Georgetown : Opposition leader Brigadier David Granger has called on the People’s Progressive Party/Civic administration to promulgate a comprehensive national environment strategy in light of the adverse effects of climate change and man-made damage on this country.
As nations around the globe celebrate World Environment Day (WED) on 5th June, Mr. Granger said that Guyana’s biggest problems are those of solid waste management, coastal zone conservation, annual flooding, damage to rivers and forests by unregulated mining and logging practices and its excessive dependence on fossil fuels to the neglect of alternative energy such as wind, water and solar-generated electrical power.
Mr. Granger pointed out that the Government’s much vaunted Low Carbon Development Strategy – LCDS – is insufficient to sustain development amidst this country’s current environmental challenges.
He reminded the young volunteer members of the Environmental Community Health Organisation of the Amerindian adage that ‘trees hold up the sky’ while congratulating the organisation for its initiative in conducting its recent ‘tree-planting’ exercise in observance of WED.
Mr. Granger asserted, also, that Guyana needs a coherent approach to what he called the five E’s – Environmental education, Enforcement of regulations, Ecological consciousness by all, Energy that is renewable and Economic exploitation of mineral, timber and tourism resources in a sustainable manner.
The Opposition Leader called on the Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Environment to distribute plants and seeds to communities in all ten administrative regions to help to regenerate our depleted flora and forests. He also called on the Government to open its eyes to the country’s predicament and promulgate a strategy to protect the population from hazards and to preserve the environment from further degradation.
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