The Guyana Mangroves Restoration Project is currently investigating the destruction of a large expanse of mangroves in the Peter’s Hall koker area on the East Bank Demerara.
Mangroves are a vital component of sea and river defences and their destruction is prohibited.
Some residents are convinced that the cutting of the mangroves may have also contributed to the undermining of the koker’s door earlier this month which resulted in a major flooding to Peter’s Hall, Nandy Park and Providence.
Project Coordinator of the Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project, Kene Moseley told this newspaper on Wednesday that they are currently conducting investigations however, there is no word on who owns the area or if the owners may have received permission to cut.
Stabroek News has been informed that the land has changed hands on several occasions and a prominent business may now own it. One man who said that the land once belonged to him said he had sold it to a private businessman who in turn, sold it to another.
This information however, is yet to be confirmed.