With the natural resources sector contributing significantly to Guyana’s growth, a challenge exists in striking a balance between extracting those resources, and preserving the environment, says Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman.
The minister, during the National Communications Network (NCN)’s programme, “Insight”, earlier today, said that while “you can’t have an omelette without breaking an egg”, managing the disturbances so that people are not affected, is paramount.
“We have to extract the resources but do so in a sustainable manner bearing in mind that the environment is going to be disturbed…But we do have a constant tension between development, and the conservation of the very resource that we are extracting. So, it is something that we always need to pay constant attention to,”
The minister said that with gold currently serving as one of the main pillars of the economy, there is no denying the fact that the environment will be disturbed. However, this does not provide a justification for destruction, but rather, an indication that more vigilance and different methods of extraction are needed to ensure that mining is done in a respectable way.
Commenting on Guyana’s Green State Development Strategy (GSDS), Trotman said that while the initiative captures the aspirations of the government to move the country along the green path, there will be no abandonment of the extractive industry. However, alternatives are needed to ensure there is incorporation.
“We are not going to jettison our traditions and/or desires to extract what I believe to be out God-given resources. We just have to find a better way of doing it,” said Trotman