Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been accused of illegally financing his 2012 re-election campaign. It is alleged that his party exceeded by nearly double the €22.5 million limit under French electoral law, by hosting lavish campaign rallies and hiding the related costs with the help of a public relations agency. Although there was no evidence that Sarkozy was directly involved in the scheme, prosecutors stated that he must have been aware of it. Sarkozy was previously sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on corruption charges and has since appealed the ruling.
The world’s largest iceberg, measuring 1,674 square miles (108 miles long and 15.5 miles wide) and larger than the state of Rhode Island, has broken off of Antarctica and is now adrift in the Weddell Sea. Scientists believe that this was due to global warming as the air over the continent has warmed twice as fast as the Earth’s average surface temperature.
Last Tuesday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released a report titled “New Zero by 2050” in which it stated that the time has come to stop investing in new fossil fuel resources. This is necessary to eliminate global greenhouse emissions by 2050 and to keep global temperatures from rising more than 1.5°C, as provided for by the Paris Agreement on climate change endorsed by 197 countries. The report stated that among the measures that need to be taken are: by 2035, 60 percent of car sales across the globe should be electric; and by 2040, all coal-fired power plants without technology that captures their pollution should be retired. The Agency predicted a sharp decline in fossil fuel demand in the next three decades. According to its Executive Director, the roadmap is narrow but still achievable, noting that it is the best chance of tackling climate change and that ‘making this happen is perhaps the greatest challenge humankind has ever faced’.
In Guyana, we need to be reminded of former President David Granger’s commitment to the 22nd Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in November 2016, to undertake the following:
(a) Pursue the establishment of a Green State, characterised by a low-emission pathway to economic development;
(b) Place an additional two million hectares of our territory under conservation and preserve our rainforests in order to contribute up to 48.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, to the global climate mitigation effort through avoided deforestation;
(c) Position our country to move more quickly and more closely towards full renewable energy use by 2025; and
(d) Protect our biodiversity and ecosystems and partner with other countries to establish an international institute specialising in education and research in biodiversity.
Nearly five years later, and with four years to go ‘to move more quickly and more closely towards full renewable energy use by 2025’, the nation is yet to learn of the status of the above commitments.
Now for today’s article. Large swathes of mangrove have been destroyed in the Malgre Tout-Versailles area on the West Bank Demerara to make way for the construction of a shore base facility to support ExxonMobil’s operations. It has been reported that more mangroves have been removed than were permitted. The company involved – Tristar Incorporated – has also not built any sea defences in their place as it had undertaken to do before the permission was granted.
Importance of mangroves
Mangroves are defined as ‘assemblages of salt tolerant trees and shrubs that grow in the intertidal regions of the tropical and subtropical coastlines. They grow luxuriantly in the places where freshwater mixes with seawater and where sediment is composed of accumulated deposits of mud’. Mangroves are a protected species under the International Union for Conservation of Nature for three main reasons:
(a) With their sturdy roots projecting above the soil, mangroves provide natural sea defence by breaking the force of waves thereby reducing erosion and possible flooding, especially in countries such as Guyana with low-lying coastlands;
(b) They are the natural habitat and breeding grounds for certain marine life such a shrimp, fish and crabs that provide us with a rich source of food; and
(c) They act as an important carbon sink by absorbing carbon dioxide at a rate several times that of terrestrial forests.
According to Food and Agriculture Organisation:
Mangrove wetland is a multiple use ecosystem. It is considered as a best form of coastal bioshield since it plays a critical role in reducing the impact of cyclonic storms, hurricanes and tsunami on human lives and properties… It also avoids or reduces soil erosion. It enhances fishery productivity of the adjacent coastal waters by acting as a nursery ground for commercially important fish, prawn and crabs and supplying organic and inorganic nutrients. They are also rich in biodiversity and act as habitats for wildlife.
Mangroves play an important role in the removal from the atmosphere of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that cause global warming and climate change. They have an enormous capacity for sucking up these gases and storing them in flooded soils, and can store twice as much carbon per area as salt marshes. Their dense roots help bind and build soils and filter nitrates, phosphates and other pollutants from the water thereby improving the water quality flowing from rivers and streams into the ocean.
In Guyana, mangroves cover about 290 kilometers of its 430-kilometer coast, or approximately two-thirds of the coast. They also line many of its rivers. Without these mangroves, most of Guyana’s coastline would have been severely eroded, leading to bank collapse and increased flooding. Given the threat of climate change and rise in sea levels as well as the fact that Guyana’s coast is below sea level, it is vitally important for not only the current mangrove forests to be kept intact but also new mangroves to be re-generated in areas along the coast and in the rivers that have been depleted over the years.
Tristar’s construction of shore base
Tristar’s application to construct the shore base was made to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2020 prior to the change in Administration but approval was delayed because of concerns relating to the clearing of the mangroves. The then head of the Agency had stated that the EPA met with the directors and informed them that proper evaluations would have to be carried out; and that the approval of the concerned agencies, including the Sea Defence Board and the Guyana Forestry Commission, would be required before the project can go ahead. It was learnt that the Sea Defence Board gave its no objection. However, according to the Board’s chairman, Tristar Inc. was in breach of the guidelines provided, as the company ‘destroyed the sea defence without building one area, and they were expected to provide a work plan and schedule but that was not done’.
In defence of the no objection given by the Sea Defence Board, the Minister of Public Works asserted that while mangroves are important, development must not be stymied and ‘with development comes changes’. He stated that measures are being put in place to protect residents against flooding, including the use of steel sheet piles. Environmentalist Ms. Annette Arjoons-Martins, however, believes that even if such a structure is built, it does not have the same value and benefits of mangroves. She stated that mangroves absorb five times the amount of carbon as greenheart and purpleheart forests apart from fostering a rich ecosystem and serving as a nursery for fishes and a habitat for birds. Her views coincided with a statement issued by National Agriculture, Research and Extension Institute (NAREI):
Mangroves are considered Guyana’s natural sea defence and are essential in providing several eco-system services. Studies have shown that mangroves provide about 5 to 10 times more carbon storage than the terrestrial forest. And with Guyana’s low carbon development trajectory, mangroves are pivotal in this regard.
Guyana’s legislative framework for the protection of mangroves
There is no specific legislation in Guyana concerning the protection of mangroves. However, within the EPA Act, the Sea Defence Act, Forests Act and the Protected Areas Act, there are certain provisions that may be applicable. The EPA’s main responsibility is to provide effective management of the natural environment for the protection and sustainable use of the natural environment. A key activity relates to the need to carry out environmental impact assessments (EIAs) if an activity is likely to adversely impact on the environment. Where an application is made to the EPA, a public notice of the intent to conduct an EIA is issued to enable members of the public to submit within 28 days any concerns they may have. If the EPA decides to grant an environmental permit, the public is allowed 60 days within which to raise objections.
The Sea Defence Act considers sea defence to include any natural feature which serves as a protection to the sea coast against the erosive action of the sea or which protects the bank of any river from the erosive action of the river current. All lands 50 feet landward are considered sea defence and are the property of the State. Permission is required to make a drain to the sea or to carry out construction works. Section 13 of the Act provides for the Minister to make regulations for: (i) protecting the growth of underwood, shrubs and trees on or near the foreshore; (ii) protecting the land and soil between the high and low water marks (defined as the line left by medium high tide between spring tide and neap tide); and (iii) generally conserve the foreshore.
The Forestry Act 2009 defines “forest” to include: (i) mangrove forests and any wetlands or open lands within a forest which forms an integral part of the ecosystem; (ii) forest produce in the ecosystem; and (iii) biological, soil, and water resources of the ecosystem. The Guyana Forestry Commission is responsible for the management of all state forest lands in accordance with a National Forest Plan. The Commission also develops and monitors the standards for forest operations, protection and conservation strategies, research and education and training.
The Protected Areas Act provides for the protection and conservation of Guyana’s natural heritage and natural capital through: (i) the creation, management and financing of a national system of protected areas; (ii) the maintenance ecosystem services of national and global importance including climate regulation; (iii) the establishment of a protected areas commission; (iv) the establishment of a protected areas trust fund; (v) fulfillment of Guyana’s international environmental responsibilities; and (vi) public participation in protected areas and conservation.
Mangrove Restoration Project
The Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project (GMRP) was launched in February 2010 with funding by the European Union (EU). Stretches of mangrove forests were restored along the coast, and persons were educated on the importance of these forests. The activities of GMRP have since been taken over by NAREI. For the period 2017 to 2019, at least two new mangrove sites and two protected areas were established each year, again through budget support from the EU.
To be continued
