Prolonged dry season: Almost 5 acres of forest destroyed by wildfire in Region 10

…Pres Ali urges prompt report of incidents
…authorities will deploy all measures to protect valuable forests

With Guyana recording instances of forest fires, albeit small in magnitude, President Dr Irfaan Ali is urging persons to report these fires in light of the current extensive dry season which creates vulnerability within the country’s forests.
On his social media page on Tuesday, President Ali shared an image of what appeared to be the remnants of a forest fire in Guyana’s interior, while urging citizens to report any instance of forest fires immediately.

When contacted, the Head of State told this publication that there were “some wildfires in some areas” adding that there is need to be “careful”.
This publication subsequently confirmed that there was a forest fire at Bissaruni, Kwakwani, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) where less than five acres of forest was burnt. He said that all measures were activated to ensure that the fire did not spread
In an exclusive interview with this publication, Commissioner of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) Edward Goberdhan revealed that the situation has since been brought under control and that authorities are actively monitoring the matter.

“Traditionally, we haven’t had a lot of fires in previous dry seasons. Because we kind of inform our stakeholders and we keep our eyes on the ground to be alert to any fires,” he said.

Deploy all measures
Goberdhan also explained the multi-agency protocol that is activated in case there is a forest fire, which starts with GFC’s forest officers and, in the worst-case scenario, would also see the involvement of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).
“Our first response would be, our forest officers are our first respondents. We equip them with the necessary tools to go out and gather help from nearby communities. People who live close by or we would inform the Fire Service in those locations.”
“And if it escalates to higher stage then we would get like the army and so involved. But our forest officers are our first respondents and we have forest stations across the country. In every region,” Goberdhan explained.
With over 87 per cent of forest cover, Guyana is considered to be one of the most heavily forested countries in the world, with its forests playing a vital role in the country’s development.

Guyana’s forests are part of the Guyana Shield, which is inclusive of areas in Suriname, French Guiana, Colombia, and Brazil. It covers approximately 270 million hectares of pristine rainforest and is recognised as one of the last remaining “frontier forests” of the world. Guyana’s contribution to this is approximately 18 million hectares or 87% of the land mass of Guyana.
Government has always held the conviction that forests must be utilised for the socio-economic advancement of all Guyanese but in a manner that is in keeping with respect for, and appreciation of the unparalleled environmental values of this renewable resource.
The management of the forests is outlined in Guyana’s revised Low Carbon Development Strategy which saw the country becoming the first to receive a certification of over 33 million carbon credits by the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) on December 1, 2022.
Guyana has signed a US$750 million deal with Hess Corporation for the sale of carbon credits, with 15% of that money going directly to Indigenous communities. Last week, the Government received a four-year €5M grant (approximately GY$1.1B) from the European Union (EU) for the sustainability of the country’s forests and forest-dependent communities.
While Guyana’s forests store approximately 90.5 gigatons of carbon, globally, trees and soil store in excess of 13 billion tonnes of carbon.

Grass fires
Meanwhile, the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) itself also recently issued an advisory, urging citizens that with the high probability of grass fires during the dry season, they should desist from lighting any grass or garbage fires especially now, and use other methods of garbage disposal or land clearing.
“If these fires do occur, they should never be left unattended as they possess the potential to spread and become major fire emergencies. Report all fires as soon as they occur to the Fire Service via our toll-free number 912,” GFS also said.
They also provided tips, urging persons to avoid throwing cigarette or cigar butts on the ground or out of vehicles, but rather to dispose of them properly. They also urged persons to educate children about the dangers of playing with fire and to “keep a shovel, bucket of water, fire extinguisher, or other fire-suppression tools on hand.”