The governments of Guyana and Germany have finalised another agreement to utilise five million euros in funds for the development of the Guyana Protected Areas System (GPAS). The funds are expected to be channelled through the German Development Bank, with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, functioning as the implementing agency for the continuation of the project.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud and Honorary Consul from Germany to Guyana Ben Ter Welle, discussing plans of the second phase of the National Protected Areas System Project
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud said the funds will help to realise the Protected Areas Commission, a major component of the National Protected Areas Act. This act was passed in the last Parliament and assented to by former President Bharrat Jagdeo. Persaud said in addition to protected areas identified in GPAS Phase One which include: the Kaieteur Falls, Kanuku Mountains and Shell Beach, others will be added.
He said the new resources will allow government not only to have institutional arrangements put in place, but also ensure that the areas are properly managed, consistent with national and international obligations.
“While we have a very aggressive policy in terms of utilisation of our natural resources: forest and minerals… we will insist that this is done within a sustainable development framework,” the minister said.
Persaud noted that the project will not infringe on or affect Guyana’s ability to utilise the natural resources, the forest and other areas which possess natural wealth. It will however give greater capacity to proper utilisation of these resources and will be consistent with the sustainable development trust. Persaud believes that the project will also create a greater impact, with emphasis to be placed on the Low Carbon Development Strategy LCDS. EPA Director Dr Indarjit Ramdass said his agency has been working on the GPAS project over the past five years. EPA has made interventions since its implementation in 2006.
Dr Ramdass explained that two pilot areas were selected initially: Shell Beach and the Kanuku Mountains.
The project was extended and later involved the EPA creating 46 other community projects, especially in the Mazaruni River in Region Seven.
Currently, two groups are assisting the EPA to ensure that the forest and other natural resources are protected. The EPA head also revealed that a Draft Management Plan for Kanuku Mountains is being prepared and will be fast-tracked with the new fund that has been made available from Germany.
Some one million euros will be used for that project. The other four million euros will be used to develop suitable infrastructure for all of the identified protected areas. This is aimed at ensuring that these areas are properly managed. The Protected Areas Commission, which government hopes to establish next year, will be part of the National Parks Commission that manages the Kaieteur National Park.
The German Development Cooperation Agency GIZ assisted Guyana with more than US$ 7 million during 1996-2004, through the Natural Resources Management Project. This saw the introduction of Geographical Information Systems for agencies such as: the Guyana Forestry Commission, the Lands and Surveys Commission, and the Geology and Mines Commission.
In 2004, Guyana received 2.56 million euros from Germany for the implementation of the Guyana Protected Areas System-Conservation of Tropical Forest Project (GPAS Phase One). This project ran from February 2006 to November 2011. This initiative also led to the drafting of the National Protected Areas Act, delineation plans for both the Kanuku Mountains and Shell Beach, and a draft of the Kanuku Management Plan. The five-million euro commitment, made by the government of Germany for the GPAS Phase Two, will be disbursed in two tranches.
