Georgetown : The Agriculture Ministry and the Office of Climate Change (OCC) convened a meeting with residents of West Coast Berbice to update them on the status of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), and to remind to them of the dire impacts of climate change if urgent actions are not taken.
Speaking at the Bush Lost Secondary School, Region Five, yesterday, Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy explained the importance for every Guyanese citizen to become climate smart. He noted that the devastating impacts of climate change are very real and cannot and should not be ignored.
Minister Ramsammy said that Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy or LCDS as it is popularly known, “is about all of us, and therefore all of us should be part of making it happen…Guyana can take pride in the fact that we are leading the world in a new trajectory that will bring relief, help every citizen and will ultimately contribute to a better country, better region and a better world.”
Presidential Adviser and Head of the OCC, Shyam Nokta said that climate change is now one of the top global issues that all countries must work to address. He noted that even though Guyana has not been emitting large amounts of carbon, it will feel the same catastrophic impacts as those that have contributed significantly to this phenomenon.
Nokta noted that already Guyana has been experiencing impacts such as unpredictable weather patterns, which primarily affect agriculture, for which Region Five is known. Further, with the rise in sea level, the entire coastal zone (agriculture lands and infrastructure) will be severely affected.
“We have to be aware of these changes and start thinking of how we are going to respond…we have included climate change planning in all of the economic sectors especially agriculture,” he said.
Nokta is calling on all citizens to make the necessary changes at the household, and community levels, as well as in the various economic sectors in which they are involved.
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