Mining, logging threaten wildlife population – Natural Resources

Mar 04, 2015 News

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– explosives, poison to be banned from hunting
Guyana yesterday celebrated World Wildlife Day with warnings of tougher action on illegal activities.
The message was delivered yesterday by Robert Persaud, Minister of Natural

Resources and the Environment, at the Wildlife Stakeholders’ Forum that was held at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal. Several operators and regulators were among those present.
World Wildlife Day, celebrated under the theme ‘Wildlife Crime is Serious; Let’s Get Serious About Wildlife Crime’, is pertinent, as it puts the spotlight on illegal trade and exploitation of wildlife, Persaud said in his address to the hunters and other stakeholders.
“This Stakeholders’ Forum therefore has been deliberately scheduled to not only coincide with World Wildlife Day for formality sake, but to initiate the process with you the stakeholders on how we could bring to bear tangible results on the sustainable management and conservation of our wildlife.”
The Minister argued that wildlife has remained well protected, due to the still extensive natural habitat and relative inaccessibility of

the hinterland. He warned that animals are under threat. “But, this will not be the state of affairs until perpetuity as, with growing road networks to access logging and mining concessions, accessibility is changing which could be a major driver in animal population decline.”
Guyana became a party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) in 1977.
“This mandates us to adopt appropriate measures for effective implementation of the convention and to consider appropriate compliance measures which may include recommendations to suspend trade.  Failure to enact legislation to implement the Convention can lead to compliance measures being instituted against the defaulting Party, including recommendations to suspend trade.  Guyana was previously subject to a recommendation for trade suspension for inadequate legislation.”
This was only lifted after the enactment of the Species Protection Regulations in 1999, the official said.
BANNED
“This regulation along with the Wildlife Management and Conservation Regulations 2013 which provides for the collection, hunting, sale and possession of wildlife govern the international and domestic trade of wildlife respectively.”
To strengthen the regulation and management of the international wildlife trade, a Wildlife Import and Export Bill was tabled in Parliament in 2014.  This bill, Persaud explained, seeks to repeal the Species Protection Regulations and establish the Wildlife Import and Export Authority to replace the Wildlife Division.
“These regulations make provisions for among others, penalising the harvesting of prohibited species of wildlife, exporting, re-exporting or importing wildlife without permits and the use of prohibited devices and methods to hunt wildlife.  Some of which include the use of drugs, poison, explosives, high-powered weapons etc.  Penalties for offenders range from $30,000 to $750,000 along with prison time.”
Persaud admitted that while the infrastructure to effectively implement the regulations is under construction, that in no way should be construed to connote non-compliance, as ignorance of the law will not be an acceptable excuse.
“As wildlife stewards, you have a responsibility to ensure that your hunting and trapping practices are done according to the regulations. With that said, we recognise that the regulations and other pieces of policies that protect wild flora such as the National Policy on Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture 2014 are only as good in practical terms as the partnerships that we are able to forge.”
INCOMPLETE WORK
The Minister said that while the Ministry with responsibility for wildlife has a clearer path of all the facets and technicalities of wildlife management, including implementing a licencing system for wildlife dealers and establishing quotas for harvesting targeted wildlife species, one must also be cognizant of the challenges that must be overcome before these are implemented.
“Some of those challenges include building capacities of staff within the Wildlife Division and EPA for scientific research, the provision of the requisite training and equipment to detect, investigate and prosecute wildlife offences, and educating the general populace on the importance of wildlife resources and the need to conserve such resources.
He lauded the stakeholders for showing interest.
With regards to work done to bring the sector in line with international standards, the Minister disclosed that they have embarked on a number of initiatives that seek to address the issue of wildlife management and conservation.
“Central among these is the establishment of the Wildlife Management Steering Committee in November 2014.  This Committee acts as an advisory body in providing general oversight and guidance in the development of strategies and programmes for wildlife management and conservation in Guyana.”
Additionally, there has been collaboration with an international non-governmental organization, Panthera, to develop a project in the south of Guyana on sustainable hunting practices as a foundation for managing wildlife harvest in Guyana.
“This project when completed will be scaled up to the other regions of the country. Rest assured forums of this nature will be replicated with key constituencies that are not adequately represented today, such as the Amerindians and stakeholders in other far-flung regions. Our intention would be as it is today to not only educate stakeholders on responsible hunting practices, but to encourage self-regulation and voluntary reporting of wildlife hunted.”

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