FINAL REPORT DESIGN AND DEPLOYMENT OF A RISK ASSESSMENT SPATIAL DATABASE AND RISK MAPS, CONDUCT TRAINING ON DATA GATHERING, GIS, USE OF GPS, EXPLOITATION AND UPDATING OF THE DATABASEFOR THE AREAS IDENTIFIED IN REGION 9 A UNDP (Guyana) and Guyana Civil Defence Commission Project Oronde Drakes Environmental Hazards and GIS Specialist Consultant November, 2013 Table of Contents List of Acronyms ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 4 Context .......................................................................................................................................................... 5 Purpose and Scope ........................................................................................................................................ 6 Methodology ................................................................................................................................................. 7 Limitations ................................................................................................................................................ 8 Findings ....................................................................................................................................................... 10 Villages .................................................................................................................................................... 11 Massara ................................................................................................................................................... 11 Sand Creek .............................................................................................................................................. 17 Mikey’s Landing ...................................................................................................................................... 20 Lethem .................................................................................................................................................... 21 Risk Assessment Spatial Database Training Sessions.............................................................................. 24 Stakeholder Meeting .............................................................................................................................. 24 Training Programme ............................................................................................................................... 24 Deliverables................................................................................................................................................. 25 Recommendations ...................................................................................................................................... 26 Early Warning Points ............................................................................................................................... 26 Village Flood Monitoring Points .............................................................................................................. 26 Water Contamination ............................................................................................................................. 27 Existing Capacities ................................................................................................................................... 27 Technical Capacities ................................................................................................................................ 27 Expansion ................................................................................................................................................ 28 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 29 Appendix 1: Calculation of the Index of Flood Risk .................................................................................... 30 Appendix 2: ................................................................................................................................................. 31 Comparison of Inundation Risk derived only from elevation with that of Inundation Risk derived as a product of elevation and distance from waterways ............................................................................... 31 Appendix 3: Land Cover .............................................................................................................................. 32 Appendix 4: Tasks for database .................................................................................................................. 33 Appendix 5: Table Relationships of the Risk Assessment Spatial Database ............................................... 35 Appendix 6: Location Data Entry Form of the Risk Assessment Spatial Database ..................................... 36 Oronde Drakes November 2013 Page 1 Appendix 7: Normal Observations Data Entry Form of the Risk Assessment Spatial Database ................. 37 Appendix 8: Hazard Event Data entry Form of the Risk Assessment Spatial Database .............................. 38 Oronde Drakes November 2013 Page 2 List of Acronyms CDC Civil Defence Commission CI Conservation International CRMI Caribbean Risk Management Initiative CSO Community Support Officer CWH Community Health Worker DDO District Development Officer DRM Disaster Risk Management E East EWP Early Warning Point Ft. Feet FMP Flood Monitoring Point GDF Guyana Defence Force GGMC Guyana Geology and Mines Commission GPF Guyana Police Force GPS Global Positioning System GL&SC Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission GRCS Guyana Red Cross Society km Kilometres m Meters N North NAREI National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute RDC Regional Democratic Council RRMC Risk Reduction Management Centre S South SRTM Shuttle Radar Topography Mission UNDP United Nations Development Programme W West WWF World Wildlife Fund Oronde Drakes November 2013 Page 3 Executive Summary The consultant conducted activities which covered sites in several districts of Administrative Region 9, provided a better understanding of the variation within the region and the specific characteristics of each of the villages chosen for Early Warning Points and the RRMC. The districts represented were South Pakaraimas –Mikey’s Landing, Karasabai, an EWP; North Rupununi – Massara, an EWP; Central Rupununi –Lethem, the site of the RRMC; and, South Central Rupununi –Sand Creek, an EWP. The distribution leaves only the Deep South Rupununi District of the Rupununi West Sub-region unaccounted for in the pilot RRMC structure. The Rewa/Upper Essequibo (Rupununi East) Sub-region, which is not subdivided into districts, is also unrepresented in the project’s structure (see Figure 1, Region 9: Administrative Boundaries). The data gathering exercise, through informal focus groups at Massara and Sand Creek (the contact person at Mikey’s Landing, Karasabai was absent when the team arrived) revealed that these communities do not consider wild fires a hazard to their communities. This may indicate that the all hazard approach taken in the design of the spatial database for risk mapping overestimated the importance and impact of such events. Conversely, it may also highlight a potential increased vulnerability in these communities created from the underestimation of the risk posed by these events. Further investigation would be required to determine which situation reflects the reality. There were several deficiencies in capacity within each village identified as an EWP site. The most severe being the lack of exposure and access to information technology and in particular, computer hardware. This circumstance reduced the scope of the training sessions as it manifested in slower progress through the multiple topics covered. The result was that only the main topics needed to understand the functioning of the spatial database and wider GIS mapping software were addressed. This limited capacity can potentially create a bottleneck, negatively impacting the execution of the project. The CDC has recognised that steps may be needed to correct these issues. Figure 1, Region 9: Administrative Boundaries Oronde Drakes November 2013 Page 4 Context Guyana is a small nation on the northern coast of South America located between latitudes 01o and 10o North and longitudes 56o and 62o West. Uniquely the only English speaking country on the continent, it has historically been linked to the (former) British Caribbean rather than the neighbouring Latin countries of South America. Like all countries, it is susceptible to a variety of natural hazards; the most prominent being floods (seasonal riverine flooding and coastal overtopping of sea and river defences potentially linked to sea level rise) and seasonal droughts1 (see Figure 2 Guyana: Major Subregional Environmental Hazards). Cascading hazard events including wild fires and viral/bacterial outbreaks are also known, often linked to the interplay of the major hazard events with anthropogenic activities. Figure 2: Guyana: Major Subregional Environmental Hazards Floods are the major environmental hazard, occurring annually over wide areas and often resulting in disaster situations. To combat these and other disasters,