Guyana’s Mangrove Restoration Project (GMRP) has been chosen to take part in a World Trade Organisation’s Conference being held in Ecuador in September. It is expected to make a presentation to the conference on the project which is funded by the European Union and the Government of Guyana.Ministers on horse cartMr. Freddie Ehlers, Minister of Tourism for Ecuador, who was accompanying, Ricardo Patino, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Integration on a visit to Guyana for a bilateral meeting, had been invited by Guyana’s Acting Minister of Tourism, Irfaan Ali, on a tour of the mangrove site.Said Minister Ali, “Minister Ehlers was extremely impressed by what he saw, and he thought our mangrove restoration effort could be a model case study for development, as it incorporates mangrove protection and management with community development and eco tourism.”It should be noted that Ecuador has extensive mangrove forests which have been degraded by developers destroying them to make way for shrimp farms.On the tour, which began at the Mangrove Visitor Center at Cove and John, the two Ministers of Tourism enjoyed a presentation of the mangrove restoration project, viewed displays of the various agriculture products being produced by the Mangrove Producers Coops which have become an adjunct to the mangrove restoration initiative and sampled the fresh cane juice and fried breadfruit chips.From the Centre, they used the horse cart which is fast becoming the preferred method of travel for tours in the Mangrove Reserve. They stopped along the way to compliment Ingrid, whose roadside stand produces the most delectable Demerara cane juice and cassava balls. They continued to Victoria Village which would be celebrating its 175th anniversary in 2014.They took pictures of the wooden hut where freed slaves from Victoria, who had continued working on the estate, would come to collect their weekly stipends. Farther along, as they entered the Mangrove Reserve they were greeted by folk singing and drumming by drummers from Victoria Village, specially arranged for the visit.Annette Arjoon-Martins, Chairperson of the GMRP, said, “Mr. Ehlers was very taken with this, and even tried his hand at some of the drumming.”Ministers Ehlers and Irfaan Ally with Victoria drummersMangrove Tour Guides, Raymond Hinds and Carlotta De Jesus, then escorted the visitors along the seawall with the 30-foot-high mangrove forest, and explained the four species of mangroves and the various medicinal plants found growing naturally in the area.Following the tour, Arjoon-Martins said that Minister Ehlers invited her to come to Ecuador to do a formal presentation on Guyana’s Mangrove Project to the World Trade Organisation’s Conference.“Apart from the conservation aspect, he was particularly keen to highlight the community development component which has emerged in our mangrove work here. He thinks it’s a success story which should be replicated in other parts of Latin America.”Minister Ally said, “Apart from the important sea defence aspect, our Mangrove Project also has definite tourism potential. Additionally,Cheap NFL Jerseys, it is generating employment in these coastal areas for tour guides, horse carts owners and mangrove rangers, and from the mangrove honey and various agricultural products coming from these communities.“Mr Ehlers was very enthused about the community development potential he saw in our Reserve, and felt it’s a story that should be spread.”
