Reinforcing Guyana’s sea defenses to stave off the implications of rising sea levels continues to be a major sap on the nation’s resources says, Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon.
In fact, the official, during a post-Cabinet press briefing held this morning, reminded that his colleague, Public Infrastructure Minister, David Patterson would have disclosed to some sections of the media that $14B will be needed to do urgent sea defense repairs over the next three years.
Speaking to the significance of these repairs, Harmon noted that there are some areas where there is nothing but mangroves separating the coast from the sea. While, in other cases, there are natural dams. In light of this state of affairs, he said that the conversation has started about removing some agencies from the coast.
The Cabinet Secretary said, “You cannot escape the fact of rising sea levels. Every time there is a high tide in Region Three, where I am from, you can see the sea wall is there and the water is meters above the sea wall. So, unless you keep building it higher and higher (some parts of the coast would continue to be vulnerable) …”
When pressed by the media to provide more details on the agencies to be moved from the coast, Harmon declined to say, while noting that it is still at the stage of discussion.
The Director-General said, “But it is something we have to actively consider. I know some are afraid to make these bold decisions…But in other parts of the world, you see places like Italy, it is flooded. Venice is underwater for great periods of time. I even saw a programme the other night on BBC where hundreds of elephants (In Zimbabwe) are dying of starvation because of drought…These are the realities of our time.”
In light of the foregoing, Harmon said that one of the principle discussions for a nation like Guyana is the possibility of relocating to higher ground.
