Mr. Richard Marles

The Guyana government may approach the Australians for assistance in promoting an environmentally sound local mining sector according to visiting Member of Parliament Richard Marles.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs was in Guyana Monday for a one-day visit during which he met Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, other government officials and CARICOM Secretary General Irwin LaRocque.

Responding to a question on areas for possible collaboration arising out of the discussions Marles identified the Guyanese interest in developing the mining industry.

"Australia is a country whose economy is similarly based on mining; we have a particular expertise in mining and there are indeed some Australian interest now involved in exploration here in Guyana."

He noted that like Australia, Guyana's mining districts are located among the indigenous population and stressed that environmentally responsible mining is one area for future collaboration.

The Guyana government has been emphasizing the need for environmentally sound mining including safer use of mercury until it is eventually phased out globally, back-filling and re-vegetating of mined out areas and better coordination between the mining and forestry sectors to minimize the felling of trees.  Under the Low Carbon Development Strategy and the Guyana-Norway agreement, the South American country is committed to reducing the impact of mining and forestry on the rainforest that absorbs greenhouse gases and reduces climate change.

Meanwhile, Marles, whose next stop is Grenada, noted that there are already areas in which the Caribbean is benfiting from its relationship with his country, namely climate change assistance and scholarships.

According to Marles, it is important that collaboration between the two sides be recognised in light of the understanding they have of the challenges facing small countries.