Water reservoir at Nappi completed

Sep 08, 2017 News

The Ministry of Natural Resources is collaborating with Conservation International Guyana and regional administrators to ensure the completed water reservoir in the Rupununi is sustainably managed.

A section of the reservoir which has already accumulated water.

On Wednesday, Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman visited the pilot project which is intended to address water shortage in the Rupununi, particularly during the dry season.
The reservoir is located on Nappi lands and will bring relief to that community and surrounding villages. “We have invited Conservation International (CI) to give us guidance as to how we could have good management of this resource,” Minister Trotman told the Department of Public Information (DPI).
CI-Guyana will be working with the village and regional administration to ensure the sustainability of the reservoir.
“CI’s interest is very much related to the work we’re doing at the regional level, and indeed the work we’re doing with local communities over the years in building the kinds of benefit-sharing, management mechanisms, governance mechanisms by which common pool resources, in this case water…is managed,” Vice President Dr. David Singh pointed out.
CI-Guyana, which has been actively working in the Rupununi for several years, recently collaborated with the Region Nine administration on its plan of action for regional development.
“It’s so important for people on the ground, who share common pool resources, to be really involved in the governance, the management, even as they use those resources. If the management systems are well structured, then in fact it leads to a large level of sustainability and long-term value to the communities,” Dr. Singh noted.
Toshao of Nappi, Walter Henrico, had previously indicated to the DPI that the village would like to explore aquaculture at the reservoir. Minister Trotman pointed out that he also heard of plans to turn the site into a tourist attraction.
“We’ve read recently where villages are speaking about the tourism potential, and indeed while we may have started the project with the intention of providing water for irrigation, and for usage of potable water, we now see another potential which was never anticipated,” Minister Trotman said.
Minister Trotman is seeking to finalise the management of the reservoir before it is officially handed over. The reservoir is buttressed by a 450-metre dam and can hold 4.5 million cubic metres of water at its maximum.
The public-private partnership is the first of its kind and Minister Trotman said it will be used as an indicator, as the Ministry explores water harvesting as a resource. A similar reservoir is planned for South Rupununi.
“Having established it, of course there is the other aspect of its management, and this is where Conservation International is going to assist us and the region in ensuring there is a proper governance and management structure,” Minister Trotman explained.

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