Georgetown: Amid prevailing challenges, Guyanese must push for tangible results in the area of sustainable wildlife management and conservation, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud said.
Under the theme “Wildlife crime is serious; let’s get serious about wildlife crime” Minister Persaud was speaking at a Stakeholders’ Forum to mark World Wildlife Day, which was recently held.
He said the theme should not be taken at face value, as it put the spotlight on illegal trade and exploitation of wildlife. “As wildlife stewards, you have a responsibility to ensure that your hunting and trapping practices are done according to the regulations. With that said, we recognise that the regulations and other pieces of policies that protect wild flora such as the National Policy on Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture 2014 are only as good in practical terms as the partnerships that we are able to forge,” he told those present.
He said collaborative partnerships would aid in the promotion of innovative initiatives that conserve wildlife and combat illegal activities related to wildlife. On the part of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, he said though the air was clear on all the technicalities of wildlife management such as the implementation of a licensing system for wildlife dealers, and the establishment of quotas for harvesting targeted wildlife species, it was also cognisant of the challenges that must be overcome before these are implemented.
“Some of those challenges include: building capacities of staff within the Wildlife Division and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) for scientific research, the provision of the requisite training and equipment to detect, investigate and prosecute wildlife offences; and educating the general populace on the importance of wildlife resources and the need to conserve such resources,” Minister Persaud explained.
Nevertheless, he said the Natural Resources and the Environment Ministry has embarked on a number of initiatives that seek to address the issue of wildlife management and conservation.
Central among these is the establishment of the Wildlife Management Steering Committee in November 2014. This committee, he explained, acts as an advisory body in providing general oversight and guidance in the development of strategies and programmes for wildlife management and conservation in Guyana.
Additionally, the Ministry has collaborated with an international Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) – Panthera – to develop a project in the south of Guyana on sustainable hunting practices as a foundation for managing wildlife harvest.
“This project when completed will be scaled up to the other regions of the country. Rest assured forums of this nature will be replicated with key constituencies that are not adequately represented today such as the Amerindians and stakeholders in other far-flung regions. Our intention would be as it is today to not only educate stakeholders on responsible hunting practices but to encourage self-regulation and voluntary reporting of wildlife hunted,” he further explained.
The development of a targeted communication strategy to achieve compliance with the regulations, the development of a wildlife management and conservation booklet with key messages and themes on wildlife for distribution to Wildlife Hunters and Trappers, and a closer working relationship with Wildlife Stakeholder Groups are among the gains to be achieved from this ongoing partnership.
Guyana became a party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) in 1977. This mandates the adoption of appropriate measures for effective implementation of the convention. Failure to enact legislation to implement the Convention can lead to compliance measures being instituted against the defaulting party including recommendations to suspend trade. Guyana was previously subjected to a recommendation for trade suspension for inadequate legislation.
However, the suspension was lifted after the enactment of the Species Protection Regulations in 1999. This regulation along with the Wildlife Management and Conservation Regulations 2013, which provide for the collection, hunting, sale and possession of wildlife govern the international and domestic trade of wildlife respectively.
In an effort to strengthen the regulation and management of the international wildlife trade, a Wildlife Import and Export Bill was tabled in the National Assembly in 2014. This Bill seeks to repeal the Species Protection Regulations and establish the Wildlife Import and Export Authority to replace the Wildlife Division.
These regulations make provisions for among other things, penalising the harvesting of prohibited species of wildlife, exporting, re-exporting or importing wildlife without permits and the use of prohibited devices and methods to hunt wildlife. Penalties for offenders range from $30,000 to $750,000 along with prison time.
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