There has been massive erosion at the Number 63 Beach on the Corentyne Coast in Region Six (East Berbice/ Corentyne). It has now reached crisis proportion, putting residential communities in danger.
Massive erosion to the Number 63 Beach
Farmers who cultivated crops off of the beach have seen the ocean taking over their farms within the past two months.
Currently, there are stumps of coconut trees about 75 metres into the Atlantic as part of the massive erosion which is taking place. A
Coconut trees and fruit trees which provided shade are being washed away daily
decade ago, that was farmland.
During 2018, the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region Six raised the issue on several occasions at their monthly meetings.
Prime Ministerial Regional Representative Gobin Harbhajan, who sat on the RDC and who visits the Beach on a daily basis, is calling on the relevant authorities to act swiftly.
Most of the sea defense has eroded within the past two months
He stated that the construction of a sea dam with boulders is desperately needed in order to break the force of the ocean’s waves.
That was one of the proposals made by the RDC to Central Government in 2018. Back then, the National Sea Defense Board conducted a survey of the entire coastland of the Region.
A proposal was subsequently submitted to Central Government, but nothing was done.
Harbhajan predicts that the next two high tides would see water flooding residential areas in some villages along the Corentyne Coast.
Last year, a project was awarded to BK International to place boulders along the foreshore between Number 67 Village and Crabwood Creek.
It was proposed that the most critical area, the Number 63 Beach area, would have been tackled in 2020. However, following the no-confidence motion in December 2018, the Government was not permitted to carry out major projects in 2019. For 2020, nothing could have been done, since the outcome of the March 2, General and Regional Elections is still pending and a budget is not imminent anytime soon.
