Mining has accounted for 0.06 per cent of Guyana’s deforestation rate as of 2008; and based upon this, it is said to have increased over the past two years, according to World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Guiana.
This was revealed in the findings of a WWF assessment, which was done between 2000 and 2008 to determine the deforestation rates of small and medium-scale mining in Guyana.
The assessment, which featured satellite images and other digitised data, also covered Suriname, French Guiana and Northern Brazil. According to regional gold mining pollution abatement coordinator Rickford Vieira, the hike in gold prices and the improved road network in the interior are just some of the factors behind increased mining.
However, he pointed out that Guyana still has the lowest deforestation rate among the countries assessed. This is especially surprising since Guyana has a longer history of mining. Though the data provided is almost two years old, the environmentalist is convinced that it can be useful to identify illegal mining, determine threats of turbidity and siltation to riverain communities, and in logging, agricultural development, and land use planning, among other uses.
He revealed that French Guiana is willing to provide updated data to Guyana — an offer which may be pursued when the prefect for that neighbouring country visits Guyana at the end of the month.
WWF on Tuesday handed over the data to several stakeholder groups, in a ceremony attended by acting President Samuel Hinds at the Herdmanston Lodge in Queenstown.
After having watched the slideshow presentation of the findings, Hinds underscored the need for a protocol to ensure that miners do not leave an area in an “unstable” manner.
This position was supported by the WWF officer, who revealed that efforts are ongoing to empower miners to ultimately ensure a protected environment.
“We have been providing financial support to a lot of local agencies, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission included, to look into these things to see how we can help the miner to move from the current level to a higher level, where they can approach it like a business rather than a gamble”.
He said it is important for miners to be educated and enlightened as to the prospects of the concession before they start working the area.
Though the WWF’s work programme expires in December of this year, Vieira said, it will reapply for funds to support such work, which is an important component of its mandate.
WWF said the assessment was prompted by its recognition of the urgent need in the interior of the Guianas to minimise degradation, noting that inappropriate mining practices are extensively damaging to the fragile tropical environment in the mining areas.
Deforestation from gold mining causes significant erosion in the sloping landscapes of the mining areas, leading to changes in the soil quality, and this slows down forest regeneration.
“Small-scale gold mining is a highly complex and highly controversial issue in the Guianas. WWF acknowledges the important economic effect of the sector on local communities as well as on the national GDP”.
