GUYANA | Walton Desir urges gov't to begin planning for coastal flooding expected within eight years

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, February 2022 - APNU+AFC parliamentarian Amanza Walton Desir has slammed the PPPC administration for its short-sightedness  and utter neglect in tackling the potential for flooding in Guyana’s coastal areas as a result of climate change as well as the need  to urgently take steps towards hinterland resettlement.

Making her contribution to the 2022 budget, Ms Walton Desir pointed out that “Coastal portions of Guyana sit from 0.5 to 1 meter below sea level which makes  coastal areas and Georgetown in particular  vulnerable to sea-level rise stemming from climate change. 

She said “close to 80 percent of Guyana's population live in the low-lying coastal regions. Guyana's capital city of Georgetown relies on seawalls for protection.”

APNU+AFC parliamentarian pointed out that “the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change- IPCC- in its 2021 report has Georgetown listed as one of nine cities that will be underwater by 2030; a mere eight years from now.” 

“Despite this dire prediction, we see a Budget presented where over 80 percent of the infrastructure and agricultural development dollars are projected to be spent on the coastal region.

“The PPP must tell the people of Guyana; especially those of us who live on the low-lying coastland, why scant regard is being paid to our safety and protection from rising sea levels and higher volumes of rainfall. This is not a matter of dollars and cents; this is a matter of life and death!” Walton Desir declared.

She noted that “the narrow coastal plain is home to almost all the country's agricultural production which are critical for both food security and export.” 

“Climate change and rising sea levels, poor irrigation and sea defenses have left coastal residents at the mercy of the weather and the sea. Flooding on the coast is now commonplace and it is only a matter of time before we face a catastrophic event,” she declared. 

“The  flooding in 2021, that destroyed billions of dollars of  livestock, farm-lands and personal property should have been a wakeup call for the PPP/C government to act, but instead, as the waters receded so did any sense of urgency,” Walton Desir said.

“The time has come for our leaders to engage the population in a conversation about moving to high ground. We must have a debate on the wisdom of continuing to restrict our development and major infrastructure to the coast,” she declared.

“We must have a dialogue on housing, population planning and implement programs and policies that prioritize hinterland development with the building of hinterland cities. We must be bold and innovative and educate the nation on climate change and its effect on those who live in low-lying areas. 

“To continue to have massive development projects like those tabled in Budget 2022- most of which are on the coast, is shortsighted and gambling with nature.

“I found it inconceivable that with close to 80 percent of our population living in low–lying coastal regions that are susceptible to flooding, the PPP in its Budget did not address this issue frontally, but instead merely added a few cosmetic inclusions to our drainage and irrigation architecture.

The APNU+ AFC Opposition member said it was “clear that the PPP has no interest in ending poverty; ending hunger, achieving food security, ensuring that all Guyanese have access to primary and secondary education and expanding technical and vocational training opportunities for our indigenous brothers and sisters.”

“All you have to do is follow the money and you will see that this Budget is not geared towards making a real and lasting positive impact in ensuring human development,” she concluded.

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