http://www.guyanachronicle.com
Wheeler hails UK/Guyana bio-diversity conservation cooperation
By Sarada Singh
<http://www.guyanachronicle.com
Wheeler presents in digital folder conservation seminar at Pegasus. British
High Commissioner to Guyana, Fraser Wheeler presents a representative from
the Ministry of Education Sean Mendonca the Wetlands School Pack. (Photo by:
Quacy Sampson)
BRITISH High Commissioner to Guyana, Mr. Fraser Wheeler has hailed the
milestone of the productive partnership between the United Kingdom (UK) and
Guyana in achieving the promises embodied within in the Convention on
Biological Diversity.
He was speaking Wednesday last at the ceremony to mark eight years of
Guyanese and British cooperation within the Darwin Initiative Wetlands
Project on conservation and development of its convention on biological
diversity.
To commemorate the occasion, a ceremony was held in the Savannah Suite of Le
Meridien Pegasus hotel which saw the presentation of project highlights and
discussion on the future of the North Rupununi Wetlands by prominent
individuals in conservation here.
Noting that biological resources support such diverse industries as
agriculture, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, horticulture,
construction and waste treatment, the High Commissioner said: "The loss of
biodiversity threatens our food supplies, opportunities for recreation and
tourism, and sources of wood, medicines and energy. It also interferes with
essential ecological functions such as natural flood control, and weakens
the ability to deal with natural disasters such as floods, droughts, and
hurricanes, and with human impacts, such as pollution and climate change."
He observed that already, countries such as the UK and Guyana are spending
huge sums in response to flood and storm damage; and such damage is expected
to increase due to global warming.
According to Wheeler, the UK is active in the world of bio-diversity at home
and abroad, and has the expertise and resources to help other countries
achieve their 2010 targets to halt the loss of bio-diversity.
He said the principal mechanism through which the UK supports other
countries in their obligation to the Convention on Biological Diversity is
through the Darwin Initiative.
The key objective of the Darwin Initiative is for the UK to work with local
partners in countries rich in bio-diversity but poor in resources to achieve
the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of its
components and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits. Since March 21,
2007, 458 projects have been supported, totalling an investment of around 60
million pounds, of which six of these are in Guyana.
At the ceremony the results of the North Rupununi Wetlands Project were
presented which include: teacher and student resources for primary schools,
community and environmental officer courses, and a postgraduate course on
wetland management for the University of Guyana, the 2008 edition of the
NRAMP, a study of the impact of NRAMP to date, the North Rupununi Tourist
Guide and maps, and the North Rupununi Community website.
Chairman of North Rupununi District Development Board during his
presentation advocated the development and sustainability of the North
Rupununi Wetlands.
"We need to ensure that our actions promote the continued ecosystem
stability, and that the uses that are undertaken are sustainable and the
benefits that are derived from such uses do not escape the people of the
North Rupununi Wetland area. We are cautious of mother nature's retribution
when her resources are exploited in an irresponsible way based on our and
the experiences of others," Andries posited.
He also pointed out the need for global understanding of the importance in
maintaining the appropriate balance in the way the North Rupununi Wetland
ecosystem works.
"We cannot do this alone, as we are not in isolation. As a country we need
to make the right decisions that will ensure that this rich place that is
the North Rupununi Wetlands continues to provide the services not just to
the people who live there, but also the wider Guyanese and global
population," he explained.
The key objective of the Darwin Initiative is to draw on expertise relevant
to bio-diversity from within the United Kingdom, to work with local partners
in countries rich in bio-diversity but poor in resources, to achieve the
conservation of biological diversity; the sustainable use of its components
and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits. Among the contributions of
the Wetlands Project was during the year 2003 the Darwin Initiative approved
funding for the North Rupununi project.
The project also allowed the UK's leading institutions for biodiversity
conservation and education which includes the Royal Holloway University of
London, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and the Open University to work in
partnership with Iwokrama, the North Rupununi District Development Board,
the University of Guyana, the Guyana Environmental Protection Agency and the
Ministry of Education.
The aims of the project were delivered in two phases with the first phase
implemented between 2003 and 2006 which involved assessing the health of
wetland habitats and communities in the North Rupununi, and developing a
process for the sustainable management of natural resources with the key
output of phase one being the North Rupununi Adaptative Management Process
(NRAMP).
Phase two implemented from 2006-2008, served to build capacity of Guyanese
stakeholders at both local and national level in executing the NRAMP process
by:
* significantly expanding the number of trained individuals in bio-diversity
monitoring and management;
* developing material for Guyanese university courses and schools to help
raise awareness of, and build capacity for, bio-diversity conservation;
* developing local, financially sustainable livelihood schemes, such as
eco-tourism, that have a linked objective to the bio-diversity monitoring
and conservation of key wetland habitats important to the local communities
No comments:
Post a Comment