– Harmon tells regional officials

MINISTER of State, Joseph Harmon urged Caribbean countries to pour more resources into tackling land degradation when he addressed the opening of the third session of the Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM) high level meeting of Caribbean Ministers from small island development states being held here.

The two-day meeting, the opening day which Minister Harmon chaired on Thursday, is being held at the Marriot Hotel in Kingston. Ministers and representatives from several regional states including St Lucia, Jamaica, Belize and Suriname are participating in the meeting.

During his presentation at the early session of the meeting, Harmon noted that land degradation management is achievable through problem solving, strong community engagement and cooperation at all levels. “We have to activate all regional mechanisms to ensure that the issue of land is addressed,” he said.

He said that rising sea levels can see 25% per cent of Guyana’s lands going under water, noting that the other nations within the region which are affected by natural disasters such as hurricanes annually, loose a parcel of their lands. “And so we have to put as much resources onto this problem as we see it,” he said. Harmon noted that recently, he travelled to Mexico and he pointed out at a conference there that President David Granger mentioned last year during a meeting with Defence officials, that monies spent on defence-related matters, including arms and ammunition for many years, could have been best spent on addressing the issue of natural disasters which usually result in the loss lives.
He said that there exists a huge disparity if one were to compare lives lost at war as against those who pass during natural disasters.

Commissioner of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC), Trevor Benn told the gathering that it was recognised over the years, that the Caribbean is not united as it should be in a number of areas. He said that PISLM took it head on as a challenge and in October 2016, the regional leaders took the responsibility to address the issue at international forums and take common positions whenever the issue of land appears on the agenda.

He said that because of “our smallness” most of the time, the region is under-represented at international forums and consequently, unable to give effect to the citizens wishes. He stressed that the nations have been working together to address land issues. Benn was frank when he noted that land management is not a favorite topic of discussion of “political types”, noting that it is not clearly evident to the electorate the benefits of sustainable land management. “And so we are required to do a lot more work to sensitise the people of the Caribbean about the importance of land and the effects of not properly sustaining the land that we have,” he added.

Benn said that regarding land management, “Guyana has taken the position that we must and we will be very active and pro-active.” Dr. Richard Byron-Cox of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) also spoke at the opening session of the meeting. He addressed the issue of climate change, which he noted is the “nexus” of everything.