Promoting Integrated and Participatory Ocean Governance in Guyana
The project “Promoting Integrated and Participatory Ocean Governance in Guyana and Suriname: The Eastern Gate to the Caribbean” officially launched in July 2017. It aimed to significantly strengthen governance and increase protection of the marine and coastal resources of Guyana and Suriname, through a participatory Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) process and to propose key coastal and marine areas for conservation.
This project was funded by the European Union from 2017 to 2021. It was also co-financed by the “Shared Resources, Joint Solutions” (SRJS) programme in the Guianas which focused on safeguarding three ecosystem-based `International Public Goods’: climate resilience, water, and food security, in critical landscapes such as the Coastal Zone and Marine Environment.
Improving data on the coastal and marine environment while enhancing existing stakeholder capacity
Stakeholder Analysis and Equivalence Gap Analysis Focused Conducted on IPs and Gender and a Capacity Needs Assessment.
Planning for zonation and managing human activities in priority areas is crucial to protecting and sustainably using marine and coastal resources..
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Strategy To achieve these goals, the project collaborated with ocean stakeholders to improve knowledge of the coastal and marine environment and to enhance capacity. Through this increased knowledge and enhanced capacity, the project hoped to enable substantial progress towards achieving the Aichi targets 4, 6, 10, 11 and 14 under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). |
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Challenges In Guyana, the project was paused for about one and a half years because of initial concerns raised about maritime boundaries and information sharing. During the 18-month hiatus, WWF-Guianas listened to stakeholders' concerns and collaborated with the donor to adjust the project document accordingly. WWF-Guianas and its key partner in, the PAC, reengaged stakeholders at a meeting in December 2019. |
The project produced several technical reports containing information and data that will inform future MSP efforts in Guyana:
