Mercury pollution threatens emerging yacht industry

Jul 09, 2018 News

– Trotman appeals for patience as Govt. works with miners

There are growing concerns that the continued use of mercury in the mining sector will negatively impact the yachting industry, which has taken on a more organised formation over the years as part of Guyana’s tourism sector.
Christopher Kit Nascimento, who has been part of the organizing team locally for yacht rallies sailing through Guyana, has called on Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman to intervene.
In a letter published in Sunday’s edition of the Kaieteur News, Nascimento stated that four of Guyana’s top tourism destinations surrounding Bartica, including the beaches surrounding Bartica, are threatened by this rising pollution.

Yachts from last year’s Nereid’s Yacht Rally

“We have worked very hard over the last decade and more to establish Bartica and its surrounding resorts as a yachting destination and with some success. This too is now threatened,” Nascimento noted.
Last year, Guyana welcomed sailors and tourists from Sweden, Australia, the United States, France, Italy and England for the Fifth Nereid’s Yacht Rally at Bartica.
Nascimento said that there is not much point in President David Granger’s determination to “Green” Bartica if the rivers surrounding the town are mercury polluted from gold mining operations up river from the town.
“The colour change of the rivers from the turbidity from the mining is very visible. I have complained about this on numerous occasions to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and, indeed, the Minister, but it simply gets worse,” Nascimento noted.
A Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) team is in Guyana to address the mercury concerns related to the burning of amalgamated gold at the Guyana Geologies and Mines Commission (GGMC) compound on Brickdam.
Nascimento requested Trotman to have the PAHO team address the mercury content in the Cuyuni and Mazaruni Rivers at the point at which these rivers flow into the Essequibo River at Bartica.

WAKE UP CALL
Trotman stated that Nascimento has every right to be concerned .
“The recent scare at the GGMC is a wakeup call for everyone involved in the mining industry whether as regulators, miners, shop owners or otherwise. All are at risk from the wanton use and abuse of mercury,” Trotman stated.
He assured that Government is working with the various mining organisations, including the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA), Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO) and the National Mining Syndicate (NMS) to address the matter.
“We ask for patience and support from all sectors to get this done,” Trotman stated.
He stated that mercury use, river pollution and land degradation are all matters that are being addressed slowly but surely by government and its local and international partners such as Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
“We are happy that the use of mercury is now part of the national conversation as it allows us to bring to the fore a matter that has been quietly swept under the carpet for decades,” Trotman noted.
According to the Minister, the Green State Development Strategy, when implemented, is the vehicle that will bring Guyana into total alignment as a nation that pursues the growth of extractive industries; whilst preserving and protecting rich biodiversity and natural patrimony.