We are ‘fed up’ of water pollution

Dec 23, 2013 News

– Kamarang residents

“Our water is polluted and nobody seems to care.”
This sentiment is shared by the majority of people living in Kamarang, Region Seven.
During a recent visit to the area by this newspaper, residents complained that miners have been continuously disregarding the rules attached to conducting mining operations, causing the main rivers to become polluted.

One of the many rivers in Guyana that provides an abundance of water.

“This is a major problem for us. We use the river water to do everything- cook, clean, drink…these miners are dredging near the main waterways. All the waste materials going into our water and it isn’t safe,” a teacher of the Kamarang Primary School said.
The woman noted that it has become an annoyance that illegal miners are continuously setting up operations near the community, and are mining in a manner that is life-threatening to over 500 persons, the majority of whom are children below the age of 13.
“We have been battling with this issue for a long time, but it’s getting worse, and if it continues, the villagers will be in serious problems health wise,” the teacher said.
She added that the miners should at least cater for the children who have their whole lives ahead, and who are at risk for water-borne diseases.
Meanwhile, Guyana has recently been selected as the only Caribbean country to be a part of the UN Water Country Brief survey, which is aimed at ensuring that the resource is sustainably managed.
In this initial stage, 13 countries are beneficiaries to a profile study series carried out by the UN-Water Country Briefs (WCBs).
Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy was provided with a six-page Brief, which details the country’s water profile; water-related investment flow, evidence and analysis on the state of irrigated agriculture, drinking water and sanitation, environment and health energy, industry and water governance.
This study has been implemented by the AQUASTAT Programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), under the auspices of UN-Water, and with financial support from the United States Department of State.
In addition to providing an overview of the countries’ water system, the WCB is also designed to demonstrate to policymakers the value of investments in water resources.
Apart from Guyana, WCBs have been produced for Bangladesh, Chile, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Mongolia, Oman, Philippines, United Republic of Tanzania, Vietnam, and Zambia.
FAO representative, Dr. Lystra Fletcher-Paul pointed out that water is becoming scarce, and that many countries are pumping more than is recharged.
She pointed out that it is because of this that decision makers and policy making bodies need to have access to reliable information to allow for the formulation of effective, corrective and preventative strategies.
Thus far, there has not been a national overview of the water system in Guyana, hence the birth of the WCBs, which is expected to fill the gap in the water knowledge pool.
Fletcher-Paul also expressed hope that this initiative will help to further increase political momentum.
Meanwhile, Minister Ramsammy acknowledged that while the world faces this challenge, Guyana remains in a better position than the vast majority of countries, due to the local abundance of water.
Dr. Ramsammy pointed out that Guyana is ranked among the top three countries in the world as it relates to water resources.
“We have access (if we can harness it) to water that is over 300,000 millimeters per capita whilst most countries are dealing with per capita access of less than 10,000,” the Minister explained.
However, he did point out that the irony of the situation is that Guyana can also go from having too much water to not having enough, almost instantaneously.
He said that while water is pumped into the sea during the rainy season, “we would want the water back when the dry season steps in.”
“ But we cannot take it back, because now it would be filled with salt and other things,” Dr. Ramsammy emphasized.