CONSERVATION of Guyana’s natural resources and biodiversity are critical to the country’s sustainable development, Conservation International (Guyana) Senior Technical Director Curtis Bernard reiterated on Sunday.

Speaking recently on the intersection between biodiversity and conservation, Bernard explained that when environmentalists seek to preserve the environment, it is not to lock away resources and not use them at all, but instead it is about finding ways to sustainably use the natural wealth.

“In this context, conservation is not anti-development. In fact, conservation is essential if development is to be sustainable and sustained,” the director said.

He, however, noted that this avenue to achieving and maintaining development is often seen as adverse to economic growth.

“One of the first steps we need to take is to understand our natural wealth and understand that everything is connected,” he said.

As an example, he explained that agriculture is not only about the biodiversity in the crops and the animals consumed; it is also about the very complex web of organisms and inorganic matter that must interact to be able to provide fertile soils, water and the air necessary to sustain life.

“Understanding those complex connections will help us to be able to make better decisions on how we manage that wealth to produce the kind of future that we would like,” he posited.

Reduced-impact logging, sustainable tourism and conserving mangroves are just simple ways of fostering development through conservation. And importantly, he noted that determining ways to develop infrastructure without adversely affecting the natural resources that exist in those places, is very important.

“We must find ways in which we can pursue the improvement in our human condition in a way that really maintains and in some ways enhance that natural wealth. We need to incorporate the understanding of the value and the wealth of the impact of the natural wealth on our development aspirations, and really find very smart ways of ensuring that what we have is truly sustainable and sustained development will be for all future generations of Guyana,” he said.