Minister of State Joseph Harmon on Monday noted that a key element for the success of the Green State Developmental Strategy: Vision 2040 is sustainable land management and development which includes the mitigation and prevention of land degradation.
Speaking at the opening of the 17th session of the Committee for the review of the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (CRIC17) Harmon explained that the strategy which is the flagship policy of the government reflects the guiding principles for the establishment of the “Green State.”
Though he acknowledged that Guyana is not experiencing desertification the Minister stressed that the impact of land degradation is being taken into consideration as government plans for the sustainable use of this country’s land resources. As a consequence, Guyana fully endorses and supports the convention’s vision “to support the development and implementation of national and regional policies, programmes and measures to prevent, control and reverse desertification/land degradation and mitigate the effects of drought.
He explained that the key issues affecting Guyana’s optimum deployment of the convention include floods, droughts, salt water intrusion in agricultural areas as well as natural resource utilization in the mining, forestry and agricultural sectors.
The Minister further noted that several efforts have been made to address these issues including a technical co-operation agreement between Guyana and Brazil for the implementation of a drought impact reduction programme in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo (Region 9). The agreement was signed on December 21, 2017 and so far has seen the drilling of eight wells that are now providing year round potable water to the people of the South Rupununi.
Also achieved, according to Harmon, is the finalization of the Land Neutrality Target Setting Programme and its alignment to the National Action Plan to combat land degradation as well as the operationalization of the Sustainable Land Development and Management Project. CRIC 17 continues today and tomorrow at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre and will review the first global assessment of land degradation based on Earth observation data reported by governments.
The assessment, which was conducted by reporting countries using a harmonized approach, shows the trends in land degradation between 2000 to 2015 based on data provided by 145 of the 197 countries that are party to the Convention.
