On Saturday, Conservation International Guyana, with support from the Ministry of Natural Resources, concluded a three-day, three-village consultation that started in Parshaou and Hiowa and ended in Nappi Village, North Rupununi aimed at developing a management plan for the recently constructed Nappi Reservoir.
The reservoir, a Ministry of Natural Resources project, was built to provide water during the extreme dry season in the Rupununi.
According to a release yesterday from the Ministry of Natural Resources, the initial phase involved in-depth engagements with residents of the three villages with the objective of gaining a consensus on how the water catchment area should be used while exploring challenges and opportunities that exist. The release said that the management plan will be completed within six months.
Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, who had given a previous undertaking to be present, said that while the Government through the Ministry of Natural Resources had pioneered the project, and will continue to provide support, the intention is not to give directives on how it should be managed since the residents should be the ones to determine how the resource can be used to enhance their livelihoods.
The release said that suggestions were proposed by the community leaders and residents for the use of the resource beyond providing fresh water for cattle and ruminants, such as agriculture, aqua-culture, tourism and sport fishing.
The Nappi Reservoir was constructed in 2017 by the Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Natural Resources in direct response to the drought experienced in Rupununi in the previous year. It has the capacity to hold 4.5 Million Cubic Metres of water and is expected to be used as a model to construct future reservoirs in Guyana.
