EPA heightens monitoring of mining areas

Gold driveGeorgetown: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will heighten its monitoring of mining, as part of a $176 million project aimed at strengthening monitoring and implementation of biodiversity-friendly practices in Guyana’s gold mining sector.

The EPA has traditionally taken a backseat to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) as it relates to monitoring of mining operations and ensuring compliance with environmental regulations. The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, in a statement, said that the Global Environment Facility (GEF) on June 5th, approved the use of Guyana’s remaining GEF-STAR 5 allocation (US$880,000, or approximately $176 million) for the execution of a medium-sized project entitled, “Enhancing Biodiversity Protection through Strengthened Monitoring, Enforcement and Uptake of Environmental Regulations in Guyana’s Gold Mining Sector.”

During the current GEF-5 replenishment period, which runs from July, 2010 to June, 2014, Guyana received US$6.3 million for projects, with US$3.2 million for biodiversity, US$2 million for climate change and US$1.1 million in the land degradation arena. US$5.5 million was utilised with US$880,000 remaining.