Message from the Chairperson of the Green Economy Committee - Ms Shaleeza Shaw

messaGe from The chairPerson of The Green economy commiTTee - ms shaleeza shaw

This magazine was birthed from the recognition that Climate Change and the preservation of Guyana’s natural capital assets are prominent issues facing us as a nation. The world is getting warmer, sea levels are rising, pollution is on the rise and biodiversity is threatened on a daily basis. Guyana is not excluded from these occurrences. At home, we see littering and clogged drainage systems growing, our coastlines are receding and increasingly we are faced with frequent flooding with the most recent being June 2021 which was declared a national disaster by the President, His Excellency Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali due to its devastating impact across the country. The cumulative effect requires our urgent attention and the involvement of all the relevant stakeholders and must not be left to Government alone.

As a resource rich nation with various sectors, the latest being the oil and gas sector; to prop our economic and social development, we need to be vigilant keepers of our environment-land, sea and air. New challenges are facing us and capacity building to meet and address these challenges is necessary, and I would add mandatory given the cross roads at which we presently stand. It is therefore important that recommendations already on the table as establishment of a mitigation bank to have monetary compensation for environmental degradation, and enforcement of a “No Net Loss” policy for Guyana that ensures that that which is damaged or taken out of the environment is replaced with strategies that balance out the damages through for example, replanting of trees, solid waste management and conversion to renewable forms of energy, marine biodiversity restoration and adoption of new sea defense engineering technology needs to be explored and embraced. With ongoing oil exploration becoming a Net-Zero emitter and developing Carbon Capture Storage and Utilization projects are equally important. Partnerships with other oil producing nations from whom we can learn and trade experiences should also be developed.

As Chairperson of the Green Economy Committee, having hosted a number of webinars over the past eighteen (18) months on various subject matters touching and concerning the environment, I recognized that many persons, organizations, businesses and volunteer groups including our Chambers were engaged in activities of one kind or another that were in big and small ways cumulatively adding to the preservation of our environment while complimenting sustainable development. There are also budding environmentalists enthusiastic about making meaningful contributions. These contributions are all laudable against the backdrop that Guyana was pioneering with its Low Carbon Development Strategy model which later morphed into the Green State Development Strategy and is now being upgraded under the expanded Low Carbon Development Strategy.

The articles in this magazine highlight the actions being taken by this spectrum of contributors with the hope that they can inspire others and bring greater awareness to environmental issues and how each of us in our own way can make a huge difference by our actions.

Let us recommit ourselves to leave a Green Planet for generations to come. Do enjoy our first edition of Green Guyana.

Shaleeza Shaw Chairperson of Green Economy Committee