Dear Editor,

In an article which appear-ed in the March 13th edition of SN, the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MPWC) with technical assistance from the National Agri-cultural Research Institute (NARI) seems to be embarking on another ‘wild-goose chase’ by re-establishing groynes along coastal Guyana as part of a mangrove restoration project. It is their expectation that groynes will slow down the movement of mud shoals along the coast causing deposition of slingmud and stabilization of the foreshore on which mangroves flourish.

Because of the properties of slingmud and scope of the morphological phenomena, no feasible means of trapping or stabilizing slingmud or for that matter other methods of arresting the beach erosion can or have been suggested. Therefore, all efforts should be concentrated on the stable construction of appropriate seawalls although MPWC has claimed that constructing and repairing sea defences is unsustainable and it is therefore willing to pursue cheaper fruitless means such as mangrove restoration of protecting the foreshore.

However, groynes could be a means of accretion along the coast if materials such as shell, sand and shingle are brought to the shore by currents or waves from deeper water and trapped between the groynes. If there are no (coarse) sediments moving along the coast, nothing is trapped by the groynes and their outstretched arms remain empty as slingmud is transported in suspension and no groyne of reasonable dimensions and construction could slow down their east to west travel and cause deposition to conjure stability of the substrate for mangroves to flourish.

It is therefore reassuring that Agriculture Minister Persaud has stated that the administration remains committed to the maintenance and rehabilitation of sea defence infrastructure in order to protect property and lives in a meaningful, sustainable and cost effective way and hopefully not through an airy fairy concept which will take years to materialize if indeed it does.

Yours faithfully,
Charles Sohan