In an effort to formulate policies to address the misuse and mismanagement of water in Guyana, the Government of Guyana (GOG) on Thursday held a stakeholder’s workshop to develop the country’s Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) Policy.
The IWRM, an initiative undertaken in partnership with Global Water Partnership–Caribbean (GWP-C), is aimed at the creation of new standards, values and priorities that will determine the way Guyanese treat water.
The workshop, which concluded on Friday, was aimed at sharing with the stakeholders the draft policy and roadmap for them to provide input towards the finalisation of the policy, to ensure that it reflects national priorities for water resource management in Guyana.
Commenting on the significance of this approach to water management, Avril Alexander, Regional Coordinator for GWP-C, stated that “IWRM is a cross sectional approach, a process designed to replace the fragmented water resource management practices that has led to poor services.” She further stated that “it is a holistic approach to water management that considers each use of water on the other.”
According to Alexander, many in Guyana are proud of the country’s designation as “the Land of Many Waters,” but she cautioned that in order to ensure Guyana’s continued ability to lay claim to the title, it is imperative that the traditional methods of managing our water supplies be abandoned in favour of the more holistic approach offered in the form of the IWRM. She also made note of the fact that water is life and that each and every one of us depend on it for various uses, and therefore the stakeholders in this area are not just the policy makers, but each and every individual that is dependent on the resource.
Water is exceptionally essential to activities relating to agriculture, tourism, health, education and even security, and so it was imperative that representatives from each of these areas be present to scrutinise the draft, said Alexander. She noted that though the GOG in partnership with the GWP-C undertook to draft policies to combat the damaging effects of the misuse of water, “it is impossible to create the holistic policies we are seeking without consultations with key stakeholders.”
These sentiments were shared by Dr Paulette Bynoe, the consultant contracted to compose the ‘Draft National Integrated Water Resources Management Policy for the Republic of Guyana’. Bynoe, a specialist in the field of the environment for over 17 years, also facilitated the workshop. She joined with Alexander in stressing that in order for the policies to be effective, there is need for input from stakeholders.
Bynoe noted that before she could draft the policy document, it was imperative that she review existing policies relating to water
management, identify stakeholders in the area, create a timeline as well as milestones for the initiative as well as determine the approximate cost for implementation of the finalised policy.
She revealed that after consulting over 20 stakeholders, including the Environmental Protection Agency, University of Guyana and Conservational International, she was able to determine some of the main threats to Guyana’s water resources. At the top of the list were climate change and variability floods and droughts.
Climate change has altered weather patterns, rendering traditional weather readings useless. As a result, Guyana now experiences spontaneous prolonged periods of dry spells and rainfall, which usually lead to droughts and floods. And, this usually has serious implications on crops and can cause problems for producers and the country as a whole, since Guyana specialises in, and depends substantially upon agriculture for revenue.
Other threats included inappropriate uses of water, rapid development of housing schemes in rural and urban areas, pollution from mining and faecal matter, low level of public awareness and a flawed perception in Guyana that water is plentiful and can be wasted.
As it related to the scrutiny of existing policies, Bynoe stated that there were some positive policy frameworks that existed in Guyana, although enforcement of some of these policies were lacking. Drilling of bore holes without permission, lack of consistent meetings by the Water Council, the lack of enforcement of Guyana’s Water and Sewage Act and the fragmentation as well as the compartmentalisation of policies are just a few of the many inefficiencies that plague Guyana’s water management policies.
Bynoe stated that the objective of the plan is to amend all prior inefficiencies. If successful, the plan will ensure that water resources are managed in a sustainable manner, considering climate change, and integrate planning and management to ensure effective and efficient use of water resources. She stated that as part of the solution, the behaviour of people needs to be reformed, while noting the habit of many to throw their waste into canals and drains as well as waste water without regard for future convenience.
Formally launched in Tobago in 2004, GWP-C is one of 13 regional partnerships of the Global Water Partnership (GWP). Founded in 1996 and based in Stockholm, Sweden, its primary objective is to foster IWRM. To date, the GWP-C has amassed over 60 partners in 20 Caribbean territories, including public water management agencies and other government agencies, youth organisations, private sector organisations and others and it is committed to supporting Caribbean countries in the sustainable management of their water resources at the community, national and regional level.
