Less than 50% of projected mangroves restored in $1B scheme

EU Ambassador Robert Kopecky (left) and Head of the Political, Press and Information Section for the EU, Derek Lambe at the Victoria, ECD GMRP site. The Ambassador took a tour of GMRP facilities along with new liaison officers who will oversee the project in its final year.

 As the Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project (GMRP) concludes its final year of official funding from the European Union, the acreage replanted is only around half of what was projected for the three-year $1 billion scheme intended to shore up sea defences and boost afforestation.

The shortfall in what was originally intended for a project championed by former president Bharrat Jagdeo in 2010 will raise questions about whether value for money was obtained for the acreage restored even though there has been a number of other benefits such as public awareness and the flourishing of alternative livelihoods.

In September 2010, then Coordinator of the project Bissesar Chintamanie had told the Government Information Agency 11 kilometres were