A few dozen residents of communities identified as playing a critical role in the mangrove restoration project yesterday met to identify and unify each area’s efforts in the undertaking of the project’s agenda.
Persons from eight coastal communities, including Victoria, Cove and John, Mon Repos and Nabaclis on the East Coast Demerara (ECD) yesterday met and discussed various issues relating to the project at the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) on the ECD. The forum was held under the community development aspect of the National Mangrove Action Plan.
Project consultant Ester Mackintosh, who had been working with the Mangrove Action Committee (MAC), noted that a key component of the communities’ involvement in the project is transparency. She said that the project will require the participation of the “ordinary persons of the communities”, including farmers, fishermen and housewives.
Essentially, she added, the basis on which discussions were being undertaken was to examine the roles of each representative of the community and how the village bodies will function. A maximum of ten representatives will be selected to form the village mangrove action committees (VMAC). Mackintosh noted that a number of opportunities exist within each community for persons to make use of and she noted that the project will capitalise on these, to the benefit of the people of the community.
She said too that as aspects of the project are being undertaken at the community level, the mangrove secretariat will address the issue of training of personnel within each community.
Chair of the national body Annette Arjoon-Martins said yesterday that to date some 4.5 km of mangroves have been replanted along the coast; the area represents a total of 65,000 plants. She said that an important feature of the project was to have the communities prepare the seedlings or for contractors from the community to provide same. She noted too, like Mackintosh, that the project needed to be transparent, “so that persons could see where the money allocated to each area is spent.”
The project to date is utilizing money from the $1 billion sum which was made available last year by the European Union for the project. The sum is expected to cover the life of the project which ends in 2013. Arjoon-Martins expressed hope that by then, all of the objectives of the project would have been covered.
Meantime, a mangrove reserve is being created at the Victoria/Cove and John area on the ECD, and the MAC is working to have the area recognised as bio-diversity site, with tourism being promoted at the same time.
It was noted yesterday at the forum that the area in question is home to some four species of mangroves and being wetland is ideally suited for the establishment of a reserve.
Since the conception of the Victoria group, several meetings have been held and a first quarter programme of activities has been developed. The group has been instrumental in raising public awareness in the community as it relates to mangrove use and protection.
Garbage disposal, and more so in the mangrove forest, has been identified by the committee as a threat to mangrove ecosystems and general health of the community. A massive cleanup exercise was planned and executed by the residents of the area and villagers, with support from the MAC.
