Resource information
The primary objective of the National Land Use Plan (NLUP) is to provide a strategic framework to guide land development in Guyana. As such the NLUP is built upon a number of national policies and strategies that have a direct relevance for land use and land management. A main objective of the NLUP is to enable financial resources to be targeted at optimal land uses at the regional level.The NLUP aims to suggest a number of options for particular areas that can then guide decision-makers and attract inward investment. Following the assessment of the current situation and of opportunities and constraints, the NLUP has proposed development options for sectors including agriculture and forestry that may contribute the decision-makeing on food security, sustainable develoment and poverty reduction. For instance, the development option for the coastal plain, include the development of agriculture, livestock and aquaculture as primary options. The development of these sectors, particularly agriculture, will be dependent on ongoing rehabilitation of the D&I systems, while the development of pasture for livestock and aquaculture could benefit from the conversion of abandoned land to these other uses, particularly frontlands abandoned due to salinity. For the development of backlands care will need to be taken on soils where there are toxic acid-sulphate soils that should not be drained. More detailed soil surveys will be required before developing these areas. Regarding to the development options for the White Sand Plateau and Central Guyana area, the development potential for forestry will concentrate on currently leased areas with the potential for the conversion of some areas of low quality forest to plantation forests and the development of community forestry in Amerindian areas. There is also potential for the development of plantations on mined out land that could lead to the development of forest product based industries at hubs such as Linden, Bartica and Mabura Hill with linkages to ports for export.The NLUP has further identified key areas of policy development which will be needed to implement the NLUP, including: An assessment of biodiversity and/or of ecological function will enable areas of particularly high biodiversity or critical ecological function to be identified. This will also enable policy decisions regarding land use priorities and management to be undertaken; More detailed soil survey may be needed in areas of high agricultural potential (Class I&II land) due to the small-scale mapping available and inherent soil variability; to decide land use priorities between resource utilization and protection in some areas; and between agricultural and non-agricultural uses in areas of Class I&II soils; to address issue of competing and conflicting land uses and propose and implement land management solutions; enhance agricultural extension, particularly related to the development of rainfed farming as opposed to irrigated agriculture; etc.
