GOVERNMENT is actively engaging new technology all the time in advancing efforts to keep the sea at bay, according to Agriculture Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy. He made this disclosure during the signing of a contract which will enable the Guyana Mangroves Restoration Project (GMRP) to use geotextile tubes – a new form of sea defence – in a $27M project to protect mangrove trees from the effects of coastal erosion.
The area selected for what has been described as a pilot project is the Victoria Village foreshore, East Coast Demerara.
Minister Ramsammy witnessed the signing of the contract between the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NARI), which oversees the GMRP, and Contractor BK International for installation of the tubes.
The signing took place in the Boardroom of the Ministry of Agriculture, and other signatories included staffers of the GMRP and a representative of the Victoria Village Reconstruction Trust Organization.
GMRP Project Engineer Ranata Robertson said the project involves installation of two tube-like structures parallel to the foreshore, each fifty metres long, one and a half metres in height, and two and a half metres in width, which will be filled with sand and anchored to the foreshore.
The tubes will act as a breakwater to mitigate coastal erosion in the village where mangroves are being restored and need to be protected.
In brief remarks, Minister Ramsammy said the mangrove restoration and protection project represented a critical element in Guyana’s response to rising sea levels and climate change.
He said that restoration and protection of mangroves was also important in that the programme protected flora and fauna; encouraged tourism; supported local forms of industry, such as honey production; and provided employment to the communities where the trees were being planted.
The programme was also critical for the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), since mangrove trees were noted for their high rate of absorption of carbon, and can help in earning “big bucks” under this scheme.
The geotextile technology is currently in use in the construction of the head regulator of the Hope canal at the conservancy end, to strengthen the structure.
NAREI Head Dr. Oudho Homenauth, who is responsible for the GMRP, said that planting and restoration of mangrove trees had been adversely affected by natural erosion of the foreshores. This was especially so on the Victoria foreshore, and it was felt that the pilot geotextile technology should be implemented here, since this village was also important for the development of nature tourism.
The tubes have on the top half a shroud which protects them from ultra-violet rays and vandalism.
The terms of the contract dictate that the geotextile tubes should be installed within thirty-one days of the signing.
Dr. Homenauth signed on behalf of the GMRP, and Mr. Egam Bazilio, Office Manager of BK International Inc., signed on behalf of BK International.
Other signatories were GMRP staffers Colin DeJesus and Raymond Hinds; and Mr. Delon Vangronigen of the Victoria Reconstruction Trust.
Others present at the signing included former GMRP Project Coordinator Aditya Persaud; the current Coordinator, Ms. Kene Moseley; Mr Keith Mackie of the European Union Technical Assistance to the GMRP; and  GMRP Project Engineers Ranata Roberston and Luandra Jack.