Wardens to clamp down on illegalities in extractive sector

As the local extractive industry expands along with instances of illegalities and bad practices, so has the need for a robust compliance and enforcement programme.
State Minister Joseph Harmon said a corps of wardens will be trained and dispatched to provide support to existing forest and mines officers in enforcing the various regulatory frameworks governing the different sectors in the country’s vast extractive industry.
He said the proposal was made by Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman who noticed that with the expansion of extraction came a proliferation of the unethical and illegal issues that always plagued the sector.
The corps of wardens will be addressing issues including noncompliance with mining related environmental regulations; prove institutional capacity to enable enforcement of the various regulatory frameworks; coordinate action against illegal mining, drug trafficking, deforestation and trafficking in persons, monitor increased turbidity levels in creeks and streams, and monitor chemical waste management.
Emergency rescue and disaster recovery will be part of the wardens’ portfolio.
According to the State Minister, the persons who will be hired by the Natural Resources Ministry, will undergo general training, after which they will be grouped to receive specialised training based on the sectors they will be monitoring.
He noted too that the wardens will receive a certain level of police training and be vested with a certain level of police powers.
Harmon said the agencies tol benefit from these wardens include the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, Guyana Forestry Commission, Guyana Gold Board, Environmental Protection Agency, Protected Areas Commission, and the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission.
Responding to concerns, Harmon explained that these new wardens will not replace the existing officers but will actually compliment their work.