So vital is the environment that if it suffers widespread damage, it could lead to destruction of the world as it is now known.

For decades, the care and sustainable management of the environment was unfortunately grossly neglected but there has been growing awareness of the negative effects, which have cumulatively built up as a result of long practices by man that were and are detrimental to the environment.

Pollution by industries, testing of nuclear and chemical weapons, mining, forestry and poor methods in disposal of garbage have over the centuries gradually "distorted" the natural composition of the environment, resulting in every aspect of life being adversely affected in varying degrees.

This is what Pro-Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Professor Calestous Juma had to say recently on the challenges of cultivating a sustainable environment:

"Promoting the role of science and technology for meeting human welfare needs to take into account the need to protect the environment for present and future generations. The concept of 'sustainable development' has been advanced specifically to ensure the integration of social, economic and environmental factors in development strategies and the associated knowledge systems.

"The world community has been explicitly pursuing sustainable development strategies for about a decade. The main achievement from this process has been the rapid growth in awareness of the importance of integrating environmental considerations into development initiatives. This is particularly evident in public institutions, civil society organisations and, to a certain degree, in private organisations."

Guyana is still way behind in environmental technology and consciousness, but the advantage here is that the nation has not reached that level of industrialisation which results in enormous amounts of toxic wastes belching out from the chimneys of factories.

However, there are problems in this respect, especially in the mining and forestry sectors. It was not so long ago that the cyanide waste spill from the Omai Gold Mines posed a threat to the natural water and ecosystems in the Essequibo area.

Some progress has been made in inculcating environmental consciousness and implementing environmental programmes and regulations.

The establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), legislation in ensuring sustainable exploitation of marine resources and programmes by the Guyana Forestry Commission and the Geology and Mines Commission to encourage sustainable forestry and mining practices are all steps in the right direction.

These now need to be intensified and expanded, while legislation has to be updated to give `teeth' to the regulations governing environmental practices.

One area that needs immediate attention is the disposal of solid waste, especially derelict vehicles and builders' waste.

Scores of derelict vehicles dumped on the sides of roadways, sometimes in the middle of a residential area is rather unsightly. Some time ago an announcement was made of a campaign to remove all derelict vehicles from roadways, but nothing seems to have been done since.

Steps should also be taken to emphasise environmental consciousness in the curriculum of schools, especially at the nursery and primary levels so that the importance of caring and protecting the environment would be instilled early in the young.