The Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project (GMRP) is heading to Essequibo where it aims to plant 36,000 mangrove seedlings on 45 hectares of land to restore sea defences to low-lying areas.
Coordinator of the GMRP Bissesar Chintamanie told the Government Information Agency (GINA) in an exclusive interview that it will be conducting the project at Lima and La Belle Alliance. This will be followed by the planting of 18,000 seedlings over a spread of 20 hectares in Number Six Village, West Coast Berbice. Chintamanie said areas such as Greenfield, Ann’s Grove, Victoria, and Wakenaam will also be targeted.
According to Chintamanie, the project is expected to complete about 11 kilometres over a three-year period but he noted that with the aggressive work currently ongoing it is anticipated that much more will be done. “Since persons have been sensitized about the importance of mangroves, we at the unit, have seen a massive reduction. People are no longer using the wood for cooking and for burning brick – that has stopped completely and then cutting of mangroves, generally you have a great reduction,” he said.
Chintamanie told GINA that aggressive awareness campaigns are ongoing to eliminate the wanton grazing of cattle and livestock along the coastline. Work is also ongoing on the issues of littering and wildlife protection.
The Mangrove Action Committee (MAC) currently has a Community Development Specialist onboard who works daily, apart from meeting with communities. “We also meet the focal group people on a needs basis as well as go house to house,” Chintamanie said, adding that at Hope and Mon Repos where planting is currently ongoing, “we went house to house sensitizing people on the importance of our programme.” He said the unit is also working with a consultant to set up a website, supported by the European Union. He also said MAC planted over 10,000 and 8,500 seedlings at Mon Repos and Hope recently.
