The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) published a notice today urging residents who are in close proximity to the forest fire in Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice) to evacuate.
The forest fire has been observed in the Bissaruni Forest Area and residents of both Bissaruni and Kwakwani stand to be affected.
“As a precautionary measure, we strongly recommend that individuals avoid the area and urge those who work or reside in the vicinity to evacuate,” the GFC said.
The GFC, along with loggers, the Guyana Fire Service (GFS), the Guyana Police Force (GPF), and residents are working round the clock to contain the fire.
The fire was first observed on Tuesday. It was initially reported that just under five acres of forest were destroyed but while this has since increased, GFC Head Edward Goberdhan says the destruction caused so far is not significant.
The GFC boss has already assured that forestry officers are trained to effectively respond to instances of wildfires within the country’s vast forest and in cases where deemed necessary, the army can be deployed in order to provide backup to any given firefighting efforts.
Wildfires are increasing around the globe in frequency, severity and duration, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has noted. “The risk of wildfires grows in extremely dry conditions, such as drought, heat waves and during high winds,” the WHO said.
Guyana’s forests are part of the Guyana Shield, which is inclusive of areas in Suriname, French Guiana, Colombia, and Brazil. It covers approximately 270 million hectares of pristine rainforest and is recognised as one of the last remaining “frontier forests” of the world. Guyana’s contribution to this is approximately 18 million hectares or 87% of the land mass of Guyana.
The management of the forests is outlined in Guyana’s revised Low Carbon Development Strategy which saw the country becoming the first to receive a certification of over 33 million carbon credits by the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) on December 1, 2022.
Guyana has signed a US$750 million deal with Hess Corporation for the sale of carbon credits, with 15% of that money going directly to Indigenous communities.
The Guyana Government has also received a four-year €5M grant (approximately GY$1.1B) from the European Union (EU) for the sustainability of the country’s forests and forest-dependent communities.
While Guyana’s forests store approximately 90.5 gigatons of carbon, globally, trees and soil store in excess of 13 billion tonnes of carbon.
President Dr Irfaan Ali is urging persons to promptly report instances of wildfires within the country’s valuable forests.
