Cognisant of the impending threat of environmental degradation to Guyana’s rainforests, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Canadian High Commission have vowed to continue supporting efforts being made by the University of Guyana’s Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry to reclaim Guyana’s mined-out sites.
These pledges were made by a representative of CIDA and by Canadian High Commissioner David Devine yesterday during the second and final day of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry’s Annual Staff and Students’ Review. Speaking on the partnership between CIDA and UG, Devine voiced his approval for the initiative, stating, “I believe this is an important project,” and that “CIDA is pleased to partner with the Agriculture and Forestry Faculty” to accomplish their mission. He confessed that he was impressed with the level of knowledge and expertise the students possessed and employed in the execution of the project and commended the faculty for its groundbreaking work in this area. He reiterated his optimism that the two entities would continue to work together on the issue of land reclamation, especially since he sees Canada as having personal a stake in this area.
Canada has several mining companies operating in Guyana and together they represent the largest international investment in Guyana’s extractive industry.
The main focus of yesterday’s presentation was the reclaiming of mined-out sites.
According to Courtney Bullen of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), some time ago it was brought to the commission’s attention that the number of mined-out sites in our forested areas was increasing. As such, in 2009, the GGMC and the Guyana Environmental Capacity Development Project (GENCAP) commenced work on the rehabilitation of mined out sites at St Elizabeth, Mahdia. He said the work was done in collaboration with UG and they were able to plant approximately 100 Acacia mangium seeds, a plant exotic to Guyana but chosen for its ability to thrive in hostile environments such as in the mined-out sites. The plant generates leaf litter which can serve as soil cover, slowing down rates of infiltration and helping to restore soil organic carbon which is lost during mining. However, due to its supposed invasive nature it is feared that the plant may have unwanted effects on indigenous forest species.
Realising that there was a need for monitoring and evaluation of the plants’ response to the area, the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry proposed a follow-up project called the ‘Post Plantation Management of Acacia on Mined-Out Sites at Mahdia’. CIDA accepted the proposal and provided $20 million in funding for the project, enabling six final-year students from the departments of Forestry and Agriculture, all of whom focused on topics related to the issue, to complete their final-year projects. Some of the objectives included determining through monitoring, the response of Acacia to pruning at different periods, an assessment of the use of biomass (biological material from living or recently living organisms) from Acacia trees after pruning to produce bio char (a soil amendment created by pyrolasis of biomass), and an assessment of bio char at different application rates to improve soil fertility.
In an attempt to further validate the relevance of the project, Bullen stated that Guyana’s rainforest alone was valued at US$40 billion in terms of the environmental services they currently supply; a clear indication why it is imperative that they be maintained. He also stated that the mineral wealth found in Guyana’s interior, the very home of our forests is in very high demand; a demand that has increased exponentially in recent years owing to the favorable world market prices for gold in particular. He also revealed that mining, or open-pit mining more particularly, and the methods employed to conduct it has led to a decline in the world’s forests, significantly affecting carbon sequestration. The process of open-pit mining requires vast amounts of water, much of which is allowed to flow uncontrolled over the land surface contributing to soil erosion, and general land degradation. This has an accompanying effect of loss of vegetation resulting from the death of roots which have been overwhelmed by the excess water. This makes desertification of portions of Guyana’s forests a startling reality. He said it was the realisation of its role in climate mitigation that led Guyana’s policy makers to adopt the Low Carbon Development Strategy.
However, even though “open-pit mining has concomitant deleterious effects on the environment which must be addressed,” the industry now accounts for a whopping 20% of the country’s gross domestic product, as such it is imperative to balance environmental protection and conservation with environmental exploitation. Responding to claims that mining affects less than 2% of Guyana’s forests, Bullen stated that though true, if left unmonitored and unattended, the relatively small localised areas of disturbed soil can have significant additive effects on the affected areas and eventually grow to affect regional and then national climate features.
He noted that though Guyana is yet to enact legislation mandating the rehabilitation of mined-out land, state agencies such as the GGMC and even the miners’ association recognise and encourage the need for land reclamation.
