Guyana needs to build resilient communities – President Granger

…calls for ecotourism to be developed

For Guyana to attract tourists and boost its ecotourism sector, all communities must be involved in sustainable environmental practices and successful village economies must be established.
These sentiments were shared by the President of Guyana David Granger earlier this week, who called for residents and moreover communities, to get involved in activities such as manufacturing and local processing.
“Agro-processing, ecotourism, value added manufacturing; all of these could be added to generate incomes to boost village economies for the quality of human life is linked to the environment.”
He also noted that while many foreigners might want to visit Guyana, the reckless disposal of garbage is a contributing factor that hinders this process. Additionally, many may not have intentions of returning if the environment is unkempt.
“We cannot attract eco-tourists if they first thing they see is empty beer bottles, plastic bags and Styrofoam boxes. People want to come to see pristine communities whether they are on the coast or off the coast,” the president stated. “People would pay thousands of dollars to see our flora and fauna but they want to see clean villages and we must put emphasis on the environment and protecting the environment,” he added.
While commenting on the country’s energy generation, it was related that persons should be involved in generating energy from alternative sources. He noted that in the early years, the generation of power was done by farmers who used these sources. However, the new generation is addicted to the use of fuels such as gasoline.
“We seem to have become addicted to gasoline. We need to kick that addiction and get back to using the sun and the wind,” he said.
Meanwhile, instances of the recent flooding were also addressed, highlighting that if resilient communities are built, these situations would be reduced significantly.
“Villages must therefore build environmental resilience against the constant threats that are faced. Floods and land degradation, reckless disposal of solid waste, pollution of our water ways and the exploitation of our wildlife.”
In the recent time, the Kwakwani area was under water which stemmed from heavy rainfall in April that continued until July. The overtopping of the Berbice River was also a contributing factor. As such, residents were forced to utilise boats as their mode of transportation since all roads were inundated.