Over 25 persons residing on the Essequibo Coast, in Region Two, are now equipped to help promote community-based mangrove management as a sustainable means of mangrove restoration and management, according to the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI).
NAREI recently held a four-day Mangrove Ecology, Restoration and Management Workshop in the Region, through funding from the World Wildlife Fund through the Education for Nature Programme.
According to a NAREI press statement, participants of the workshop, including teachers, representatives of Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs), students of the Guyana School of Agriculture, fishermen, police and personnel of the Sea and River Defence Division are likely to become members of Region Two’s Village Mangrove Action Committee (VMAC). These stakeholders were selected based on their current and potential influence to further promote mangrove protection and management, it noted.
Chief Executive Officer of NAREI Dr. Oudho Homenauth and Permanent Secretary George Jervis delivered remarks at the opening session of the workshop, which was held at the Anna Regina State House.
Dr. Homenauth was reported as saying that NAREI has implemented several interventions to restore mangroves along the Essequibo Coast. Works executed in several communities included successful mangrove seedling planting at Lima, construction of Bamboo Brushwood Dam at Walton Hall and Anna Regina, construction of geotextile tube groyne at Devonshire Castle and Spartina grass planting.
In addition, it was noted that NAREI will be extending the 100 meters Bamboo Brushwood Dam completed in 2015 at Walton Hall by 150 metres. This infrastructure development will promote increase sedimentation, hence creating the conditions necessary for the restoration of mangroves, he added.
The statement said he emphasised that communities need to take responsibility for their mangrove resources.
Meanwhile, Jervis praised the involvement of youths in the workshop as he saw it as a promising sign for the sustainability of mangrove restoration in the region. He encouraged participants to question the Project Officers about the interventions being made and provide their own inputs and recommendations.
The statement said the workshop focused on the ecology of mangroves and mangrove ecosystems; main species of mangroves found in Guyana; the range and biodiversity of mangrove communities found in Guyana; the natural and anthropogenic impacts on mangrove ecosystems; and appropriate conservation strategies that can be used to address impacts on mangrove ecosystems.
It added that as part of a field exercise, the participants visited several areas such as Walton Hall, Devonshire Castle and Lima that benefited from restoration interventions. The tour enabled participants to have a better understanding of coastal erosion, the importance of mangroves for coastal defence and the different type of interventions being implemented by NAREI along the Essequibo coast.
