-underscores its potential to drive climate change action, national development

BISHOP Juan A. Edghill, Minister of Public Works presented Guyana’s statement at the first Commonwealth Ocean Ministers Meeting that was held in Paphos, Cyprus from April 18-19, 2024. The summit sought to establish the principles, priorities and actions for a Commonwealth Ocean Declaration, as outlined in the Communiqué of the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

Under the theme ‘Our Resilient Common Ocean: from Cyprus to Samoa’, Commonwealth Ocean Ministers met to establish a roadmap and timeframe to pave the way for the adoption of the Commonwealth Ocean Declaration during the forthcoming CHOGM in Samoa in October 2024.

Guyana’s statement by the Honourable Minister of Public Works expressed gratitude to the host Government of the Republic of Cyprus, and commended the Commonwealth Secretariat for its determination and leadership in taking decisive action to coordinate and advance initiatives focused on protecting the world’s oceans.

Minister Edghill reiterated the shared sentiment that the health of the oceans and seas is inextricably linked to the health of the planet and all living things thereon. Thus, the importance of the conservation and protection of the global common space cannot be overemphasised. Further, he stated that in the interest of the survival of all the peoples of the world, and the development of each country, decisive action must be taken. This includes concrete steps to achieve shared objectives such as; the protection of vulnerable ecosystems, the management of fisheries, reduction of pollution, and the cleaning up of plastic waste.

An excerpt from Minister Edghill’s statement is as follows:

In Guyana, we recognise the potential of harnessing our ocean resources to contribute even more to both climate change action and national development. Therefore, as a nation we are embracing the further development of our marine resources along a blue economy pathway which embodies all the principles outlined in our economic development model: low carbon, resource efficiency and social inclusion. We view the ocean as being just as important as our forests. They are both carbon sinks, both significant to the sustainable development of our national economy and reflected in our Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030.

The Government of Guyana remains committed to responsibly managing all the economic sectors of the country for the benefit of all Guyanese, to ensure that the people achieve their legitimate development aspirations. The LCDS 2030 therefore aims to enhance governance readiness to ensure the development of the ocean economy and the relevant regimes concerning compliance and enforcement to support the principles of sustainable management. Supporting and developing the tools for sustainable management of the ocean economy will entail:

-Enhancing knowledge and bridging the science-policy interface through research;

-Strengthening collaboration efforts among the Government, private sector, and relevant institutions for data sharing to generate research and expand our knowledge of the dynamics of the ocean;

-Leveraging investment via a plan to support the growth of various sectors relevant to the ocean;

-Support capacity development to ensure inclusiveness in the ocean economy through all stages;

-Establish and integrate Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) to support the growth of all sectors, simultaneously addressing any possible resource use conflicts, and

-Develop a national system, as well as, seek to partner with existing regional systems to undertake real-time ocean monitoring and surveillance to prevent and mitigate pollution-related issues and to operationalise ocean forecasting.

In addition, Guyana’s Maritime Economy Plan was launched in January 2023 under the Commonwealth Marine Economies Programme, embracing the further development of our marine resources along a blue economy pathway. We are currently working towards the development of a National Ocean Policy, Integrated Marine Management for Land-Based Pollution, a Marine Spatial Plan (MSP) and promoting the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

The landmark Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction represents a significant and timely enhancement of the global ocean governance framework. Having participated in the negotiations leading up to the finalisation of the Agreement within the CARICOM grouping, a decision on its signature and subsequent ratification, is now under active consideration by the Government of Guyana.

The Government of Guyana is fully committed to working with the international community to strengthen ocean stewardship and promote policies for managing the ocean space in a sustainable and responsible manner, to serve the greater good of humanity. (MoPW)