A comprehensive national land use plan is being finalised to guide policy makers.
“This is not a document that intends to say what must be done and what should not be done. The document is described as non prescriptive. It provides options… options for policymakers…to see how these could fit into the national development thrust of the country,”
Minister of Natural Re-sources and the Environment Robert Persaud said on Friday, when a strategic framework for the plan was handed over to him by a United Kingdom consultant whose firm conducted the consultations for the document.
Persaud acknowledged that there was never a comprehensive land use plan or strategy, despite the extensive natural resources sector engaging in various types of activities. “I know that over the years the GLSC [Guyana Lands and Surveys Commis-sion] and other agencies of state have sought to develop various plans and various approaches in terms of addressing the issue of land use.
But what we have embarked on is to have one comprehensive national land use plan that would represent the various uses and also would serve as a guide both in the short and the long term,” he added.
He said that it must be ensured that activities decided on and development agreed on are consistent with the applicability of the plan and fit into the country’s developmental framework. “This plan has benefitted from countrywide very extensive consultations with all interested stakeholders,” the minister said. He added that it is intended for the document to be a living one and one that could be changed even after it is approved by Cabinet and the National Assembly.
The project is being undertaken with assistance from the EU Delegation in Guyana.
Doorga Persaud, Commis-sioner of the GLSC, which is the executing agency for the project, said that to date a draft National Land Use Plan has been prepared through a consultative process and is currently with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment with the intention of seeking Cabinet’s approval.
He also said that consultations are ongoing for the development of three regional land use plans for regions 1, 2 and 10. He said that a draft strategic plan for GLSC 2013 to 2017 is also to be prepared under the project and would include a new organisational structure for the Commission.
The project will also see the upgrade and redesign of a land administration database for efficient access to records, he noted.
The project is expected to enhance the capacity of the GLSC in regional land use planning and development, improve interaction and linkages between the Commission and external agencies and lay the groundwork for the rationalisation and preparation of planning legislation.
The Commissioner said that the financing agreement for the project was signed in May 2009 by the EU Delegation in Guyana and the Minister of Finance. It was signed within the context of the 10th European Development Fund Technical Assistance and total fund approved for the project by the EU is three million Euros.
Persaud said that the project was intended to be completed in three years but was shortened to 22 months. The executing agency for the project is the GLSC while the consulting firm is Hunting Technical Services Production Engineering of the United Kingdom. A steering committee comprising inter-agency representatives oversees the project and meet as frequently as once per month or as required to review progress and to provide guidance.
Persaud said that considerable progress has been made as it relates to the project outcomes and it is expected that all outputs and deliverables will be achieved by October 23, 2013 – the end date for the project.
