Guyana pays US$3,500 to build one meter of sea defence

Jun 06, 2014 News

Guyana celebrated World Environment Day yesterday with stark warnings of the dangers of rising sea levels.
During World Environment Day observances at the Kingston seawall, Government increased calls for assistance to help battle some of the challenges.
Perhaps one of the biggest threats faced will be the billions of dollars in resources that will be required to shore up the river and sea defence systems.
According to Patricia Bacchus, Chairperson of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), scientists believe that the world’s oceans will rise by as much as six feet in the next 86 years, due to ice melting and thermal warming.

School children lend their voices in the fight against rising sea level, during observances of World Environment Day yesterday.

Public Works Minister, Robeson Benn, was even more real. This year, Guyana is getting almost $2B from the European Union, United Nations and the Caribbean Development Bank to battle the Atlantic Ocean.
This has been a major spending by Government in recent years as the main line of defence remains the aging, Dutch-built seawall that lined the coastland.
Stressing that Guyana will have to find ways to mitigate the footprints of rising sea levels, Benn said that it costs taxpayers US$3,500 to build one meter of sea defence.
This includes rip-rap or concrete. It is the plan to reduce this cost to US$2500 per meter.
With miles and miles of sea defence, Government officials have placed a US$1B price tag on any project to comprehensively fix the defence system.
Already, a number of steps have been taken, including a major pilot project to plant mangroves as a line of defence against the waves.
The strategic placement of geo-tubes is another measure. Another major cost is dredging which could go up to US$9 per meter.
The Public Works Minister also urged Guyana to change its attitude to garbage dumping as this too has been exacerbating the situation.
Guyana, he said, because of the threats from the sea level, has even mulled moving from the coastlands to higher lands.
Guyana is even sending its engineers to look at the Mississippi delta in the US, and countries like Holland and Bangladesh to learn from their systems.
The messages, with the back drop of the Atlantic Ocean, were in keeping with the theme, “Raise Your Voices, Not The Sea Level”.
According to UN Resident Coordinator, Roberto Campas, climate change has remained a major challenge with threats to trade and competitiveness.
His message was simple. “Planet earth is a shared island…Let us protect it.”
Environment Minister, Robert Persaud, said that it is a fact that small islands are finding it harder to deal with climate changes.
Almost 10 million people have become “climate refugees” because of the vagaries of the weather and rising sea levels.
The situation remains one of priority for Government.
The Minister also urged the international community to play a bigger role, both in terms of resources and technical assistance, in helping Guyana and other vulnerable, low-lying developing states.
Honoured during the observances were several organizations and schools for their environmental work.
Also honoured was the late Chairman of EPA, Ronald Webster, whose work in the environmental and business sectors was loudly applauded.