Sixteen officers from the various agriculture entities yesterday started a hydrological training session through a joint ministry, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Guianas and the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) initiative.
According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release lecturers from the Barbados-based CIMH are conducting the eight-month course, which involves schooling middle level technicians in hydrology and costs $8 million. Participants include staff from the hydrometeorological office, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority, the Mahaicony/Mahaica/Abary Department Authority and other persons who were selected after being interviewed. Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud said the course is being held to develop the capacity at all levels to mitigate the effects of climate change.
WWF Country Director Dr Patrick Williams said the course was very important for the hydrometeorological service since it played a critical role in managing fresh water resources in Guyana. He said it was essential that management of the country’s fresh water should be done in a holistic and comprehensive way. Williams said too that after the training there will be increased capacity to collect information that was critical for fresh water management.
GINA said in addition to training two water level recorders will be placed at strategic locations of fresh water systems to monitor water quality and determine the potential of rivers from hydropower. The training is expected to boost the efficiency of the functions of the hydrometeorological department, which monitors the availability, quality and use of the country’s surface water such as rivers, lakes and creeks. The department also monitors the ground water systems.
