Wednesday January 29, 2014
Kaieteur News
Construction of $32M petting zoo begins today Contractor Alvin Chowramootoo is scheduled to begin construction of the $32M petting zoo today with a projected duration of about four to five months. This project is part of the Zoological Park’s modernization master plan and is expected to cost US$11M. This disclosure was made by Damian Fernandes, Protected Areas Commission (PAC) Commissioner, who said that the petting zoo, when completed could increase return visits of patrons, hence increasing revenue. Currently, about 33,000 visits are made to the park monthly. Fernandes made this announcement yesterday at the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment boardroom, Brickdam, while addressing media operatives. Displaying colourful slides as part of a PowerPoint presentation, Fernandes emphasized the modernization of the Zoological Park and how neatly the petting zoo will be fitted. The children’s area situated near the Nature School, which facilitates visits from about 120 schools yearly, will be transformed into an educational complex. He said that the petting zoo would significantly strengthen the Nature School education programme. Additionally, the playground, will serve as a complete and effective facility youthfocused education at the Zoo. “In essence, the petting zoo is meant to be a living
Damian Fernandes, Protected Areas Commission (PAC) Commissioner and Minister Robert Persaud at yesterday’s press conference example of the Zoo’s renewed emphasis on education, enhanced visitor experience, animal welfare, and higher standards,” Fernandes said. He related that the facility is based on a roughly circular design with an all-weather walkway made out of paving stones around a central semiaquatic enclosure. Outwards, on the other side of the walkway, would be a series of open enclosures that will feature docile animals conditioned to allow for human-animal interaction. According to Fernandes, a majority of the structures will be made of concrete and other heavy duty material to reduce maintenance costs. Moreover, design and construction of the petting zoo will be informed by international guidelines. The petting zoo design includes wash stations for visitors, grazing space, and
exercise areas at the back. Considering the effects of the 2005 flood, the petting zoo will be raised three-feet above the existing level. This will allow the facility to be drained quickly reducing maintenance costs and improving sanitation. Several weeks ago, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, who was not equipped with full knowledge of what a petting zoo was, said it was foolishness. He could not understand why Cabinet gave its noobjection to a $32.5M contract to erect such a facility. However, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Robert Persaud yesterday assured that Dr. Luncheon was adequately informed of what the petting zoo is, and he has embraced the idea.
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EU supports C’bean disaster prevention Guyana is one of the many Caribbean countries to benefit from a European Union 8.5 million-euro Disaster Preparedness (DIPECHO) Action Plan, according to European Commission’s humanitarian aid and civil protection. Up to the end of 2014, a total of 14 projects in 11 countries will work to reduce the region’s vulnerabilities in the face of natural hazards such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and tsunamis, and to improve communities and authorities’ preparedness to respond to emergencies. Recent events like the Low Level Trough System which left serious damage in the Eastern Caribbean, especially in Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, are a reminder of the need to invest in interventions that can make a difference in determining whether a natural hazard becomes or not a disaster. The EU has also supported the emergency response in those countries with 300,000 Euros. “Preparedness measures can be taken to reduce the impact of natural hazards. A community’s response to disasters depends on their preparation,” states Jocelyn Lance, ECHO Caribbean’s Head of office. “DIPECHO projects help communities at
risk to anticipate, face, adapt and to recover quickly from disasters. The fact that communities strengthen their capacities and modify their attitudes towards disasters can save lives,” Lance said. According to the European Commission’s humanitarian aid and civil protection, an estimated 654,000 people will benefit from ongoing projects in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Jamaica, Dominica, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Guyana, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago Disaster preparedness projects funded by the European Commission’s Department of Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) have demonstrated their relevance and success to improve the response capacity of communities in the Caribbean. Testimonies from countries where these projects are carried out indicate so, after their improved response was tested in the last years by extreme phenomena such as tropical storm Chantal or hurricane Sandy. “Humanitarian aid does not start after the disaster, but before it happens, so that its possible effects can be mitigated. That is why DIPECHO interventions are
important. They promote measures such as the structural evaluation of health facilities to verify if these can withstand a disaster, emergency plans and seismic vulnerability and flooding studies,” explains the Head of ECHO Caribbean Office. “Small mitigation works, such as bridges or retaining walls to avoid communities from being isolated or flooded and the rehabilitation of shelters to protect people displaced d u r i n g a c r i s i s are all examples of DIPECHO contributions to disaster risk reduction,” concludes Jocelyn Lance. All actions are conducted in close collaboration with the national disaster management systems and with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency. The current programme incorporates innovations such as working on volcanic risk and integrating people with disabilities in Disaster Risk Reduction. Since 1994, ECHO has allocated over 290 million Euros in humanitarian assistance in Haiti and 147 million Euros to the rest of the Caribbean region. Of those sums, 25.9 million Euros went to disaster risk reduction and preparedness in Haiti and 29 million Euros in the rest of the Caribbean.