Guyana National Land Use Plan Government of Guyana Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission August 2013 National Land Use Plan Oi PREFACE A National Land Use Policy and Plan for Guyana have been long overdue. Although several baselines and regional and municipal plans have been prepared, there still remained a national overarching policy and plan that can serve to guide land use decisions. This National Land Use Policy and Plan comprises both the process by which it was developed, and the policy and 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) with support from the Development of Land Use Planning Project (DLUPP). As described in this document, the Plan, as presented, is not a prescriptive document. Rather, it is intended to provide the overarching policy framework for land use decision-making co- ordination for the other land-based sector agencies such as the Forestry Commission, the Geology and Mines Commission and the Central Housing and Planning Authority. GLSC wishes to acknowledge the EU-Guyana 10th EDF Technical Assistance for the support it provided for the initial drafting of the Plan, and HTSPE Limited, in association with SRKN’gineering and InfoTerra for technical consultancy services. Page i TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ................................................................................................................................. I TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................... II TABLE OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... II TABLE OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ IV LIST OF ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................. VI 1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1 2 CURRENT SITUATION ..........................................................................................17 3 ANALYSIS OF OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS .................................97 4 DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS .................................................................................138 5 NATIONAL LAND USE POLICY ........................................................................163 6 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................164 BIBILOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................176 Table of Figures Figure 2-1 Climatic Regions ..................................................................................................18 Figure 2-2 Inundation due to Sea Level Rise and Storm Surge 2031 ...............................19 Figure 2-3 Natural Regions ...................................................................................................20 Figure 2-4 Physiographic Regions ........................................................................................21 Figure 2-5 Surface Water Resources ....................................................................................25 Figure 2-6 Groundwater Resources .....................................................................................26 Figure 2-7 Geology of Guyana ..............................................................................................28 Figure 2-8 Mineral Resources ...............................................................................................29 Figure 2-9 Mineral Production 2006-2011 ...........................................................................31 Figure 2-10 Mining Districts .................................................................................................34 Figure 2-11 GGMC Prospecting and Mining Leases..........................................................35 Figure 2-12 Prospecting Leases including Petroleum Exploration Permits .....................36 Figure 2-13 Soils (Original FAO Classification) .................................................................36 Figure 2-14 Soils (USDA Classification) ..............................................................................37 Figure 2-15 Land Capability .................................................................................................49 Figure 2-16 Natural Vegetation (2001 data) ........................................................................50 Figure 2-17 Simplified Natural Vegetation Map.................................................................52 Figure 2-18 Forest Resource Allocation Map ......................................................................56 Page ii Figure 2-19 GFC Issued Forestry Leases.............................................................................58 Figure 2-20 Areas of Deforestation 1990-2011 ....................................................................61 Figure 2-21 Intact Forest Baseline (2009) ............................................................................63 Figure 2-22 Intact Forest Area Year 1 and 2 (2010 & 2011) .............................................63 Figure 2-23 Land Cover/Land Use 2012 ..............................................................................68 Figure 2-24 Production, Export and Value of Rice and Sugar 2007-10 ...........................70 Figure 2-25 Protected Areas Location .................................................................................75 Figure 2-26 Guyana Population Pyramid (2002) ................................................................79 Figure 2-27 Population Distribution and Density ...............................................................81 Figure 2-28 Administrative Regions and Settlements ........................................................85 Figure 2-29 Marginality (Poverty Status) by Region ..........................................................87 Figure 2-30 Land Tenure Diagram ......................................................................................88 Figure 2-31 Land Tenure Map .............................................................................................88 Figure 2-32 Amerindian Areas .............................................................................................90 Figure 2-33 Infrastructure ....................................................................................................92 Figure 2-34 Flood Levels in Coastal Region 4 ....................................................................94 Figure 2-35 Conservancies and D&I Infrastructure ..........................................................96 Figure 3-1 National Land Issues ...........................................................................................97 Figure 3-2 Land Management Performance ......................................................................98 Figure 3-3 Land Tenure Status of Attendees ......................................................................99 Figure 3-4 Perceived Extent of Land Administration Issues .............................................99 Figure 3-5 Acceptable Land Rental Rates .........................................................................100 Figure 3-6 Priority for Land Access ...................................................................................101 Figure 3-7 Land Capability and Limitation ......................................................................110 Figure 3-8 Class I&II Land by Land Cover and Region .................................................112 Figure 3-9 Non-forested Land.............................................................................................113 Figure 3-10 Standing Timber Value of State Forests .......................................................116 Figure 3-11 GGMC Proposed Blocks for Lottery and Auction .......................................121 Figure 3-12 Current and Proposed Protected Areas ........................................................123 Figure 3-13 Potential HEP Sites .........................................................................................127 Figure 4-1 Assessment of Development Potential .............................................................139 Figure 4-2 Available Land ...................................................................................................140 Figure 4-3 Development Options, Hotspots and Linkages ...............................................142 Page iii Table of Tables Table 2-1 Extent of Natural Regions ....................................................................................22 Table 2-2 Extent of Physiographic Regions .........................................................................22 Table 2-3 Mineral Resources by Geologic Formation ........................................................30 Table 2-4 Mineral Production 2006-2011 ............................................................................32 Table 2-5 GGMC Issued Leases 2010 and 2011 ..................................................................35 Table 2-6 Soil Mapping Units FAO & USDA ......................................................................38