CIDA gives UG $20M for mined out sites

Jul 23, 2011 News

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The University of Guyana, Faculty of Agriculture received a $20M boost from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) yesterday.
The sum is part of a Contribution Agreement valued at C’dn$100,000 signed between the two institutions for one year in order to fund the Post Plantation Management of Acacia on mined out sites at Madhia.
Speaking for CIDA was Mr. Raymond Drouin, Head of Development Cooperation,Guyana and Suriname for the Agency. He noted that his Agency is pleased to be in partnership with the Faculty of Agriculture in this particular venture which he said was built on past work done in this particular area of research and which has significant development benefits for the areas.
Mining and mineral processing are major contributors to Guyana’s economy. The mining industry is responsible for some level of deforestation and degradation of forested areas in Guyana. Previously, the Guyana Environment Capacity Development Project (GENCAPD) and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) conducted work on the rehabilitation of mined out sites.
This work was done in collaboration with the University of Guyana where approximately 1,000 or more Acacia (Acacia mangium) seedlings were planted. The seedlings need to be monitored and managed in order to ensure their survivability and sustainability.
This therefore created the necessity of undertaking this second phase project which looks at the continued monitoring, management and evaluation of this plantation that was established in Madhia.
It is not however the only component of the project, according to the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Lawrence Lewis. The students and Faculty that will be undertaking the project are also expected to employ the use of bio-char to restore the fertility of the soil in the area.
Bio-char is an alternative to charcoal that adds to soil fertility without the use of fertilisers and has a reduced impact in terms of carbon emissions.
Drouin noted that the project will not only see the students participating in practical experiments allowing them to make the most of their knowledge but it will also allow them to do work that will benefit communities that are around mined out sites.
According to Mr. Lewis the project is a very unique one because it will see the research and practical work complementing each other with tangible benefits being derived for the community near the project site.
It was also noted that the project can be a model to be replicated in other mined-out sites near or within communities. According to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), there are at least five communities that have mined out sites. These are Jawalla, Isserenu, Maicobe, Kariaku and Chinese Landing.
It was also highlighted by CIDA that the University will partner with the GGMC in monitoring the area that has been considered mined-out and is intended for rehabilitation. The GGMC will work collaboratively in the execution of this project in order to gain and improve knowledge on the silvicultural and monitoring aspect of plantation forestry systems to rehabilitate mined-out sites.
The information generated will be used to assist the GGMC in developing a new strategy to deal with mined-out areas and areas to be put under mining.
Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University, Dr. Marlene Cox, said that the project fits very easily into the framework for the national Low Carbon Development Strategy and also into the University’s own strategic plans to conduct research that is pertinent to national issues and needs, particularly in science and technology.
She also noted that the University would be looking forward to learning from the results of the project and seeing the follow ups that would come out of the exercise.
In a CIDA release it was given that the CIDA-funded Guyana Environmental Capacity Development Project Phase II (GENCAPD II) was implemented with a budget of a $2.2 million by CANMET, an agency of Natural Resources Canada.
Phase II of the GENCAPD mining project is required to consolidate and sustain achievements of Phase I, which was oriented toward capacity building for environmental management in the mining sector, in addition to undertaking activities beyond the scope of Phase I which saw the planting of the Acacia on a mined out site at Mahdia.
There are also provisions for the education of local community representatives at the technical level on farming after land reclamation and the exportation of exotic aquarium fish as well as reducing poverty by generating opportunities for exporting these fishes by Amerindian communities.

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