NRE sector saw “significant inputs and improvements” in 2014

Dec 31, 2014 News

The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment and its respective regulatory and supervisory agencies, in partnership with relevant stakeholders, reportedly performed well in 2014. According to the Government Information Agency, this was attributed to the governance of the sector and the protection of the environment as a result of significant inputs, expansion and improvement during the year.
GUYANA GEOLOGY AND MINES COMMISSION
Each of the nine areas under the purview of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission
(GGMC) showed marked advancement.

Shaking table for mercury-free gold recovery technology12

The Guyana Mining School and Training Centre Inc. trained in excess of 220 interested persons while the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative was employed to advance revenue transparency and accountability.
Under Support for Hinterland Infrastructure, the GGMC spent approximately G$1,064,247,723 and G$477,403,837 on road and building infrastructure for 2014 respectively, adding to the ease of movement of people and products.
Environmental Management in the mining sector advanced with the Ministry and WWF Guianas signing a grant agreement ($28M) to support national capacity-building.
The Land Reclamation Project saw Government allocating $500M for the execution of restoration, replanting and rehabilitation of areas subjected to mining.
Government signed and ratified the Minamata Convention in 2013 and 2014 respectfully, as this seeks to address a global consensus that mercury use must be done with attention being paid to health and environmental risks. Government earmarked a sum of $1 Billion for a revolving fund, towards mercury-free mining development, in another effort to safeguard the environment.
The Oil and Gas Policy was approved at the Cabinet level and is premised on investment in upstream exploration activity, and effectively regulating an upstream oil and gas sector. The extractive industry is targeting primarily the mining sector also, another global initiative to which Guyana has subscribed. Today the country is now linked to the EITI website. Guyana has spent $25M on a consultancy to develop the scope of the study to prepare for that; a firm out of the United Kingdom has done a preliminary report and is due back soon, so that Guyana’s membership in the EITI can be advanced.
A Foreign Direct Investment Study was completed on the impact of investment in the local extractive sector. It catered for the assessment of the impact of investment in extractive industries on fiscal revenues; employment and local content; technological capabilities; and the environment.
The gold trade, covered under the GGMC must be seen in the context of the international drop in price for the metal. The price fell on average by 22% in 2014. Total declaration at December 20, 2014 showed a decrease by 22.61% over the corresponding period in 2013; and gold-purchased, by the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) fell by 41.24%. Dealers’ quantity of gold exported increased by 10.16%, whilst the GGB’s quantity of gold exported fell by 40.26%. Thus, the overall quantity of gold exported is down by 22.73%. Moreover, the value of gold exported by dealers increased by 10.86%, whilst the revenue garnered by the GGB decreased by 43.48% during the comparative periods. The total revenue for the comparative time period fell by 23.45%.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
The agency proposed a national ban in the form of the Environmental Protection (Expanded Polystyrene Ban) Regulations, 2015 due to the fact that Styrofoam is adding immensely to the solid waste challenges in Guyana.
Enforcement and Compliance Regulations were advanced as the agency, in partnership with WWF-Guianas (World Wildlife Fund) embarked on a project to strengthen the EPA’s capacity for the management of environmental and social impacts of development activities.
Government enacted the Environmental Protection (Litter Enforcement) Regulations, with the goal of reducing litter nationwide. The Wildlife Management and Conservation Regulations were gazetted in late 2013. They are intended to provide for the domestic management and conservation of wildlife, to regulate the capturing, gathering, collecting, hunting, killing or taking of wildlife for any purpose. Also the regulations cater for appropriate arrangements for the classification of wildlife and areas.
The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) is aimed at implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity, as Guyana has crafted its Strategy and Action Plan for Bio-diversity Conservation.
The ministry advertised for a consultancy to restructure the EPA with the aim of improving its organisational structure, supported by improvements in revenue generation options and commitments to enhancing institutional capacity.
There were 438 applications for environmental permits which are in varying stages of processing. Applications are in the areas of Mining, Forestry, Industry, Infrastructure and Energy, Agriculture, Fisheries and Tourism, Hazardous Waste/Materials and Air Quality Management.
WILDLIFE DIVISION
The Wildlife Import and Export Bill is intended to create a national framework and mechanism to govern the international trade of wildlife in Guyana, while at the same time, fulfill obligations under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITIES). The final bill has already been vetted by the Ministry of the Legal Affairs and was presented to Parliament for enactment.
GUYANA LANDS AND SURVEY COMMISSION
This body works in three general areas, one of which is National Land Use Project which was developed with the support of the European Union (EU). It is not a prescriptive document; it is rather intended to provide the overarching policy framework for land use decision-making co-ordination amongst land-based sector agencies. The document is still to be completed.
Another aspect, the GIS Policy was submitted to Cabinet for approval and a recommendation has been made for an Advisory Council to govern its implementation. It deals with the use of geographic information systems and the building of a National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), in pursuit of sustainable national development.
Meanwhile the establishment of the GL&SC’s enforcement unit was approved by Cabinet to deal with illegal occupation of all state lands and Government reserves.
Foreign companies
Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud stated that foreign companies operate in accordance with the laws of Guyana with no discrimination between foreign or local companies. All across the political spectrum are convinced that foreign potential is essential for producing growth across the country.
Whilst the political spectrum of Guyana agrees that foreign direct investment is essential to catapulting growth in the national economy, Guyanese should be proud of the fact that people want to bring their hard earned investment dollars to develop opportunities for the people of Guyana.
He added that with no ambiguity in terms of the national consensus, specific terms of the details of investment are also very clear and open. These agreements include loans publicly made available with documents being provided to parliament when required. No laws are violated and dossiers of additional information are also provided.
PROTECTED AREAS COMMISSION
The Three Parks Initiative: the Botanical Gardens, Zoological Park and National Park form the core components of Georgetown’s network of green spaces. The ministry has proposed a comprehensive plan with the objective to enhance key facilities and rehabilitation of infrastructure in each of these “green” spaces, and thus increasing the ability to generate revenue for long-term sustainability.
Meanwhile, the Petting Zoo, part of the Three Parks initiative became operational. It was constructed to improve the aesthetic and educational experiences of children and adults visiting the zoo.
Under the National Protected Area System, the Protected Area Commission, established under the Protected Area Act of 2011, was equipped with a newly constructed office building. It continues to develop and manage Guyana’s National Protected Area System through Management Plans. In 2014, the National Protected Area Trust Fund was launched with an immediate commitment of $2 Billion from Government.
GUYANA FORESTRY COMMISSION

The ministry has publicly made available Guyana’s Monitoring Reporting and Verification System (MRVS), Year 4 Report (2013). The findings of this assessment provide a useful basis for planning an on-going monitoring programme, focusing on key hotspot areas.
Guyana and the EU are seeking to form a partnership, under the existing EU FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) Action Plan, that places direct emphasis on recognising all forest legalities: ensuring that the benefits from forest resources utilisation flow to the right beneficiaries; preventing unfair competition between illegal and legal produce; maintaining a low rate of deforestation and forest degradation; making sure of sustainable development of forest dependent communities; and mitigating against climate change in a REDD+ framework.
The support for the REDD+Readiness Programme in Guyana is a three- year, US$3.8 million Technical Cooperation (TC) programme, the objective of which is to assist Government in REDD+ efforts.
The Geospatial Information Management Unit, one of whose main functions is to provide information on monitoring and compliance to the ministry and agencies under its purview, was engaged in mining deforestation analysis, land reclamation project support, Amerindian land titling project support and near real time analysis during the year..
MINING
The Minister added that whilst mining is a very critical sector of the economy, it’s not only for gold, but also bauxite. There has been sustained, as well as intense attention given to what is taking place such as gold prices dropping as much as 22%.
With the miners themselves taking the situation in hand with the removal of mercury within the mining sector, bringing in mercury-free technologies, this has shown that the sector itself is not only adjusting to the economic imperatives, but also social and environmental ones.