Chapter 18: ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

DRAFT April 18, 1996

Introduction

This Chapter of the National Development Strategy presents a comprehensive environmental policy for Guyana for the first time. The environmental policy is designed to promote the sustainable management of natural resources and the preservation of a healthy environment as an integral part of our country's development agenda. In recent years significant strides have been made toward laying the basis for such a policy, through the preparation and Parliamentary approval of the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP) in 1994, which was itself based on the National Forestry Action Plan (NFAP) of 1989 and the Environmental Profile that was prepared for UNCED in 1992. More recently, the Government has formulated an Environmental Protection Bill, that will create an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement the NEAP. The policies outlined in this chapter are derived in significant measure from the NEAP and from the legislation already formulated by Government.

The juridical basis for a national environmental policy is rooted in the Constitution of Guyana, which states:

Article 2:25 Every citizen has a duty to participate in activities to improve the environment and protect the health of the nation.

Article 2:36 In the interest of the present and future generations the State will protect rational use of its fauna and flora, and will take all appropriate measures to conserve and improve the environment.

Guyana's environmental resources are abundant, but the need for an environmental policy is becoming progressively more apparent, especially in light of the contamination of water resources that originates from industries, agriculture and households; the problem of coastal erosion; the increasing danger of flooding; the deforestation of some areas close to the country's main concentrations of population; evidence of the need to regulate the wildlife trade; and the decline of some coastal marine species.

At the same time, our environmental policy is founded in the belief that economic growth and environmental sustainability are compatible, that indeed the latter is one of the bases for ensuring that enduring prosperity can be achieved for all Guyanese. To promote economic growth in a sound environmental context requires objective efforts to identify and diagnose environmental problems, courage in identifying solutions, and a willingness on the part of all the population to participate in developing and implementing corrective measures. Within Government, our new Environmental Protection Agency will take the lead in identifying problems and proposing solutions, but all agencies will participate in implementing them, and the private sector's cooperation will be critical to successful implementation in all areas.

Environmental issues arise because of the impact of human activities on natural resources, affecting both their quantity and their quality, and the consequent impact in the reverse direction that a degraded environment has on human health and on the economic costs of human activities. In general, environmental problems can be divided into the following two broad concerns:

(i) Resource degradation, or reductions in the availability of natural resources; and

(ii) Resource contamination, or reductions in the quality of natural resources.

Examples of resource degradation include overfishing stocks of certain species; deforestation of mangrove areas, which in turn leads to problems of reduction of stocks of some marine species and also of increased danger of flooding; overcutting of inland forests, which leads to loss of natural habitats and loss of soils and hence also to loss of water supplies in watersheds; and overcutting of selected forest species, which leads to loss of that economic resource over the longer run and a reduction in the nation's biodiversity.

The most common examples of resource contamination in Guyana are those related to water pollution: mercury, cyanide and other wastes from mining; untreated human and animal wastes in water supplies; and wastes from many industries in water tables. But also air quality is a public health concern, especially in the case of Linden, where suspended mineral particulates can affect public health.

This document provides a detailed review of these issues, and then establishes a policy framework for dealing with them in the future through the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

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I. Basic Features of Natural Resources and the Environment in Guyana

Our natural resource base is dominated by forests, which cover 80 percent of the country's 215,000 square kilometers. These rainforests contain great biodiversity with a rich variety of plant and animal life, including endangered wildlife and several unique species endemic to the country. Guyana is one of only thirteen countries in the world that retain their tropical forests virtually intact. The vast tropical rainforest influences temperature, precipitation and air turbulence, and it is an important factor in mitigating global warming. The rainforest also shelters watersheds, areas of remarkable beauty, and potential for scientific research and tourism. Mineral deposits are also extensive and include mainly bauxite, gold, and diamonds. The other principal elements of the natural resource base include the abundant quantities of freshwater itself; agricultural land, distributed mainly along the coast and in hinterland savannahs; and extensive fisheries resources.

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A. Population Distribution

The historical pattern of economic development consists of concentrating human and physical assets in Guyana's narrow coastal strip and, particularly, in Georgetown. Estimates of population density in Region 4 (which includes Georgetown) range from 360 persons per sq. km. upward; by contrast, the density in the country as a whole is only 9 persons per sq. km. While this coastal concentration brings certain conveniences for most of the population in transport, communication and other fields, its costs include the following:

- the high investment and maintenance costs of sea defenses to protect people, land, and economic assets from tidal flooding;

- damage to the basic infrastructure for water, sanitation, and transport that arises from occasional flooding of coastal areas;

- crop losses and the costs of maintenance and operation of the related drainage and irrigation schemes, and the costs of their environmental impacts; and

- contamination of aquifers from industrial and residential activities.

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B. Poverty and the Environment

1. The Environment and Low-Income Groups

An intensification of poverty in the whole society accompanied the protracted economic decline experienced in the 1970s and 1980s. Per capita income at US $686 in 1994 is one of the lowest in the Western hemisphere and had declined by almost one-third compared with 1980. Some studies on the extent of poverty put as much as 67 percent to 75 percent of the population below the poverty line in 1989. While there are issues concerning the methodology of these measurements, and the percentage in poverty has declined in recent years, poverty is indisputably a substantial problem (Chapter 17).

A link between poverty and environment exists to some extent, despite the low population density. The most obvious examples are: the cutting of trees for charcoal and the reaping of mangroves for household use and cottage industry tanning; lack of sufficient sanitary facilities with the concomitant dangers for the purity of the aquifers; overfishing of inshore marine resources; and the environmental damage caused by the itinerant labor that characterises small-scale gold mining with its proliferation of sites. These activities have long-term destructive potential. Perhaps the saddest aspect of this linkage is that the environmental damage attributable to poverty in turn reduces further the level of well-being of the poor, by making their water less clean, their fuelwood more scarce, and their fish catches more sparse.

2. Environmental Consequences of the Weakened Public Sector

The most visible poverty-environment link is to be found in the impact of the poverty of public sector institutions on environmental degradation. As is well known, a sharp decline in fiscal viability associated with the economic crisis led to a severe deterioration of the social and economic infrastructure, with grave consequences for environmental health, sustainable management of natural resources and protection of the environment.

The financial and manpower resource constraints at the Central, Regional and Local Government levels eroded, over time, the capacity to maintain and expand infrastructure. The evidence of collapse of the social and economic infrastructure has been everywhere -- in the breaches in the sea defenses and their consequences, the malfunctioning of the drainage and irrigation systems in coastal areas, the breakdown of the management of solid and liquid waste, the deterioration in water supply and electricity systems, the unavailability of affordable housing and consequent rise in squatting. In recent years the Government has started to come to effective grips with some of these problems, and this National Development Strategy is designed to maintain that forward momentum and broaden the economic and social advances.

3. Breakdown of the Social Infrastructure and its Consequences

The concentration of the population on the coastal strip below sea level means that most of the solid and liquid wastes of the country are generated in areas that are not well drained. Underfunding of the municipal authorities has resulted in a near total breakdown of solid waste management in Georgetown and in a lack of adequate maintenance of the drainage canals in the city (although the latter has begun to improve recently). The population's access to potable water has declined. Poor and crowded housing conditions characterise the more densely populated coastal belt. Unavailability of affordable housing for large numbers of the working population has led to squatter settlements along the embankment of established waterways, like the Lamaha canal, that convey water to the public water supply system.

One manifestation of the pervasive environmental problems is the extraordinary frequency of communicable diseases, with a high incidence of water and vector-borne diseases. Cholera, filaria, dengue, malaria, tuberculosis, gastroenteritis, typhoid, hepatitis and even cancer are largely environmental problems, some of them associated with pollution of the environment by chemical and bacteriological agents that is attendant on the nonexistence or the breakdown of potable water and waste disposal systems.

Poverty-related illnesses have been an increasing cause of death. The life expectancy declined from 70 years to 64.9 years during the period 1985-1992, which is about the same as that found in the late 1950s or early 1960s. Because of the deterioration of medical facilities and a serious shortage of staff, supplies and equipment, plus an increase in poverty levels over the past 28 years, levels of infant, child and maternal mortality rates are unacceptably high (Chapter 19). However, it is important to note that life expectancy has ceased to decline and the national health services are reorganising themselves to better deal with some of these problems. What is now needed is a vigorous environmental policy to complement those efforts.

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C. Environmental Features of the Coastal Zone

1. The Natural and Human Setting

The principal settled areas are uniquely dependent on sound environmental management. The coastal plain occupies approximately 7 percent of the total area of the country and extends along the entire 430 km. of the Atlantic coast, varying in width from 26 to 77 km. Five major wetland systems are distinguished in the coastal plain: the marine ecosystem of the sea coast, the estuarine ecosystems of tidal wetlands of the river mouths, and the riverain, palustrine and lacustrine ecosystems. The fertile plain consists of surface clays underlain by clays of the Demerara and Coropina formations. Extending for as much as five miles inland, much of the coastal plain lies between 0.5 metres and 1.0 metres below high tide levels. The shore zone consists of coastal works, mud banks, a mangrove belt and sand flats, all of which serve to protect the plain from flooding.

Ninety percent of the estimated population of 751,000 resides in the coastal zone. Georgetown has a population of approximately 200,000 in its greater metropolitan area. Agriculture is still the major economic activity, accounting for 24 percent of GDP and 35-40 percent of employment. Except for forestry, all agricultural products (sugarcane, rice, other crops, livestock, and fishing) come from the coastal area. Most of the industry is found in Georgetown and along the remaining coast, with only a small concentration in Linden and north of Linden along the Demerara river. Other major economic activities and investments outside Georgetown and the coast consist mainly of large and small scale mining, mostly on major rivers. Groundwater provides 90 percent of the potable water supply and is extracted mainly from the coastal artisan basin.

Complex interlinked erosion and flooding issues threaten the viability of the intensely concentrated economic base. Sea level rise and possible coastal subsidence add to the pressures on the sea defences and, inevitably, lead to greater coastal erosion and flooding. The shorezone, which serves as the natural line of defence against coastal erosion, is subject to erosion from floating mud shoals in the Atlantic that originate in the Amazon, exacerbated by destruction of mangroves and by removal of sand for construction on shore. The system of water conservancies and drainage and irrigation works in the coastal plain, which have also suffered from lack of maintenance, cause periodic fresh water flooding.

2. Coastal Erosion

Coastal erosion has been taking place at a relatively rapid rate. A comparison of the 1783 and 1970 coastlines around Liliendall shows a regression of almost 1 kilometre (erosion rates of -4 to -5 metres annually). Evidence of this retreat can be seen all along the coast -- old sluice gates form isles far out to sea, and old shorelines and sand ridges run parallel to the present shoreline. Coastal erosion has many causes, some natural and some man-made, and distinguishing between the effects of each is difficult given the paucity of baseline data.

Mud shoals have had and continue to have an unquantifiable impact on coastal erosion. These shoals move along the Brazil, Suriname, Guyana coast from east to west in a series of waves and macro ripples at an approximate speed of 1.3 km per year. They are in constant motion and the refraction and concentration of wave energy between ripples greatly increases the capacity of the shoals to erode the coastal area. On the eastern side of the shoal, the coast accumulates the mud that is colonized by mangroves. However, as the mud shoal moves westward, the mangroves are unable to survive the wave attack and erosion takes place.

Mangroves are a first line of defence against wave action and storms on the coast and also provide a habitat for juvenile fish and shrimp. The construction of drainage systems for agricultural production projects in the coastal zone may have adversely impacted mangroves, as was evident once the MMA-ADA drainage and irrigation scheme was in operation. Mangroves are also plundered for fuelwood and for use in construction and tanning. No clear picture of the extent of the degradation of the mangroves is available, but prudence dictates that they should be protected from further destruction to help prevent further erosion of the coastline and also to preserve the breeding grounds for some marine species. See Chapters 31 and 40 of this Strategy for further comments on this issue.

Sea level rise is another possible cause of coastal erosion. Tide gauge readings in Georgetown from 1960 to 1981 showed a rise of 9 cm. in the relative level of the sea. Engineers in the Hydraulics Division have observed water levels reaching higher up the sea walls. The observed rise in water levels, however, may be partly attributable to subsidence of the coastal zone, caused by the extraction of fresh water from the coastal aquifers. At present the data are inadequate to determine how much of the observed water level rise might be due to subsidence and how much is due to actual sea level rise.

3. Flooding and its Costs

The coastal plain is subject to flooding from both sea water intrusion and from fresh water overflows. Flooding destroys the value of the country's physical capital and its productivity, e.g., agricultural lands normally remain out of production for at least a year once flooded by saline water. Floods also have serious public health consequences in coastal areas. In Georgetown, sewage is discharged untreated through an outfall into the mouth of the Demerara river and during high tides and flooding this sewage is returned inland. Other areas use septic tanks and pit latrines, which may contribute to pollution of groundwater and, during flooding, surface waters.

For the past two decades, lack of maintenance, mainly because of budgetary constraints, has seriously weakened the sea defences. In 1991 more than 25 breaches of the sea wall flooded agricultural and residential areas. One breach at Cornelia on Leguan Island resulted in more than 1,000 acres of rice land being flooded. Since 1993 responsibility for maintenance of the sea defences was transferred from regional authorities to the Hydraulics Division, but the pervasive lack of funding and staff affects this Division too, and maintenance of these critical defence works is not yet at the desired standard. However, a new maintenance and rehabilitation programme is in place (Chapter 40) and so this concern should abate in coming years. The problem of contamination of groundwater, however, is still not being addressed systematically.

An intricate system of water conservancies and drainage and irrigation has been constructed to control flooding and overcome the seasonality of rainfall for coastal agriculture. However, for lack of maintenance, drainage ditches are often silted up or clogged with garbage, the mechanical pumps fail and sluice gates that control the flow of water often do not function properly, leading to frequent fresh water flooding. At high tides the flooding is exacerbated because gravity drainage seaward has to be blocked. The drainage and irrigation systems have profoundly altered the natural surface water regime, which is likely to have significant environmental repercussions. Nevertheless, no structured monitoring of such effects is conducted, except in the MMA-ADA Project (see below).

4. Integrated Coastal Zone Management

Even though the coastal zone supports the majority of the population and the main economic activities, there is no formal coastal zone management plan or strategy for the multiple uses to which these resources may be put. Many agencies have shorezone management responsibilities, including the Environment Unit, the Hydraulics Division, the Hydro-Meteorology Department and Fisheries Department, and the Central Planning and Housing Department. This last agency is responsible for planning and zoning in urban and rural settlements, the implementation of standards and regulations and development control. Government has recognised that improved coastal zone management depends on an integrated approach. In 1991 Government established a subcommittee on coastal zone management, formed by representatives from the major agencies dealing with the coastal zone. The next step should be more complete incorporation of coastal communities into the process of developing plans for the coastal zone and implementing them.

D. Forestry, Biodiversity and National Parks and Protected Areas

1. Forestry

Chapter 30 of this National Development Strategy provides relevant information on the forestry sector in Guyana. Of the total estimated forest area of 65,000 square miles (169,000 km²), 34,000 square miles (87,800 km²) lie within the gazetted State Forest boundaries. The forest resources are characterised by the following:

(i) heterogeneity - there are over 100 tree species

(ii) relatively few species that are of commercial importance

(iii) the small average size of forest trees

(iv) most of the commercial timber species are dense heavy hardwoods, which according to the Forestry Sector National Development Strategy, make up an average of 80 percent of the exploited species.

Approximately 2.5 million hectares of forest lands are considered not exploitable for timber with present technology. The total volume of standing timber in the exploitable forest area is estimated at more than 350 million cubic metres, of which hardwoods account for just less than 90 percent. An area of 3.6 million hectares of forested land is accessible for exploitation, and approximately 2.4 million hectares have been allocated for harvesting. Many rivers that could provide access to the forests are not navigable because of waterfalls and rapids. The forests that are closest to navigable water have been logged for commercial species.

The forestry sector employs about 20,000 people and produces some 218,000 cubic metres of timber annually. Foreign exchange generated by forest products exports doubled during 1994 to approximately US$15 million. The sector is again set to double its export earnings by mid-1996 if plywood exports reach and maintain their target of 10,000 cubic metres per month (report to Ministry of Finance, August 1995, Vincente Molinos).

There are seventeen (17) concessionaires operating under Timber Sales Agreements (TSAs). The TSAs are issued for areas >60,000 acres (24,000 ha). The large concessionaires have significant investments in plant and equipment and convey exclusive harvesting rights for 15-25 years. Most of the concessionaires concentrate on logging the endemic greenheart (Ocotea rodiaei), and eight of the concessionaires export regularly. All the concessionaires have integrated logging and sawmill operations in the interior, concentrated in the Essequibo and Demerara areas.

Small scale loggers have operated with State Forest Permissions (SFPs), generally one year in term, which grant rights to a specified volume of timber within a prescribed area. There are at present 486 SFPs for areas <20,000 acres (8,100 ha) covering approximately 4,126,230 acres (1,669,801 ha). SFPs were usually issued to smaller operators who produce for the domestic market. About 1.2 million hectares have been covered by SFPs and most of the log production flows to small sawmills concentrated in the Berbice and Demerara areas. Minor forest operators also worked with SFPs in the dry evergreen forests of the Demerara area close to Georgetown, Linden, and the populated coastal settlements. The SFPs are being eliminated under the new forestry policy (see Chapter 30 of this National Development Strategy), because the shortness of their term encouraged a mentality of mining the timber resource.

Monitoring of forestry operations by the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) is only nominal because of shortages of staff and equipment, limited funding and absence of a good data base. Large scale concessionaires, small scale loggers, and minor forest products operators still pursue forestry activities with virtually no monitoring by the GFC.

The environmental impacts of logging vary with the size of the concession and the conditions attached to the logging permits. Each stage of the logging activity has a separate impact on land, soil, and water. Because of lack of monitoring and regulation, the environmental impacts of logging activities can only be described in qualitative terms, and the sources often disagree as to the seriousness of the various impacts. The following are perceived to be the main impacts from logging activities.

a. Exploitation of the greenheart

Greenheart is the best known timber species and is of such intense commercial interest that foresters do not harvest other species in those areas where the greenheart is most concentrated and of best quality. It accounts for only 1.5 percent of the stand merchantable volume but provides nearly 40 percent of the total volume of roundwood production. Because of lack of monitoring, conclusive evidence of over-harvesting of the greenheart is not available, but ongoing studies may reveal the true status of this species.

Until recently, efforts to commercialise other species in export markets, to take the pressure off the potentially dwindling greenheart resource, have been only partially effective. Only smaller producers selling on the domestic market have harvested a significant proportion of other species. The high cost of shipping from Guyana constrains exports of species other than the greenheart to North America. Such costs are higher than shipping these same products from Africa and the Pacific. In the case of the greenheart, strong market demand overcomes these factors. Port facilities are also inadequate (though they are being improved), causing costly delays in loading and only small vessels can take a full load.

Recently, certain private sector initiatives suggest that marketing possibilities for other species and for non-tree forest products may have improved. The largest and most recent concessionaire, the Barama Company Limited, has established an integrated logging and plywood production system based on harvesting about twelve plywood species. Barama's operation represents a technological and commercial breakthrough for the utilisation of large quantities of lesser known species and more intensive utilisation of forests. The company contracted the Edinburgh Centre for Tropical Forests (ECTF) to undertake monitoring of its environmental impacts and research to benefit its operations.

b. Impacts on forest ecosystems

Concessionaires are required to submit Forest Management Plans (FMPs) as a condition of the TSA, but they have not observed this requirement in the past. Therefore, the long term sustainability of the selective harvesting system used is unknown. Several actions of loggers provide cause for concern. Careless felling and extraction due to under-skilled, poorly supervised, chain saw operators and skidder drivers can result in unnecessary damage to the remaining stand, which is likely to result in lower harvests next time around. Seed trees are not usually retained, wildlife important to seed dispersal are not safeguarded, protective buffer strips along watercourses are not always respected and production demands defer to the speed of the operation rather than to selectivity of harvesting. With one exception, there are no restricted areas within logging concessions that conserve representative areas of productive forest types in their unlogged condition. Consequently, comparison of the ecological condition of the logged forests with the unlogged, once the first full cutting cycles are completed, will not be possible, thereby hampering monitoring of compliance with the FMP.

c. Impacts on soils and rivers

The main impacts of forestry exploitation on rivers and streams are: increased turbidity caused by soil erosion from logging, increased BOD from the discharge of organic waste from sawmilling, and oil pollution from the discharge of petroleum products.

GFC has already issued regulations to protect rivers from the effects of logging wastes, which are automatically included in each FMP. The regulations require the maintenance of 50-metre buffer strips of forest along the river banks. Nevertheless, in some cases when such buffer strips are established, the river banks are demolished by the missile dredges of largely unregulated gold miners. Consequently, the logging waste often slips into the river causing turbidity, with consequent adverse impacts on aquatic life and on the navigability of the rivers. GFC has not yet recommended procedures for the safe storage of oil and fuel away from watercourses nor does it have the capacity to monitor such storage effectively.

Proper disposal of sawmill waste has long been an intractable problem. About 60 percent of the average saw log remains in the yards as waste in the form of slabs, ends, and sawdust. Most mills heap this waste on the riverbanks and it eventually spills over or is pushed into the water, raising BOD levels and hampering aquatic life. The Essequibo area is estimated to generate 50-60 thousand cubic metres of sawmill waste each year.

Recently, some concessionaires have started exploring the possibility of utilising the waste as a source of energy. (A pilot project (No. 34) for such conversion was proposed in the NFAP.) Currently, two steam producing boilers fueled by sawmill waste power the Willems Timber and Trading Limited mill at Kaow Island. The Company has also experimented with producing charcoal from sawmill ends in portable kilns. A. Mazaharally Sawmill Limited has acquired a turbine generator to produce electricity from its sawmill wastes. Current efforts at using sawmill waste as a fuel have made little impact on the problem of river contamination, but there may be scope for the conversion of sawmill waste into briquettes using wood densification technology.

Forestry exploitation, as practised in here, does not lay bare large expanses of soil or lead to serious soil erosion and land slides at all the logging sites. For economic reasons, concessionaires avoid logging in excessively wet conditions, when the soil is most prone to erosion. The forestry research programme at the Barama concession includes studying the impact of forest operations on soil properties, with a specific focus on soil compaction, erosion and loss of fertility. Tropenbos has been conducting an ecological and forestry research study at the DTL concession at Mabura Hill on the impacts of logging activities on soil properties. The results of such studies are not yet known but will be made available to GFC so that the findings can be incorporated into forestry policy.

d. Forest fires

Incidences of illegally set forest fires have caused losses of forest resources. The principal causes of such fires are untended charcoal burning pits and vandalism. The damage from these forest fires could be contained if specific areas were designated for charcoal burning at each camp site and if permittees of the SFP, TSA and WCL were required to report, and, where possible, to attempt to put out fires within forested areas. Monitoring, especially during the dry season, could be the dual responsibility of concessionaires and the local communities.

e. Forest management

The management of the forests has not been sufficiently studied to generate a proven silviculture system. In-depth inventories are lacking as are data on growth either in the undisturbed natural forest or in logged-over areas.

The Government emphasised its interest in promoting sustainable forestry development in Guyana through the preparation of the National Forestry Action Plan (NFAP) in 1989. A round-table meeting of the donor community in February 1992, resulted in donor pledges for ten priority projects from the NFAP totalling US$8.6 million. Implementation of the NFAP has continued with the recent appointment of a national coordinator. CIDA agreed to fund an Interim Forestry Project (IFP) that began in 1989, as a bridge between NFAP preparation and implementation. Meanwhile, with assistance from Germany, Government is proceeding to formulate and implement a forest land-use policy, related legislation and an appropriate administrative structure to ensure the sustainable use of its forest resources.

As a further expression of its commitment to protection of the tropical rainforest, the Guyana Government advised the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in October 1989, that the country would set aside 360,000 hectares of its Amazon rainforest for a pilot research project under Commonwealth auspices. Since then the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) have begun to finance the establishment of an International Centre for Research and Training for the Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests in the Iwokrama rainforest. This research project will investigate ways that the tropical rainforest can maintain desired levels of biological diversity while supporting economic activity.

2. Biodiversity

In recognition of the significance of its biodiversity assets, Guyana signed the UN Convention on Biological Diversity during the Earth Summit of 1992. The Convention commits signatories to adopt regulations to conserve their biological resources. In this context, as stated in the NEAP: "the Government is committed to saving biodiversity, studying biodiversity and using biodiversity sustainably and equitably. The Government is also aware of the need to ensure that the ownership of intellectual property rights, including knowledge and customary and traditional practices of local people, is adequately and effectively protected. However, to date, Guyana lacks specific legislation to facilitate such actions."

Although our wealth in biological diversity is unquestionable, there is a general paucity of information on its exact nature and extent. However, some 8,000 species of flora, of which half are endemic, have been identified in the biogeographic Guiana region. Guyana provides habitats for a variety of fauna and is deemed to have one of the richest mammalian faunas of any comparably sized area in the world. There are nearly 1,200 vertebrates, of which 728 are birds, 198 mammals, 137 reptiles and 105 amphibians. Of these, CITES currently lists 44 as in danger of extinction. The avifauna in its habitat in the widespread rain and seasonal forests is known to be rich. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of data about the country's reptiles, amphibians and fish; only three surveys approved by CITES have been done in the past ten years: two for caimans and one for boid snakes.

Guyana's forests have abundant wildlife, but there are no reliable population surveys of commercial and other species. Therefore, there is no measurement of whether wildlife harvests exceed sustainable levels, nor whether and when closed harvest seasons should be established annually for commercial species. Wildlife exports were estimated at US$800,000 in 1992, mostly from the sale of birds, particularly parrots and macaws. Guyana is the fifth largest exporter of birds in the world. Besides the seventeen authorised exporters of wildlife, the trade is a major source of income for thousands of trappers (mostly Amerindians), intermediaries, carpenters who build holding stations, cages and export boxes, and farmers who provide food for the birds and animals. Operating without the benefit of population or biological surveys, Government devised, with CITES and the World Trade Monitoring Unit, an empirical export licence formula to set export quotas.

In December 1992, Government decided not to issue any licences for wildlife exports in 1993 as a prelude to passage of the Conservation of Wildlife Bill. Despite a general lack of public awareness about wildlife issues, there is a strong lobby in and outside Guyana against the wildlife trade, a trade that generates considerable export revenues as well as domestic income and employment. Government has put in place a system for training wardens and monitoring the wildlife trade, in order to fully comply with the pertinent international conventions. Arrangements also have been made with the San Diego Wildlife Park for continuing assistance in this area. Given these advances, Government decided to lift the wildlife export ban in September 1995.

The sand and shell beaches between the Moruka river mouth and Waini Point on the northwest coast are the nesting grounds for four species of marine turtles: the leatherback, Dermochelys coriaceae; the hawksbill, Eretmochelys imbricata; the olive ridley, Lepidochelys olivacea and the green turtle, Chelonia mydas. Despite legislation to protect the turtles, intensive exploitation of the turtles and their eggs for food has resulted in ever decreasing populations and the threat of their extinction. To protect the turtles, Government has required that turtle exclusion devices (TEDs) be installed on shrimp nets. In addition, the Government will work with communities of artisanal fisherman to help them develop economic alternatives to hunting turtles and their eggs, and to educate them in the vulnerability of the turtle population to that kind of predation.

Studies on various topics related to biodiversity have been conducted in specific areas by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Conservation International, the Smithsonian Institute, Global 2000, and the U.K. Natural Resources Institute. Most of these studies emphasize the need for an established system of national parks, by which the extensive biodiversity resources can be nurtured and protected.

3. National Parks and Protected Areas

Government is committed to ensuring the integrity of forest systems, the conservation and protection of selected forest areas with high species diversity as genetic reservoirs for the future, the allocation of outstanding natural areas for recreational purposes, and the preservation of the country's historical and cultural heritage. This commitment is confirmed in the NEAP. The National Parks Commission Act of 1977 gives management authority to the National Parks Commission (NPC), but the NPC is under-funded and more oriented to urban recreational parks.

The Protected Areas project in the NFAP was given high priority and pledges of funding at the international round-table in February 1993. Such a system will incorporate ongoing work to identify the places of special natural, scientific, and cultural interest. The NFAP calls for the protection of the Kaieteur National Park and 14 other natural areas, including a biosphere reserve in the southwest (for which a Guyana Biosphere Reserve Bill has already been drafted) and a World Heritage Site at Mt. Roraima. Conservation International completed a rapid assessment of the Kanuku mountains and the EEC financed a study for the creation of a protected area in the Kanuku Mountains and adjoining savanna areas of the Rupununi region. Consultations with Amerindian communities in these areas will be ongoing as their involvement and agreement will be critical to the success of these protected zones.

Kaieteur National Park is the only legally established protected area in the country. Legislation establishing Kaieteur was passed in 1929 and the Kaieteur National Park Act of 1973 provides the legal framework for its constitution and management. With no land-use planning in effect, the park is not demarcated on the ground and only one park ranger safeguards the ecological integrity of the entire protected area. As presently constituted, the park comprises the falls, the greater part of the gorge below, and part of the Potaro river above the falls to the south. Currently, the designated area counts with only minimal infrastructure. Full authority over the park is not clearly defined as the GGMC, GFC, and the Land and Surveys Commission each have different responsibilities in the park.

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E. Watersheds

Forest cover in the watersheds helps the infiltration of rainwater into the ground which then charges aquifers; the forest cover protects against flash flooding and soil erosion. Some forest cover has been lost to competing activities, such as bauxite mining, agriculture, and harvesting of fuelwood and poles. The watersheds in the coastal plain and in the sandy rolling lands that supply the conservancies have not been protected or managed for water production. The forests nearest to urban centres and the coast have been heavily exploited for fuelwood by household and industrial users and have also suffered repeated wildfires from charcoal and agricultural production. The wallaba (eperua) forest of the White Sands peneplain, which has been harvested for telephone and electricity poles, has been degraded to such an extent that regeneration of the original dry evergreen forest is virtually nonexistent. As much as 200,000 hectares are believed to be unable to regenerate spontaneously.

Most of the water courses from the watersheds are also subject to competing demands: for drinking and irrigation water and as receptacles for domestic and industrial waste. Consequently, much of the coastal plain's supply of potable and irrigation water is believed to be polluted. Deforestation may also explain the more frequent and less predictable flooding of the coastal plain. While no clear picture emerges of the extent of the deforestation, potential pressures from logging could have serious consequences for the critical watersheds unless preventive measures are taken ahead of time.

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F. Mining

1. Overview

Until 1994 bauxite was the most important subsector in the mining industry, contributing about 8 percent of GDP and 38 percent of merchandise exports. The previously privately-owned Linden and Berbice bauxite operations were nationalised in the mid-seventies. With the change of policies towards a market-oriented economy, Government has begun to enter into joint venture operations and encourage private investment in the sector. Despite the lack of promise of some bauxite operations, the mining sector has potential for further development and could be a source of enhanced revenues and employment, particularly in gold and diamonds.

The exploitation of economic minerals is currently limited to bauxite, gold, alluvial deposits of diamonds, and some silica sand. Some gold mines, a manganese mine, and an alumina refinery are no longer in operation. Two previously issued licences for offshore and inland petroleum prospecting did not yield useful results, but new licences were issued in the latter part of 1995. Except for the large-scale operation at Omai, private sector mining consists mostly of small operators exploiting limited tracts for gold and diamonds. Despite their considerable potential, official gold and diamonds exports amounted to only US $15 million in 1990, or 6 percent of total official exports. This estimate may rise as a result of Government's recent success in cracking down on illegal gold exports. The current improved policy regime for foreign investors and the establishment of a more realistic price for gold purchased by the Gold Board have resulted in several agreements with large firms for increased exploitation and in a higher level of declared gold production by small scale miners, and this trend is expected to continue.

Given the vast scale of our natural resources and the relative isolation of the mining activities from major population centers, the environmental impact of these activities initially was thought to be localised, but concern about the environmental impacts from the various mining activities has heightened with the recent cyanide spill at Omai. Impacts are different for each of the mining subsectors and they vary between large and small scale gold projects, and between early and more recent bauxite projects. The large bauxite projects were initiated at time when an environmental impact assessment (EIA) was not a mandatory requirement and when no constraints whatsoever were imposed by environmental regulation and inspection. The licencing system for small scale gold and diamond mining activities does not impose any regulatory controls. Both the large and small operations have the sole objective of maximising profits, without concern for the natural resources consumed or affected by the activity. Standard techniques to prevent pollution have not been applied and mitigatory measures have largely been bypassed.

Data with which to quantify the extent and severity of the impacts is lacking for every activity. No monitoring has been performed and, therefore, no quantification of the environmental impacts is available. Where an EIA has been submitted by the investor and approved by Government, environmental impacts could be prevented or mitigated appropriately. Government, however, has had limited capacity to monitor compliance to date.

2. Water Pollution and River Degradation

Degradation of rivers and streams and pollution of surface and ground waters result from all the mining activities. Different point sources of water contamination and river degradation can be identified, but, given the absence of environmental monitoring, other point and non-point sources of pollution could well exist. Because of the absence of environmental controls, the extent and severity of the pollution and degradation cannot be quantified or, even, always qualified. Furthermore, Government agencies are not equipped to monitor and analyse water samples, particularly for chemical contamination. Examples of water pollution and river degradation that cause concern include:

- Earlier discharges of residual cyanide into the Omai River.

- The recent failure of the tailings dam at Omai with a consequent discharge of large amounts of cyanide into waterways, killing aquatic life in the Omai River.

- The tailings dam at LINMINE that discharges decant water with a pH of 4.5, via the local stream, into the Demerara river.

- The release of mercury via the washing process in small scale gold operations.

- Sedimentation in the Berbice River from the canal at the Aroaima project.

- The use of "missile dredges" in the Essequibo River basin, which have a devastating effect on the forest and river areas in which they operate, causing: destruction of river banks and pollution of rivers from the chemicals used in the extraction process and from the diesel fuel used to run the dredging machines. Such impacts on the Potaro river are threatening the pristine environment of the Kaieteur Falls, the only legally established protected area.

3. Land Degradation

Land degradation from mining operations takes several forms. Around the bauxite mines the waste dumps, residual lakes, and tailings dams have high levels of acidity. Acid leaches into ground and river waters, and prevents natural revegetation that would contain the dust. The bauxite tailings dam at LINMINE needs to be stabilised and revegetated to prevent this situation. In addition, during its operating life, the alumina refinery at LINMINE discharged approximately three million tonnes of red mud, the waste product from the pressurised vats that contains large quantities of caustic soda, into a tailings or settling pond next to the refinery. No information is available about leachate from the stored red mud, but fear that contamination has occurred is realistic.

4. Air quality

Quantities of particulate matter are released from bauxite calcining burners and drying processes via the stacks and, at Linden, is blown by prevailing winds directly over the resident population (about 50-70,000 people). In addition, the fuel used for the calcine burners at LINMINE has a high sulphur content resulting in the release of sulphur dioxide. The frequent incidence of lung diseases and asthma in Linden is assumed to be related to the emissions from the stacks.

The mined-out pits, excavated lakes and ponds, and silica sand dumps, have not been rehabilitated or revegetated at either LINMINE or BERMINE and these increase the ambient dust levels. Quantities of fugitive dust are also produced from transshipment of bauxite from the mine to the coast.

5. Health Issues

In addition to the health problems described above for the general population, "flour gold" mining poses very high potential health risks of mercury poisoning to miners, both from absorption through the skin and inhalation of the volatile fumes.

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G. Land and Agriculture

Land issues do not exclusively affect agriculture, but their impact on this sector directly affects production levels.

1. Land

About half of the available land for agricultural production is the property of the State. This land is leased to producers. Constraints in the surveying capacity of the Lands and Surveys Commission has led to considerable backlogs in the processing of lease applications. As a result, many leases granted are provisional or temporary. Insecurity of tenure may encourage producers to strive for short-term profit maximisation, which may intensify exploitation of the land beyond its carrying capacity. Furthermore, the current duration of leases is typically 25 years. This does not provide enough incentive for the leaseholder to make long term investments to sustain the productivity of the land. In addition, nontradeable leases of 25 years or less are not of sufficient length for leaseholders to access credit from commercial banks to make such investments. These problems have been addressed in the new agricultural land policy which will make leases longer in duration and freely transferable. See Chapter 29 of this Strategy.

The level of rents for State land remained static for many years despite strong inflation in the economy. Although Cabinet has taken the important step of adjusting rents to more closely reflect market values, it is apparent that land rents remain highly subsidised. Such distortions in the land market lead to the mis-allocation of resources and land may be left idle or utilised with minimal re-investment. The existing system of controls on private land rents also has encouraged leaving land idle, but this question too is addressed in Chapter 29.

2. Agriculture

The most serious environmental impact of agricultural activities is non-point pollution of land and water from runoff that contains sediment, fertilisers and pesticides. Although fertiliser use is lower than in other countries because of economic constraints, urea and phosphates lead to nutrient loading and lime is used to counteract acidity in the soils during sugar planting. Pesticide and herbicide use leads to dangerous chemical loading, particularly since local farmers are untrained in their use. With the introduction of a market economy, private sector chemical firms are providing extension services to farmers that include sales of pesticides and other agricultural inputs, which is likely to increase their use. Aerial spraying of pesticides in both sugar and rice fields is believed to have drifted to other areas of the coastal zone.

The only monitoring done in agriculture is through the MMA-ADA project, essentially a large river control project in the coastal zone, that has resulted in dramatically improved production levels for agriculture and rice, in particular. This project (which has IDB financing) is one of the few operations with an Environmental Monitoring and Control Unit. This unit has identified the major adverse impacts to be: the widespread growth of the water hyacinth, stimulated by increased nutrients, and the reduced flow of the Abary river, which clogs the drains and waterways and further slows water movement. The reduced river flow has resulted in siltation, particularly at the mouth of the river, where a large mudbank has formed that requires dredging. Other impacts have included eutrophication and loss of trees.

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H. Fisheries

Fishing activities are concentrated on the continental shelf and to a minimal level on the continental slope. There is little activity in the offshore area and the potential of the coastal and oceanic pelagics are not well known. Various estimates of the magnitude of the standing stock and potential yields from these resources have been attempted. Shrimp production has been declining at a significant rate since 1974 (Chapter 31). The decline followed a period in the in the 1960s and 1970s when the size of the shipping fleet in the Guiana Banks numbered more than 700 vessels and, in the view of most fishery scientists, represented excessive fishing effort. Reduced landings also followed the establishment of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) by most countries. Data from the Department of Fisheries indicate that fewer than seventy (70) shrimp trawlers out of a fleet of approximately ninety (90) are currently fishing. Some trawlers have turned to a smaller species, the seabob, which is found further inshore, and now in turn, may be overexploited. Despite serious development efforts in the past, aquaculture is still in its infancy, although it has significant growth potential.

One of the most pressing issues in inland fisheries is the need to protect waterways and habitats from environmentally damaging practices associated with the expansion of mining and forestry operations. Pollution from mining activities and the use of chemicals and pesticides threaten these resources. Aerial spraying with pesticides in the coastal zone may have affected the hassarfish populations.

The Government is currently reviewing a Fisheries Management Plan that provides for management of the fisheries over ten years and has established new fisheries policies in Chapter 31 of this Strategy. Fisheries legislation that dates from 1957 will be updated.

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I. Ecotourism

Ecotourism has been defined as tourism which maximises the benefits and minimises the costs (environmental, social, economic and cultural) to the destination country and to specific areas within that country. Although our natural resources compare favourably with those of competing destinations and its rock engravings and paintings from the pre-Columbian era enhance the natural assets, the ecotourism potential is still untapped. The private sector has to date provided some accommodation services, but the physical infrastructure required to transport tourists is quite limited. Plans for sharing the benefits of ecotourism with Amerindian populations have not yet been developed.

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J. Waste Management and Pollution Control

Nowhere is the deterioration of the infrastructure for managing sewage and solid waste more evident than in Georgetown. Furthermore, runoff from agricultural activities discharges sediment and inputs, such as fertilisers and pesticides, into rivers and coastal waters, and is presumed to enter the defective water supply systems during flooding. Industrial activities in the coastal zone discharge untreated wastewater into water courses. There is no monitoring of these impacts but the incidence of health problems suggests that improper management of wastes poses serious environmental and public health problems nationwide. Addressing these problems will be one of the main responsibilities of the new EPA.

1. Liquid Waste

Proper disposal of sewage is the primary liquid waste management issue. Georgetown is the only city served by a communal sewerage system. The main sewerage system, built between 1924 and 1929, services around 648 hectares in central Georgetown, containing approximately one-third of the city's population (about 80,000 people). The old gravity-piped sewerage system discharges to 24 pumping stations around the city. Power outages, aging pumps and solid waste dumping interfere with continuous flow through the system, which discharges an estimated 3.9 million gallons of untreated sewage per day through an outfall into the mouth of the Demerara River. The University of Guyana and the Tucville area outside Georgetown also have sewer systems, but neither has an operating treatment plant at this time. The remaining population of greater Georgetown and the other major communities are served by septic tanks and pit latrines, which overflow from time to time to ditches and storm channels, causing foul odours, unsightly conditions and severe endemic mosquito problems. More serious is the potential for contaminated surface water from storm channels to enter drinking water mains at times of low or negative pressure and during flood conditions.

In rural areas, septic tanks and pit latrines are commonly used for sewage disposal. Septic tanks employ a filter box for dispersing tank effluent into the soil to a depth that depends on the level of the water table. Pit latrines, if properly covered and maintained, can provide adequate sewage disposal for rural areas without a pipe-borne water supply.

2. Solid Waste

Solid waste disposal practices have not kept pace with the demands posed by increases in population and waste generation. Municipal solid waste management in Georgetown, more than elsewhere, suffers from years of under-funding. According to recent data, Georgetown generates approximately 50 tons of solid waste per day. Recently the city has had to use contractor vehicles for waste collection because of a lack of city garbage trucks. The contractor often interrupts the waste collection services because its fees are not paid for lack of funds. A common practice throughout the city is the dumping of waste in nearby public areas and vacant lots rather than at official dump sites. The resulting waste pollution and open decomposition, and also drain clogging, is a common sight in all city districts.

Georgetown has an old waste incinerator, used principally for disposal of hospital wastes, which is currently operating at only 10 percent of capacity. Because of its location in the city and the costs of rehabilitation, it may be necessary to abandon the incinerator and simply use the site as a transfer station. Otherwise, most of the city's solid waste is disposed in temporary, poorly designed landfills sited at various locations around the city. These makeshift urban landfills are shallow excavated trenches, backfilled with solid waste, and covered with soil by earthmoving equipment. Their current operation cause foul odours and problems of wind-blown waste. There are no controls on the waste that is dumped in the landfill and leachate from the landfill is believed to be entering the high water table underlying the city.

In the communities of Linden and New Amsterdam, municipal waste disposal is handled by open dumping and burning. No facility design or operating procedures are followed for these sites. Both air and ground-water pollution are cause for concern. However, no monitoring is currently done.

3. Agricultural Wastes

Animal wastes from pigs, cattle, and poultry are good for soil conditioning if properly managed. Nevertheless, they may cause pollution problems if runoff is allowed to enter streams and rivers, or to percolate into groundwater, as happens in the coastal zone. As livestock farms continue to develop, proper measures should be encouraged for the lagooning of animal waste, the use of solids to condition soils and of properly treated effluent to irrigate fields.

4. Industrial and Other Wastes

Very little is known about industrial waste management. Currently no reliable data are available on the quantity, characteristics, and management practices for industrial liquid and solid wastes. Industrial solid wastes, which may include hazardous waste constituents, are generally trucked to the land disposal site in Georgetown. There is currently little monitoring or control over industrial waste disposal. GAHEF has recently begun to characterise industrial pollution on the assumption that disposal practices for industrial effluents pose environmental hazards and that proper management systems for these wastes must be introduced. GAHEF has recently assembled some information on industrial waste generated and the pollutants of potential concern. Table 18-1 shows this information.

Table 18-1

Sources of Industrial Waste in Guyana

INDUSTRY	NUMBER	POTENTIAL POLLUTANTS
Sawmills	66	BOD, dust
Food processing	47	BOD, phosphates, solids, dust, pathogens
Detergents/soaps	9	BOD, phosphates, caustics
Metalworking/foundry	8	Heavy metals, solids
Sugar refinery	7	BOD, solids, caustics, phosphates
Chemical/pharmaceutical	6	Acids, alkalies, phosphates, solids
Distilleries/breweries	5	BOD, phosphates, thermal
Plastics	4	CFCs, solids

Ship-generated wastes, which can be considerable in CARICOM islands with a strong tourism industry and regular visits from cruise lines, contribute minimally to waste in Guyana. The port in Georgetown handles mostly cargo boats and the solid waste is removed in bags and trucked to the Georgetown land disposal site. More of a concern is hospital waste (pathological, chemical, infectious, and pharmaceutical waste), which is currently bagged in plastic after separation and is collected and trucked to the Georgetown incinerator.

5. Environmental and Public Health Impacts from Improper Waste Management

An assessment of the impacts of improper environmental and natural resource management practices reveals many areas that have potentially high negative impacts on human health and the environment. Current sewage disposal practices appear to cause faecal contamination of drinking water sources. Pollution of surface and ground water also has serious impacts on fisheries resources in coastal and marine waters, which then enters the food chain for the human population. In addition, the agricultural runoff which ultimately enters the coastal zone may contribute potentially significant pollutants in the form of increased biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and nutrient enrichment. Such pollution may have serious impacts on aquatic and marine life and any contamination of drinking water from this runoff would impact human health. Untreated industrial effluents discharged into nearby canals and rivers will affect the quality of drinking water if not rapidly dissolved.

Lack of management of solid waste poses serious health threats. One primary concern is the increase in diseases carried by rats and vermin from solid waste dumps. Contamination of ground and surface water by leachate from solid waste dumps is likely. Where solid waste is burned as part of the disposal process, air pollution may pose a threat to the surrounding area.

Only limited water quality monitoring is done for drinking water sources (i.e., surface and ground waters) and no testing is done of rivers and coastal waters. Nevertheless, as noted, one significant indicator of the environmental health problem is the increase in the incidence of environmental diseases. Health data show that the population suffers from environment-related diseases, identified in Table 18-2, that are transmitted to humans from contaminated water, food, or soil.

Table 18-2

Environment-related Diseases

TRANSMISSION	DISEASES
Water-borne	Cholera, dysentery, gastroenteritis, and typhoid
Food-borne	Dysentery, gastroenteritis, and infectious hepatitis
Soil-borne	Hookworm

Other diseases that afflict the population are transmitted by common vectors that are directly influenced by environmental conditions. These are shown in the following table.

Table 18-3

Vector Transmitted Diseases

VECTOR	DISEASES
Mosquito	Dengue, filariasis, malaria, and yellow fever
Snail	Schistosomiasis

Recent health statistics show increases in the number of reported cases of malaria and a high mortality rate, especially in the interior. The increases in cases of gastroenteritis reflect poor conditions in water supply and sanitation, as does the outbreak of cholera along the border with Venezuela. In total, water-borne diseases are estimated to have risen more than fourfold over the last decade. In addition, the infant mortality rate is the highest in CARICOM.

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K. Private Sector Environmental Impacts

Because of both the increased public scrutiny of private sector developers and the environmental requirements of the international lending institutions, corporations that have obtained large forestry and mining concessions are increasingly required to introduce environmental protection standards in their operations. Currently, though, the capacity to monitor their compliance with these standards does not exist. Small scale private sector investors engage in gold mining but also in logging and sawmilling activities, as well as in agriculture and fishing, and there are few controls on their activities.

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L. Cultural Resources

The National Trust Act of 1972 legislates the preservation of historical and cultural areas. A National Trust Committee (NTC) has functioned sporadically since 1972. The NTC receives no funds from the Government and has no funds of its own. The NTC is assisted, though, by the Guyana Heritage Society (GHS) that has just completed a list of the material and immaterial heritage, some of which is in the putative national parks. The unprioritised list comprises buildings in the city of Georgetown, items of archeological and zoological interest in the Rupununi, places of beauty, nesting places of birds, burial mounds, graves and domains of pioneers, churches and missions, and Amerindian burial urns. The fiscal crisis has prevented architectural conservation measures being enforced in Georgetown, which, if done, could enhance the city's value as a cultural asset and a tourist attraction.

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M. Public Awareness

The level of public awareness about environmental issues has risen significantly in the wake of incidents such as the Omai cyanide spill. Sources for increasing public environmental awareness, i.e., public education and community outreach efforts by both Government and NGOs, have recently begun to be put in place.

The Environment Unit has a limited but active environmental education programme that functions under the supervision of a trained Environmental Officer, and it will be strengthened under the new Environmental Protection Agency. The programme has included a 20-minute television show, daily radio broadcasts on environmental issues, and two-day seminars on environmental awareness for primary and secondary school teachers. The Environment Unit has drawn up a five-year, multifaceted environmental education programme, including school curriculum changes, public outreach campaigns, etc., but it has not begun implementation for lack of financial resources. The Health Education Unit of the Georgetown City Council, helped by the Environment Unit, is also very active in this field, arranging lectures and competitions between schools, etc. The personnel working in this area is knowledgeable and doing the best it can with limited resources.

The University of Guyana (UG) provides several environment-related courses within some of its programmes in the Physical Sciences. UG offers an Environmental Health Officers Diploma, a three-year programme that includes courses in environmental studies, epidemiology, public health, water, sewerage, and solid waste management. With support from the European Community, UG has recently established an Environmental Studies Unit, which offers a four-year undergraduate programme in environmental studies. Carried out jointly with the University of Utrecht in Holland and funded by the EEC, the new programme will establish physical facilities and provide a core of trained staff for UG to undertake teaching, environmental research, and consultancies.

Our environmental NGO movement is still in an embryonic stage and is only beginning to play a role in public education and advocacy on environmental issues. There are currently fewer than ten NGOs with an interest in environmental matters. Though limited in number, these NGOs have been involved mainly in the monitoring of the actions of companies in the areas of forestry and mining. The most common contribution of all the NGOs is in the area of public awareness and environmental education. Again, the Omai spill inadvertently gave these efforts a considerable boost.

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II. Policies for Management of Natural Resources and Protection of the Environment

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A. Past Evolution of Policies

Guyana is still well endowed with natural resources. Maintenance of the resource base has been less a result of planning and direct action, than of low use because of the relatively small population and the size of the country. The pervasive fiscal crisis that led to the deterioration of the social and economic infrastructure and that undermined public sector institutions, constrained Government's ability to manage natural resources and the environment. There has not been any legislation specifically designed to address natural resource management issues comprehensively. Responsibility for environmental matters has been divided among a number of line ministries and special Government agencies and between the national and local levels of government.

In 1989 international assistance was received for the preparation of the National Forestry Action Plan and in 1992 with the preparation of a first "Environmental Profile" for the UNCED Conference. The first comprehensive policy statement about environmental issues evolved as recently as 1994, through the preparation and Parliamentary approval of the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP).

The principles contained in the NEAP were based on Guyana's experience internationally and as a CARICOM member. This national policy was guided by the United Nations Environment Programme, which represents the multilateral framework within which international environmental issues are pursued at the global level, in keeping with the "Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and Beyond," as adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1987. Additionally, it took into consideration several regional declarations on sound environmental management and sustainable development. These include the Caribbean Environmental Health Strategy (1978), the Action Plan for the Caribbean Environment Programme (1981), the Declaration of Brasilia (1989), the Amazon Declaration (1989), and the Port-of-Spain Accord on the Management and Conservation of the Caribbean Environment (1989).

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B. Current Policies, Legislation and Institutions

This section describes the present status of policies, legislation and institutions relating to the management of natural resources.

1. Environmental Policies

The NEAP states that "in order to conserve and improve the environment, the Government of Guyana will endeavor to:

• Assure all people living in the country the fundamental right to an environment adequate for their health and well-being.

• Achieve a balance between the use and conservation of the nation's resources to meet the needs of economic development and improved standards of living.

• Conserve and use the environment and natural resources of Guyana for the benefit of both present and future generations, based on the principle of the exercise of sovereignty.

• Maintain ecosystems and ecological processes essential for the functioning of the biosphere to preserve biological diversity and to observe the principle of optimum sustainable yield in the use of renewable natural resources and ecosystems, both on land and the sea."

In order to fulfill these objectives, the same document also states that the Government will:

• Institute punitive measures to deter possible violations of environmental norms.

• Ensure that, where environmental damage occurs, remedial action will be taken with the cost being covered by those responsible for causing the damage.

• Rehabilitate damaged ecosystems where possible and reverse any degradation of the environment.

• Ensure prior environmental assessments of proposed activities that may significantly affect the environment.

• Ensure that conservation is treated as an integral part of the planning and implementation of development activities.

• Promote the pursuance of international cooperation on environmental issues.

• Raise the consciousness of the population on the environmental implications of economic and social activities through comprehensive education and public awareness programs.

• Involve the population, including indigenous peoples, women and youth, in the management of the environment and natural resources.

2. Legislation

To date, there is no legislation designed for natural resource management and environmental protection. Nevertheless, a number of existing laws address specific aspects of environmental management, as discussed below.

a. Natural Resources

The basic Forests Act is 40 years old and many of its provisions, including penalties, are outdated. The wildlife legislation needs modernising. The only law governing the terrestrial wildlife is the Wild Birds Protection Act. There is no specific legislation for establishing national parks and protected areas or that is directed to shorezone management. However, various measures exist which relate to the management of coastal and marine resources, particularly fisheries (the Fisheries Act), aquatic life (the Aquatic Wildlife Control Regulations), and the shoreline (the Sea Defences Act).

b. Environmental Protection

Recent laws governing exploitation of non-renewable natural resources contain general authority for environmental protection. For example, under the Mining Act, the Guyana Natural Resources Agency is developing "environmental management agreements" for mining licensees. Also, the Petroleum Act imposes waste management and clean up requirements on polluters. There is no legislation governing pollution control, regulation of pesticides and toxic chemicals, or waste management. The main measures dealing with air and water pollution and solid waste control are the antiquated water supply, drainage, sanitary and nuisance provisions of the Public Health Ordinance. The Georgetown Sewerage and Water Commissioners Act provides for the disposal of sewage and prohibits the disposal of anything other than sewage and paper into the city's sewers. However, the Act does not define the term "sewage" so at present it is unclear whether industrial wastewater may be disposed of in the sewers.

c. Land Use Planning

The Town and Country Planning Act provides machinery for physical development planning and land use control. Under the Act, development schemes may be prepared for cities, towns, and other areas. Such schemes may provide for preservation of areas of natural beauty, forest, trees and plants, and for regulation of waste disposal. The Act provides for public participation in the planning process before any scheme is approved. However, Georgetown is the only area with an approved scheme. The Act also provides for the interim control of development in declared planning areas, and, to date, seven areas have been declared. However, at present there is no requirement that EIAs be carried out for proposed developments.

d. Institutions

(i) National Institutions

At the national level, the Ministries of Health and Agriculture share environmental responsibilities. The Ministry of Health has authority over environmental health and pollution control, which it exercises through the Environmental Health Unit and the Regional Environmental Health Services. It also has jurisdiction over the National Parks Commission (NPC). The Ministry of Agriculture exercises management responsibility over much of the natural resource base through the Land and Surveys Commission that administers State lands; the Crops and Livestock Department, that is responsible for wildlife protection; the Fisheries Department, which oversees fisheries and aquatic wildlife; the Hydraulics Division, which is in charge of sea defences, drainage and irrigation works; the Hydrometeorology Division, which monitors surface and ground water resources; and the MMA-Agricultural Development Authority, which manages and monitors the agricultural development of West Coast Berbice.

The following special agencies were created to deal with specific environment matters:

1. ⁰The 1995 Group of various businesses that trade in wood products in Europe is committed to using eventually only timber from sustainable producers. In the United States changes are proposed to the national building code that would require builders to use timber from well-managed sources.

2. ⁰Guyana has already received one GEF grant for Iwokrama and has requested a second one to establish a system of National Parks and Protected Areas (see below).