SOME 40 men and women have been recruited to form a corps of wardens and Derrick Lawrence, Director of Compliance at the Natural Resources Ministry, believes that central to the success of their work is collaboration and coordination.
In a recent interview, Lawrence explained that the wardens were recruited to assist in the restoration and maintenance of law and order within the natural resources sector.
He said that when the concept of the corps of wardens was developed, all areas (mining, forestry, wild life, the Environmental Protection Agency, Protected Areas Commission) were taken into consideration.

“What we are really is an environmental and conservation, law-enforcement unit – these are a group of trained men and women who will enter the sector with supernumerary constables with full police powers. They will patrol the sector and work in collaboration with the other sectors that have legal responsibilities for various jurisdictions within the sector,” the director of compliance said.

The primary focus of the wardens is to ensure that the laws of Guyana are respected as far as it relates to the preservation of the environment and recognition of the value conservation brings to Guyana and across the world.

Wardens, Lawrence said, are different from mines officers or environmentalists attached to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), who travel to remote locations to ensure that the Mining Act and regulations are observed by those working in the field.
“The corps of wardens comes with responsibilities that extend beyond that. They are a law-enforcement unit, so whereas in the past the GGMC officers would have had to arrange special police protection—today [they are] working in collaboration with [the] corps of wardens whose focus is within the sector and who have police powers, it is much easier,” said the director of compliance.

Additionally, he said joint patrols are being done in collaboration with several agencies that have specific responsibilities.
“We go into areas with the various agencies that have responsibilities for those areas and we coordinate these patrols; and so we are able to receive a high level of cost-effectiveness because we are able to bring all of the agencies together,” said Lawrence, who described the wardens as “policemen in the natural resources sector.”

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
Lawrence disclosed that the group of wardens has been trained to detect cases of trafficking- in-persons which have been a burning issue for Guyana. Many young girls and women have been trafficked in the country’s hinterland.
The issue of TIP is being addressed at various levels through stakeholder collaboration and while the corps of wardens is not part of the national task force on TIP, it is an area of responsibility.

“Wherever there is regular and constant law- enforcement presence most criminal activities tend to go on the downward slide… so if you are actively patrolling the sector and you know what to look for, to identify situations where you need TIP — I think the persons perpetuating [sic] those crimes may recognise it may not be that profitable to stay in that business or within that area,” he posited.
The wardens were trained in part by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the training was specifically designed for them.

Lawrence explained that the wardens are part of a continuous training exercise to ensure that they are familiar with the natural resources sector and understand the laws, regulations and codes of practice.
He disclosed that the first batch of corps wardens attended the Guyana Mining School for training and the Guyana Forestry Commission Training School.
They are expected to be trained by the Protected Areas Commission and Wildlife Management Authority early next year.

“We begin everything with stakeholder engagement — we made a determination that certain areas require strong stakeholder collaboration and what we plan to do in the first quarter 2018, is meet stakeholders and use the expertise at the agencies to educate and inform people,” Lawrence said.

He also said efforts will be made to raise levels of awareness, so far as environmental protection and conservation are concerned.
That aside, joint patrols will be dispatched to conduct monitoring and evaluation assessments, Lawrence stated. The establishment of a corps of wardens is the brainchild of President David Granger.