The EPA has hailed the international day for mangroves being observed today but did so without uttering a word on the large acreage of the salt water-tolerant shrub which was recently demolished with the government’s approval to make way for an oil and gas shore base.
In a message in yesterday’s Guyana Times marking International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem/Mangrove Day, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) noted that there are three main species in Guyana and listed their attributes.
“There are three main species of mangroves in Guyana, Avicennia germinans (black mangrove), Rhizophora mangle (red mangrove), and Laguncularia racemosa (white mangrove).
* Mangroves contribute substantially to sea defense in Guyana by dampening wave action and reducing wave energy;
* Mangroves also help prevent erosion by stabilising sediments with their tangled root systems;
* Mangroves play an important role in the fight against climate change by trapping and storing carbon;
* Moreover, mangroves provide a habitat for many fish and bird species, their roots often serving as a safe zone which allows juvenile fishes and other marine animals to grow;
* Mangroves protect other ecosystems – seagrass beds and coral reefs – by filtering pollutants and trapping sediments from inland. In the same way, they protect water quality;
* The leaves of the mangroves have been used in tea, medicine, and livestock feed”.
Acres of the mangroves were destroyed in April at Versailles/Malgre Tout, West Demerara to clear a path for the shore base venture being pioneered by TriStar which is headed by a Florida, USA-based Guyanese. Krishna Persaud.
The mangroves were uprooted despite the fact that the project is without an environmental permit and even though the Sea Defence Board later admitted that more was removed than had been catered for.
It is unclear whether any penalties have been assessed against the company. However, it and the government have said that it will be installing sheet-piling sea defence in the Versailles/Malgre Tout area.
Environmentalists have argued that the removal of the mangroves, a protected species, breaches the law.
