Having just endured a crippling drought marked by significant loss of crops and savannah fires, Region Nine must now look to guard against water-borne diseases that could affect residents now that the rains have returned, bringing with them the possibility of contamination of the shallow wells persons normally use to access potable water.
Guyana has two seasons—wet and dry. But of recent, it would seem that the Rupununi’s two seasons are floods and drought, dictated by climate change, with the droughts being much more frequent and lasting for longer periods. Given the distress this brings to residents who depend on the creeks and rivers and their crops of cassava for their livelihoods, solutions, many of which are available, should have long been sought.
In 2009, there was a similarly serious drought, which, as in the recent case, was also a result of El Niño. It went on for months, even throughout the usual rainy season. While the weather condition affected the entire country, the hinterland’s woes were greater given the remoteness of the area and the way of life of its people. Food and other aid to the tune of $47 million were eventually dispatched to the region. Residents made requests and the then government subsequently announced plans to dig more and deeper wells which it said would help to alleviate the problem when it recurred, as it was wont to do. Further aid was necessary in April 2010, as the drought was prolonged.
The next year, 2011, and on into 2012, the Rupununi was hit with catastrophic flooding, which saw, again, the loss of crops and animals and massive damage to infrastructure such as bridges and roads. This made the task of getting relief supplies to residents especially difficult. In the end it was estimated by the then Ministry of Amerindian Affairs that some $64 million was spent on providing the assistance, which included food, agricultural supplies and equipment and cash.
Flooding returned in 2013-14. And while some areas were affected, it was not as widespread as it had been in 2011-12. However, as early as March 2015 creeks and wells in the Rupununi began to dry up, foretelling a season of drought. The wells promised since 2009 had not been dug and by the time the Civil Defence Commission led an intervention to get water to some of the more remote villages in April 2015, the situation had already reached crisis level.
Though there was some rainfall, it was minimal and the situation persisted after the change of government. Residents formed an El Niño Committee and some noted that the situation harked back to 17 years earlier when there had been a record drought that severely affected the coastland but stunted life in the hinterland. They made calls for deeper wells noting that aside from El Niño, the region experiences an annual dry season, which results in water shortages.
This year, finally, new wells started being drilled during the dry season—some with the help of Brazil, while the Guyana Water Incorporated had undertaken to drill new wells in eight communities. However, what is missing is a clear, long-term plan for water stewardship and security in the hinterland, which could boost growth in that resource-rich area tenfold, assisting in poverty alleviation as well. Obviously, any plan that is being used on the coast or elsewhere would not fit because of the differences in water resources and usage.
This year’s budget outlined plans to diversify agriculture in Region Nine, announcing proposals to set up research, training and extension facilities to promote sustainable food production. It also spoke of developing 4,000 acres of state land in Region Nine for an agriculture station to pilot the “sustainable harvesting of surface water for agriculture.” That was in February.
To date, there have been no known moves to bring this proposal to fruition, and the Ministry of Agriculture under which such a project must fall seems to have its hands full with little else but sugar and rice industry woes to date.
Climate change is a reality and that Guyana is affected is known. But the hinterland regions, where economic growth is impacted by rainfall, episodes of droughts and floods need long-term relief and quickly. The government should make haste to realise what appears to be sound proposals to counteract the effects of climate on the people of this area.
