GUYANA

The country seems
to have become wiser in
environmental matters after
a dam rupture in thd Omai
gold mine last Augusti resulted in the spillage of three
million cu m of cyanW-contaminated water into the
Essequibo, the country's
biggest river. The environmentalists are now concerned about the impact of
the fast growing, logging
industry. Many foreign and
local companies have been
queueing up to tap the vast
forest reserves. Guyana has
83,000 sq miles under forest
cover. Commercial logging is
seen as a significant economy-booster.

Though vast areas of the
forest are still untouched,
environmentalists doubt
whether the commercial
activity would sustain them.
Government officials do not
dismiss the threat to the
environment but they say
that the forests are being well
managed. According to
Clayton Hall, the commissioner of forests, "There is a
potential for degradation but
we are ensuring that this
does not happen."

The lack of adequate
legislation for controlling
the type and extent of logging is also one of their concerns. While new laws are
being drafted for better
monitoring of logging, the
forestry commission is
increasing training and
deploying more forest
guards. As a member of the
international Tropical Timber
Organisation, Guyana is
committed to the target of
supplying timber from sustainable areas by 2000 AD.

But Guyana does not
have the resources for monitoring the extensive forests.
Says Joseph 0' Lall, head of
the Guyana Natural
Resources Agency, "We cannot allow the forest to be
raped, and it is in our interest... that we have sustainable development... but if
we do not get some money,
how can we monitor?" The
agency is planning to plant
fast-growing species, so they
can be cut to satisfy demand
for firewood. The best solution seems to lie with natives.
Says Malcolm Rodrigues,
director of the environmental unit of the University of
Guyana, "Everyone concerned about sustainable
exploitation of the forests in
Guyana should seek the
advice of the Amerindians."