By Mark DaCosta- In another article in this publication captioned, “Understanding climate change,” it was stated that flooding of Guyana’s coast is a colossal concern. This is the case because the Atlantic coast is the most heavily populated area of the country. The capital city is situated on the coast, and coastal areas are central to Guyana economy, and the way of life of the whole country. Coastal flooding is one impact of climate change. And it is a big one for Guyana. Also, because of Guyana’s geography and network of inland waterways, areas far away from the Atlantic Ocean may be vulnerable to flooding.
Experts say that, worldwide, rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and changing weather patterns are all contributing to the increased vulnerability to flooding of coastal communities. All things considered, it is important for the government of Guyana – as well as the general population – to pay attention to the issue, understand it, and take action to deal with it.
Climate change – scientists warn – is the primary driver of the escalating threat of flooding. The melting of polar ice caps and glaciers due to rising temperatures results in the expansion of seawater. This, combined with the thermal expansion of the oceans, leads to increasing sea levels. Also, intense storms and hurricanes, fueled by warmer ocean temperatures, bring about more frequent and severe storm surges and higher tides. Guyanese will have noticed that high tide advisories have become far more frequent in recent times. It is also known that overtopping of the seawall is often a major problem.
Experts say that activities such as coastal development, destruction of mangrove trees, and general deforestation, further intensify the problem by reducing natural buffers against high tides and flooding of low lying coastal areas. Such areas include those that lie along Guyana’s inland waterways such as the Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice rivers.
Flooding – an inevitable consequence of a changing global climate – poses major risks to human lives, livelihoods, ways of life, and also the environment. Flooding of Guyana’s low-lying Atlantic coastal areas, as well as vulnerable inland communities, can lead to the displacement of people, loss of homes, and damage to Guyana’s infrastructure. Additionally, saltwater intrusion into freshwater sources can contaminate drinking water supplies. Such occurrences will affect both human and ecological health and life, as well as agriculture, and access to food.
Erosion of coastal land can also result in the loss of valuable habitats, including wetlands, and forested areas. It should be noted that because Guyana has large areas of forest that lie adjacent to inland waterways, such erosion would be a great loss. This is so because forests play a crucial role in supporting biodiversity. Furthermore, the economic impacts of flooding would be substantial in Guyana, with damage to businesses, ecotourism, agriculture and small business ventures.
It is emphasised by scientists that to address the challenges posed by flooding, a combination of mitigation and adaptation strategies is necessary. Those strategies were examined in the article captioned “Understanding climate change.”
Clearly, Guyana’s government must implement mitigation and adaptation measures, such as properly maintaining Guyana’s sea walls, levees, kokers, flood barriers, drainage system, and conservancy systems in order to protect vulnerable areas. Nature-based measures such as restoring mangroves will certainly help to absorb wave energy and reduce soil erosion, a major factor in the risk of flooding. The government must also implement and enforce development planning and zoning regulations that can minimise future problems in high-risk areas.
To summarise, coastal and inland flooding, driven by climate change, poses a severe threat to many communities worldwide, including in Guyana’s low lying, vulnerable areas. Urgent action is needed to mitigate the problem because our coastal communities are pivotal to our economy, way of life, and overall well being. With those facts in mind, people in Guyana’s corridors of political power must take action by anticipating impending issues related to flooding, and implement policies and programmes to reduce the impacts of such occurrences on Guyanese.
