Guyana National Land Use Plan June 2013 Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission Government of Guyana Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Guyana National Land Use Plan Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission With assistance from Development of Land Use Planning Project Supported by European Union Government of Guyana National Land Use Plan June 2013 PREFACE This is the report on the development of the National Land Use Plan for Guyana. The report covers: • The process by which the plan was developed • The plan itself, including full explanations of the plan content It is accompanied by a separate map folder, which contains larger format maps, where the larger format helps in viewing and use. A separate Summary document is also available. This National Land Use Plan was developed by the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC), Land Use Planning Section, with support from the Development of Land Use Planning Project (DLUPP) and financial support from the European Union. As such, this report is a substantive and contracted output from the DLUPP. As described in this document, the Plan, as presented, is not a definitive or prescriptive document. Rather, it provides support to decision making, through looking at development options and constraints throughout the country. The intent is that it should be incorporated into the lease decision process, with the objective of encouraging decisions which optimise the use of Guyana’s resources for the benefit of its people. The Plan itself does not make any such decisions. Planning is a continuous process. As such it is never final. Old information is corrected, new information becomes available, circumstances change, government policies change, and so forth; all these require regular updating of the plan. Readers are encouraged to examine and use the National Land Use Plan. Comments, suggestions, and new (or corrected) information should be forwarded to the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission. Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission Page i Oi Government of Guyana National Land Use Plan June 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ................................................................................................................................ I TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................................... II TABLE OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................. V TABLE OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. VII LIST OF ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................... IX 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 RATIONALE ............................................................................................................... 1 1.3 POLICY AND STRATEGIC GUIDANCE .................................................................... 2 1.3.1 National Development Strategy (1996) ........................................................ 3 1.3.2 Land Use Baseline Report (1996) ................................................................. 3 1.3.3 Land Use Policy (2004, 2007, 2012) ............................................................. 4 1.3.4 National Competitiveness Strategy (2006) .................................................. 4 1.3.5 Low Carbon Development Strategy (2010) ................................................. 5 1.3.6 Poverty Reduction Strategy (2000, 2004, 2011) .......................................... 6 1.4 SYNTHESIS .............................................................................................................. 10 1.5 METHOD OF COMPILATION .................................................................................. 12 1.5.1 Planning Team ............................................................................................. 12 1.5.2 Data Collection ............................................................................................ 13 1.5.3 Consultation ................................................................................................ 13 1.5.4 Analysis, Report and Map Production ....................................................... 14 1.5.5 Scale and Zoning ......................................................................................... 15 2 CURRENT SITUATION ............................................................................................ 16 2.1 CLIMATE .................................................................................................................. 16 2.1.1 Climate Change and Sea Level Rise .......................................................... 16 2.2 PHYSIOGRAPHY AND GEOMORPHOLOGY ......................................................... 18 2.3 WATER RESOURCES ............................................................................................. 22 2.4 GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES .............................................................. 26 2.4.1 Regional Geology ........................................................................................ 26 2.4.2 Mineral Resources ...................................................................................... 26 2.4.3 Current Production ..................................................................................... 30 2.4.4 GGMC Leases .............................................................................................. 31 2.4.5 Petroleum and Natural Gas ........................................................................ 34 2.5 SOIL RESOURCES .................................................................................................. 34 Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission Page ii Government of Guyana National Land Use Plan June 2013 2.5.1 Data Availability ........................................................................................... 34 2.5.2 Soils of the Coastal Plain............................................................................ 39 2.5.3 Soils of the Interior Alluvial Plains ............................................................ 40 2.5.4 The White Sand Plateau and Older Pedeplains ........................................ 41 2.5.5 Soils of the Crystalline Shield uplands ..................................................... 43 2.5.6 Soils of the Highlands, Mountains and Plateaus ...................................... 44 2.6 LAND CAPABILITY .................................................................................................. 46 2.7 FORESTRY RESOURCES ....................................................................................... 47 2.7.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 47 2.7.2 Natural Vegetation Mapping ....................................................................... 47 2.7.3 The State Forest Estate and Forest Classification ................................... 51 2.7.4 Forest Management and GFC Leases ....................................................... 52 2.7.5 Forestry in the Economy ............................................................................ 55 2.7.6 Community Forestry ................................................................................... 56 2.7.7 REDD+, MRVS and the LCDS ..................................................................... 56 2.8 LAND COVER & LAND USE ................................................................................... 61 2.8.1 Definitions .................................................................................................... 61 2.8.2 Mapping ........................................................................................................ 61 2.8.3 Classification ............................................................................................... 62 2.8.4 Extent of land cover types .......................................................................... 63 2.9 AGRICULTURE AND LIVESTOCK .......................................................................... 65 2.10 FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE .......................................................................... 68 2.11 BIODIVERSITY AND PROTECTED AREAS ........................................................... 69 2.12 ENERGY RESOURCES ........................................................................................... 72 2.12.1 Hydropower ................................................................................................. 73 2.12.2 Wind .............................................................................................................. 73 2.12.3 Solar ............................................................................................................. 73 2.12.4 Biomass ....................................................................................................... 74 2.13 POPULATION ........................................................................................................... 74 2.14 ECONOMIC DATA ................................................................................................... 75 2.14.1 Macro-economic data ................................................................................. 75 2.14.2 Migration & Remittances ...........................................................................