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Amazing Facts

That the Giant Anteater is one of two mammals without any teeth. It also has the longest tongue in relation to body size of any mammal. Its tongue can reach up to two feet (600mm). In addition, its smell is 40 times more developed than that of humans.

About Our Logo... Our logo is the passion fruit leaf. Yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis flavicarpa) is native to the Amazon.

It produces beautiful flowers and sweet– tart fruit. It was named by the Span-ish missionaries in South America.

Passion fruit is widely grown throughout the tropics and subtropics. The leaves are used in traditional medicine to settle edgy nerves, also for colic, diarrhea, dysentery and insomnia.

THE GREEN LEAF The Green Leaf is published quarterly by the Environmental Protection Agency, Guyana.

This publication is intended to promote awareness of the work of the Environ-mental Protection Agency.

Editorial Committee:

Sharifah Razack

Padmini Persaud

Sonia Gumbs-Luke

Candacie Brower

Renwick English

Michelle Chow. E-mail: eit.epaguyana@gmail.com

Mailing address:

Environmental Protection Agency, IAST Building, U.G. Campus, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown. EIT DIVISION:

Lot 7 Broad and Charles Street Charlestown Georgetown.

Volume 4 Issue 1 October– D ecember , 2007

Did you know?

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The final quarter of the year was very rewarding for the EPA. It embraced capacity building both internally and externally through a number of training programs.

Officers of the EPA as well as stakeholders are now empowered through training in various areas of envi-ronmental management.

In addition, this quarter saw the development of some new initiatives by the Agency. These initiatives sought to enhance environmental management through the participatory approach.

As we enter a new year let us do our part with the passion and enthusiasm needed to create an attractive and healthy environment.

In this Issue...

Volume 4 Issue1 October - December 2007

Editorial Note

A Monitoring and Enforcement Unit was added to the Environ-

mental Management Division of the EPA in October, 2007.

This new unit is tasked with enforcing the Environmental Protec-

tion Act, the Environmental Protection (Amendment) Act 2005

and the Environmental Protection Regulations 2000 for Noise, Air

and Water Quality, Hazardous Waste and Authorisations.

Littering problem among priorities…..

Littering will be a major focus for the Monitoring and Enforce-

ment Unit. A proactive approach will be adopted in dealing with

this problem so that a clean and healthy environment can be

achieved country-wide.

The anti-littering thrust will be implemented in collaboration with

Ministries and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDC’s) in

phases with the first being implemented along the East Bank of

Demerara. In addition, a public awareness campaign will be imple-

mented country-wide.

Pollution will be dealt with seriously. The names of polluters and

details of recurring acts of pollution will be documented and the

Agency will take appropriate action which includes prosecution.

Penalties………..

The Agency has authority to deal with littering offences. This is

conferred under the Environmental Protection Act, No. 11 (1996)

which states that “Any person who throws down, abandons, drops or other-

wise deposits or leaves anything in any manner whatsoever in circumstances as

to cause or contribute to, or tend to lead to litter shall be guilty of an offence

and shall be liable to the penalties prescribed under paragraph (a) of the Fifth

Schedule.” s. 34(1)(a). Cont’d on Page 2...

New Unit in Environmental Management Established

• New Unit in Environmental Management

• Environmental Clubs enhance Proposal Writing Skills

• SYE Training taken to UG and CPCE

• Authorisations

• Developing our Human Resources

• Kid’s Section

• Additional Skills at the EPA

• Process for Kanuku Mountains Protected Areas started

• The 2008 Calendar– our voice on Littering

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Fourth Formers of several schools on the East Coast of Demer-ara were the most recent beneficiaries of developmental sessions conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency as it contin-ues its work with Environmental Clubs in several parts of the country.

During the last school term the EPA launched a Proposal Writ-ing Competition on the topic “Conserve Energy and Water Use in School” as part of the activities conducted in observance of World Environment Day 2007. The Competition was intended to increase public awareness on the environmental problems associ-ated with climate change and actions to address them at different levels including the school.

A spill-off of the Competition was a series of training workshops on proposal writing which were conducted in order to assist stu-dents in preparing proposals. At a workshop, which was held in the Boardroom at the EPA, students and teachers demonstrated much enthusiasm during the interactive training session.

The quality of the proposals being produced by the schools which have benefited from training in proposal writing attests to

New Unit in Environmental Management

Environmental Clubs Enhance Proposal Writing Skills

the success of the workshop. Another such training session is planned for the new school term for students of Regions 5 and 6.

Vo lume 4 Issue 1 October– D ecember , 2007

Cont’d from Page 1… In addition, the Act stipulates that “Any

person responsible for any function which results in any litter shall be guilty of

an offence and shall be liable to the penalties prescribed under paragraph (b) of

the Fifth Schedule.” (s. 34 (1)(b)

The penalties referred to are “a fine of not less than $10,000 nor more

than $50,000” for any person who litters and “a fine of not less than

$30,000 nor more than $80,000” for persons who hold a function

which leads to littering.

Follow-up ……...

Timely and consistent monitoring of entities granted Environ-

mental Authorisations is to be a major task of the M & E Unit.

The Unit will determine whether developers who obtain Environ-

mental Authorizations are in breach of or are non-compliant with

conditions set out in the Authorization. Appropriate action includ-

ing fines and prosecution will be levied against those who contra-

vene these regulations.

Collective effort for success…

The Monitoring and Enforcement Unit cannot work in isolation.

Co operation, inputs and information have to be provided by part-

ners with similar ideals if success is to be achieved.

It is the duty of every person to ensure a clean and healthy environ-

ment for themselves and those around them. Let’s make environ-

mentally friendly practices a habit! Let’s all be monitors and enforc-

ers as together we work for a better future.

Some of the students at the Proposal writing training

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The 2008 calendar – our voice on Littering

Volume 4 Issue 1 October– D ecember , 2007

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has indicated its position on littering through its 2008 anti-littering calendar. The calendar was created under the theme “Littering is Bad for the Environment- it’s Our Responsibility to stop it”. The calendar highlights the negative effects of littering - not only

on the aesthetics of the environment but also alludes to the health risk and the impact on wild life, some of which are rare and endan-gered. The pervasiveness of littering in our society is a message to citizens of our country to take action to stop and eventually eradicate the habit. Every Guyanese is urged to increase their efforts to sustain current programmes to reduce littering.

Process for Kanuku Mountains Protected

Areas Started

Cont’d from Page 6… The EPA is working closely with the Lead Agency, Conservation International Guyana (CIG), for this proc-ess and will continue consultations in the year 2008 to develop draft legislation for the four proposed sites: the Kanuku Moun-tains, Shell Beach, Mt. Roraima and Orinduik. The fifth site, the Southern Region, has been established as a Community owned Conservation Area by the Wai-Wai, in their titled land of Kanashen.

Some of the stakeholders at the Kanuku Mountains Delinea-tion Consultation

Our Calendars—helping to spread the message

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Volume 4 Issue 1 October– D ecember , 2007

Additional skills within the EPA

Environmental Officer II, Ms Clydecia McClure is now equipped with skills to enhance the Agency’s capability to establish and man-age Protected and Proposed Protected Areas in Guyana.

Clydecia was among ten (10) people who participated in a month-long Collaborative Management Training Course for Graduates organized by Iwokrama at the organization’s field station in Region 9. The course exposed participants to concepts of management in-cluding management styles, the qualities of a good manager, the dangers of favouritism and victimization. A number of principles, laws, legislation and standards related to the establishment of Protected Areas were examined at various levels. The necessity of incorporating the views of indigenous peo-ples in decision-making was highlighted and the benefits of involv-ing different levels of stakeholders in the process were discussed. As a result of the Course, Ms McClure is now skilled in proposal writing and has practised other concepts learnt since it was in-tended that the Course would equip participants with functional competencies. According to Ms. McClure, the training programme was very in-formative and she benefited tremendously. She is grateful for the opportunity to acquire new knowledge and skills and looks for-ward to using her expertise for the benefit of the Agency.

Active participation at one of the group activity

Process for Kanuku Mountains Protected Areas Started

The Kanuku Mountains were identified as one of five priority sites for the establishment of Protected Areas in Guyana. In May, 2007, the German Bank for Development, KfW, through the Guyana Protected Areas System Project approved a sub-project entitled “Delineating the Boundaries of the Proposed Kanuku Moun-tains Protected Area (KMPA) Using Community Participatory Approaches and GIS tools.” This sub-project utilized a highly participatory methodology to delineate a proposed boundary for the protected area and was implemented in three phases over a period of eight months. The EPA is very instrumental in the development of the Protected Areas System. The sub-project sought participation from a core group of stakeholder agencies and groups including Community Representatives and Regional Democratic Councils.

Options for the delineation of the boundaries of the KMPA were conceptualized and refined during a series of Workshops with different stakeholders at different fora. At the end of the series of meetings, these ideas were condensed into two options/strategies which were further subjected to extensive discussions with the stakeholder communities during the period November 13 to De-cember 6, 2007. The input of the entire communities to be involved in the process were considered as information gathering and sharing were under-taken. The core stakeholders would meet for a third time in Janu-ary, 2008 to refine and finalize the proposed boundary delineation of the KMPA guided by the information gathered from preceding meetings.

Cont’d on Page 7...

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Volume 4 Issue 1 October– D ecember , 2007

Schoolyard Ecology Training taken to UG and CPCE

Past generations have accumulated a great store of knowledge of plants and animals from first-hand experience. They know the best seasons to plant and harvest crops, how to avoid and control pests without the use of synthetic chemicals and which herb to use for ailments or to disinfect a wound. According to María Elfi Chaves and Dr. Peter Feinsinger in ‘The Philosophy of the Schoolyard Ecology and the Inquiry Cycle’, there is a wealth of traditional practices which served our ancestors well. This hard-won knowledge, this intimate relationship between peo-ple and the other living things that surround them, is fast disappear-ing. It also appears that natural curiosity, the origin of every advance that humanity has ever made, is being numbed, silenced and virtu-ally extinguished by modern living.

Part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) focus is to direct the natural curiosity of individuals towards the "living labora-tory" which surrounds them through investigations. Once an inti-mate familiarity with the local environment - landscapes, inhabitants and species interaction has been instilled, once the ability to ask and answer questions has been acquired, today's children will be able to make thorough decisions about how best to protect, conserve, and utilize the biodiversity of the landscape's "living laboratory".

The approach used by the Agency to achieve this is Schoolyard Ecology (SYE) which was first developed by Dr. Peter Feinsinger in 1985. This strategy provides students and their mentors (school teachers) with the tools not only to know and understand the "living laboratory" that surrounds them but also to frame and an-swer questions in an objective, meaningful and truly scientific way.

As the name indicates, Schoolyard Ecology takes place in a spe-cific part of the "living laboratory", a part that's accessible daily to children and teachers - the school yard and its immediate envi-rons. In this space, sometimes tiny and nearly paved over, some-times huge and "wild", children and teachers can encounter a sur-prising diversity of local plants and animals. On November 16th and 23rd, 2007, students from the University of Guyana (UG) and the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) were exposed to the SYE experience during a four–day activity facilitated by Officers of the Agency. The goal of this activity was to create a culture of conservation among students and to give them the self confidence and skills to become leaders for this cause. The students investigated some ecological processes, classes of interactions among different species and the impact of human actions on the environment. This type of learning stimulates the interest and curiosity of learn-ers. Less effort is needed to capture the attention as learners can actually see, smell and touch things in their environment. As the skill is mastered the need for sophisticated equipment and heavy financial input is reduced, thus making ecological studies sustain-able. The EPA hopes to continue this drive countrywide at various learning institutions.

One of the SYE training sessions in progress

Face-to-face with nature! Participants at a practical session of the SYE training

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The people who work with the Environmental Protection Agency are part of a professional team which strives for excellence in all areas of the Agency’s operation. Recognising that efficiency is de-pendent on the people who drive its processes, procedures and various tasks, the Agency seeks to equip its team with the skills and experience necessary to succeed in the dynamic world. During the months of October to December, 2007, a cross section of staff from different areas of work participated in meetings, workshops and training sessions. Mr. Oumardatt Ramcharran, Environmental Officer of the Natural Resources Management Divi-sion participated in a training workshop in Bolivia which focused on Protected Areas Management and Governance, an area of criti-cal importance in the protection and conservation of biodiversity. Ms. Alana Lancaster, Director, Environmental Management Divi-sion attended a meeting of the Interim Scientific, Technical and Advisory Committee (ISTAC) which dealt with the Land Based Sources of Pollution Protocol concerning pollution from land-based sources (LBS) and activities in the wider Caribbean Region. This meeting was held in Guatemala in November 2007. In addition, Ms. Indira Mattai attended a two-week training course on Environmental Law and Policy in Kenya during November,

Vo lume 4 Issue 1 October– D ecember , 2007

Authorisations

Developing our Human Resources

2007 while Ms. Karen Alleyne, Environmental Officer participated in a three-week training course in Germany from October-November, 2007 in Water Management. Staff of the Agency also participate on various committees and boards including the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission Board, Guyana Forestry Commission Board, Guyana National Bureau of Standards Board .

The EPA granted 13 Environmental Authorisations during the pe-riod October to December 2007. Six (6) of which were Environ-mental Permits for new operations. The Agency granted Environmental Permits for one (1) Funeral Home, one (1) Portable Sawmill, one (1) Lumber Yard with Proc-essing, one (1) Hotel, and one (1) Mechanic Workshop. A notable Authorisation granted was a Variance of the Environ-mental Permit for the Banks DIH Power House and Steam Genera-tion Relocation Project. A variance is granted to a developer who has an existing Environmental Authorisation but wishes to vary any provision of the Permit. The application is only approved if certain set requirements are satisfied. Such applications are treated as new since the Act requires that the existing Permit be cancelled and a new Environmental Permit be issued once the Variance application is approved.

Five (5) Operation Permits for regularization of projects that are already in existence were granted. These include a Lumber Yard, a Livestock and Processing Plant, two Gas Stations, a Funeral Home and a Joinery Workshop. A Digicel Communication Tower and a business engaged in the buying and selling of firewood also received Letters of Authorisa-tion in the last quarter of 2007. The Agency will continue to fulfill its mandate of environmental regulation and management so that a healthy and safe environment is maintained.

“ If you give people tools, with their natural ability and their curiosity, (and they use it) they will develop things in ways that will surprise you very much beyond what you might have expected.” Bill Gates

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Kids’ Corner

Volume 4 Issue 1 October– D ecember , 2007

The Water Cycle This is the process whereby water moves from the ground to the sky and then back to the ground.

The water cycle is made up of the following processes:

• Evaporation (and transpira-tion)

• Condensation

• Precipitation

Evaporation - the sun heats up water from the rivers, lakes, oceans etc. and turns it into vapour or steam. Plants also let off water through their leaves and this is called transpiration. The water vapour then goes into air.

Condensation - water vapour in the air gets cold and changes back to liquid, forming clouds.

Precipitation - is the process by which the condensed water in the clouds returns to the earth. Depend-ing on the temperature, precipitation can be in the form of rain, snow, ice or hail.

Water Maze Help this drop of water find its way through the pipe!