMP) has ended.
Persaud maintained that synergies are a must as the country increases its focus on climate change adaptation and mitigation.

RESTORATION TARGET
The Agriculture Minister announced that the restoration target that the team should focus on is 50 per cent of the current mangrove forests cover, an effort spread out over a few years.
“We have to protect what we have,”
The essential role that mangroves could play in the defence of the coastal zone, their role in carbon sequestration, and the increased risks posed by the predicted rise in sea level and the
rising cost of maintenance of the sea defence structure, have prompted the GMRP.
The zone of Guyana lies between 0.5 to 1.0 metres below high spring tide level of the Atlantic Ocean, making it particularly vulnerable, expressly in light of prediction for sea level rises.
The coastal zone is 430 kilometers (km) long and 26-77 km wide.
According to the Agriculture Minster, the advances in Information Technology have provided an upgraded science to be used for the sustainable management of the mangrove forests.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Specialist, Mr. Haimwant Persaud, explained that the GFC team working with the GMRP aim to map and quantify the coastal zone mangrove forests through remote sensing and GIS, which include elements of satellite imagery.
According to him, the information gathered will assist in the determination of suitable planting sites for mangrove restoration activities.
He said of the 22,632 hectares of remaining mangrove forests, Region One (Barima/Waini) has the most mangrove forests with 10,162 hectares, followed by Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) with 4,585 hectares.
Region Four (Demerara/ Mahaica) has the least mangrove forests cover with only 92 hectares of mangroves.
Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam) has some 4,097 hectares, Region Three (Essequibo Islands/ West Demerara) has 1,513 hectares and Region Five (Mahaica/Berbice) has 2,083 hectares of mangrove forests.
Chairperson of the Mangrove Action Committee (MAC), Mrs. Annette Arjoon-Martins, noted that the report signals another milestone for the project, which commenced in 2010.
She added that since then approximately 110,000 seedlings have been planted at the different restoration sites.
The GRMP’s National Mangrove Action Plan 2010 – 2013 aims 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 and encourage community-based mangrove management and establish the administrative capacity for the management of mangroves in Guyana.
As the project continues, 2011 is expected to see greater focus on: institutional development and capacity building; research and development; monitoring, reviewing and evaluation; major restoration; and greater public education and community involvement.