The University of Guyana - Leading the Way in Global Environmental Studies

from Green Guyana - Advancing Sustainable Development

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The uniVersiTy of Guyana - leadinG The way in Global enVironmenTal sTudies

The University of Guyana, now in its 58th year offers some of the most respected taught programmes in Biodiversity and the Environmental Studies in the world. These programmes are mainly offered out of its Centre for the Study of Biological Diversity in the Faculty of Natural Sciences, run by the dynamic young lepidopterist, Dr Ghanpriyaa Maharaj, and the Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences (FEES) currently under the Deanship of Dr Temitope Oyedotun. UG’s Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry and the School of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation (SEBI) also offer sustainable agriculture and sustainable tourism studies, respectively.

In 2018-2019, the University under the leadership of Vice Chancellor Xi, Prof. Paloma Mohamed Martin and her Senior Management Team (SMT), began its Blueprinting process which has created an initial document charting the path the University will take until 2040.

That Blueprint 2040 places environmental responsibility, research and practice, and sustainability as core planks of its new problem-centric, student-focused, and futuristic design. Four items in the list of eleven focus areas are specific to environment and sustainability. These are sustainable tourism, sustainable aqua and agriculture, biodiversity and the environment and sustainable energy. There are also human resiliency systems, Informatics, Data Sciences and AI.

It should be noted that the University churns out about 600 graduates from Guyana and across the world from the various environmental disciplines every year. 2) promotion of conservation efforts and sustainable management of Guyana’s biodiversity and, 3) biodiversity education.

To achieve its mandate, the CSBD curates and maintains the nation’s largest research collection of flora and fauna. Its collection currently holds approximately 10,000 fishes, 700 amphibians, 300 reptiles, 350 mammals, 820 birds, over 20,000 insects, and 50,000 plant specimens.

Furthermore, the CSBD also collaborates with the Guyana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission to monitor and manage the international exchange of genetic materials and specimens.

To support its conservation and education mandate, the CSBD functions as a vehicle within Guyana for the development of a full range of educational, research and training programmes consistent with Guyana’s effort to conserve and sustainably manage its rich biodiversity. As such, the CSBD supports multiple biodiversity-based research projects within the country, offers educational tours and accommodates research within its collections, provides research grants to facilitate primary data collection by students, facilitates student volunteer and internship programmes, and offers several types of professional level short training courses. These courses are carried out in collaboration with local and international institutions and specifically focus on biodiversity assessment and monitoring, biodiversity and environmental data collection, analysis and interpretation and, scientific communication.

These courses are open to faculty and students of the University and professionals. As such, they support the formal courses within various departments of the University and provides opportunities for Natural Resource Management professionals from various local organizations to gain additional requisite knowledge and develop contemporary skills within their various fields.

Centre for the Study of Biological Diversity (CSBD)

The University of Guyana’s Centre for the Study of Biological Diversity (CSBD) serves both the University and the Nation by fulfilling its three-fold mandate of; 1) engaging in and supporting the documentation of the biodiversity of Guyana,

The uniVersiTy of Guyana - leadinG The way in Global enVironmenTal sTudies

UG-FEES Preparation for Environmental Programmes

The overall goal of the University of Guyana’s Faculty for Earth and Environmental Sciences is to provide quality tertiary education in the Earth and Environmental Sciences and to conduct interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary research and extension services (to those who are not enrolled in the regular programmes) in areas such as environmental management, sustainable land use planning, natural resources management, housing and settlement development, and earth surface dynamics.

As the nation is forging ahead with its Low-Carbon Development Plan, and to ensure the relevance of UG’s postgraduate programmes to the nation’s needs, the Faculty, through its Department of Environmental Studies, engaged in a comprehensive review of its MSc. Environmental Management Programme. The review process was based on the tenets of ‘the ideal graduate’ method, whereby an analysis was done to identify and demonstrate the skills and competencies that the ideal graduate should possess after graduating from the program.

In assessing what these skills and competencies are, the reviewers synthesized national environmental developmental documents for Guyana, analyzed the offerings of international programs in environmental management and interviewed staff involved in the program and professional stakeholders in the environmental field nationally, all in an effort to compile a comprehensive list of skills and competencies. The feedback provided through these channels were then used to construct a needs assessment survey for which students and alumni participated in order to show what areas needed strengthening in the programme.

Information gathered from the review process was used to restructure the programme into a proposed offering that meets national objectives, the University’s objectives, stakeholders’ expectations and students’ expectations. The review readily identified national priority needs in enhancing natural resource management, especially in the field of oil, gas and energy and the importance of more technical expertise in dealing with climate change especially within the context of the country transitioning to a green economy.

In terms of the individualistic skills developed, the stakeholders’ identified the ideal graduate should be able to engage in independent research and data analysis especially in the context of environmental impact assessment, environmental policy development and environmental project implementation. Against this backdrop, and with consultation with the staff members of the Department of Environmental Studies and the Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences, this proposed environmental programme was developed for consideration in enhancing the overall quality and offering of the Post -Graduate Programme within the Department of Environmental Studies (DoES).

In the new academic year, the Faculty will offer a Master of Science Degree (Thesis-based) and a Master’s Degree (Projects-based) in four specialized programmes: i. Environmental Management ii. Natural Resources Management iii. Oil and Gas and Renewable Energy iv. Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management These programmes are both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary and aim to build capacity amongst national and regional academics and professionals by equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and technical expertise.

The programmes are designed to provide students with a working knowledge of; i. ecosystem services and valuation, ii. national, regional, and international environmental law and policy, iii. environmental management and monitoring tools and techniques, iv. environmental economics and policy, v. pollution control and waste management approaches, vi. environmental policy formulation and appraisal.

Apart from the Faculties which deliver the main offerings, UG’s Green Institute, under the current Directorship Dr Thomas Singh focuses on research and policy pertaining to environmental and sustainability issues. Additionally, the University works closely with such agencies as NASA, Servir Amazonia, WWF, Iwokrama, EPA, Sophia’s Point, Office of Climate Change and Environment GoG, CI and Archipelago of Island States Forum, as well as CITI Lab which works on sustainable cities design.

UG’s acting Dean of the Graduate School Dr Paulette Bynoe, former Dean of the Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences, is considered one of the Caribbean’s leading Climate Negotiators.

For more information on the courses being offered, please contact: Email: hodes.fees@uog.edu.gy, gspes.fees@uog.edu.gy Phone Nos: +592 641 0399, +592 624 0152.