The Ministry of Natural Resources is collaborating with Conservation International Guyana and regional administrators to ensure the water reservoir completed in the Rupununi is sustainably managed.
Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman on Wednesday visited the pilot
Vice President of Conservation International Guyana, Dr David Singh
project, located on Nappi lands and intended to address water shortage in the Rupununi, particularly during the dry season, when the reservoir will bring relief to the Nappi community and surrounding villages.
“We have invited Conservation International (CI) to give us guidance as to how we
Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman examines a structure that is part of the reservoir
could have good management of this resource,” Minister Trotman was quoted as saying by the Department of Public Information (DPI).
CI-Guyana will be working with the village and regional administration to ensure sustainability of the reservoir.
“CI’s interest is very much related to the work we’re doing at the regional (level); and, indeed, the work we’re doing with local communities over the years in building
A part of the reservoir which has already accumulated water
the kinds of benefit-sharing management mechanisms (and) governance mechanisms by which common pool resources — in this case water — is managed,” Vice President of CI, Dr David Singh, said.
CI-Guyana, which has been actively working in the Rupununi for several years, recently collaborated with the Region Nine Administration on its plan of action for regional development.
“It’s so important for people on the ground, who share common pool resources, to be really involved in the governance, the management, even as they use those resources. If the management systems are well structured, then in fact it leads to a large level of sustainability and long-term value to the communities,” Dr Singh noted.
Toshao of Nappi, Walter Henrico, had previously indicated that the village would like to explore aquaculture at the reservoir. Minister Trotman pointed out that he also heard of plans to turn the site into a tourist attraction.
“We’ve read recently where villages are speaking about (their) tourism potential; and indeed, whilst we may have started the project with the intention of providing water for irrigation and for usage (as) potable water, we now see another potential which was never anticipated,” Minister Trotman said.
Trotman is seeking to finalise the management of the reservoir before it is officially handed over. The reservoir is buttressed by a 450M dam, and can hold 4.5 million cubic metres of water at its maximum.
According to the DPI, the public-private partnership is the first of its kind, and Minister Trotman said it will be used as an indicator as the Natural Resources Ministry explores water harvesting as a resource. A similar reservoir is planned for South Rupununi.
“Having established (the reservoir), of course there is the other aspect of its management; and this is where Conservation International is going to assist us and the region in ensuring there is a proper governance and management structure,” Trotman explained.
