A new logging operation proposed by Case Timbers Limited could affect Guyana’s archaeological sites which are near rapids in the Berbice River, according to an environmental study.

Case Timbers Limited is to develop a 138,560-hectare logging concession in the upper Berbice area, contingent on the approval of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), following the completion of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study which has identified a number of potential hazards.

The study finds that the project could indirectly affect archaeological sites comprising petroglyphs and ceramic artefacts. It suggests that since fishing was good in the dry season, many workers in their spare time would want to frequent the rocky areas where pre-Colombian finds have been made. Concomitant with the logging would be new roads which could lead to an increase in small-scale mining, concentrated in riverain areas.

The study also indicates that it could be a while before the road system to be developed gets to a point where it becomes practicable for residents of Apoteri in the North Rupununi to take advantage of any employment opportunities offered by the proposed logging operation. With the new road linkages, there will be increased access to and from the coastal communities for persons plying the narcotics trade. To address this, the company plans to introduce checkpoints at various locations and to collaborate with the Traffic Department of the Guyana Police Force.

In August of 1998, the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) had granted a State Forest Exploratory Permit (SFEP) to Case, which has carried out a forest inventory and submitted a Forest Management Plan to the GFC. This plan received the approval of the GFC in February.

Upon the granting of the Environmental Permit by the EPA, Case Timbers will apply to the GFC for a Timber Sales Agreement over the area covered by the existing SFEP.

The operation being considered in the EIA is a conventional, modern logging operation to harvest about 36,000 cubic metres of logs annually. Some of these logs will be processed into lumber while some will be for sale as piles and poles.

The EIA stated that the annual figure was calculated based on the GFC allowable cut per hectare and the area of the commercial forest in the concession.

Case Timbers is a sister company of Universal Amalgamated Communal Industries Limited (UNAMCO) which operates in the north of the Case Timbers concession. Logging operations in the UNAMCO concession have been ongoing for the past five years, producing an average of about 21,670 cubic metres of logs annually of which over 90% was greenheart.

Case Timbers and Unamco, although separately incorporated, share the same management and financial resources. Because of this, the EIA says, the concessions are expected to support a large, modern, integrated and sustainable forest enterprise engaged in logging, sawmilling and plywood/ veneer manufacture.

A two-member team, comprising Ivan A. Welch and Veronica Broomes, carried out the assessment on behalf of Case Timbers Limited. Welch is a forestry consultant and is the team’s leader while Broomes is a specialist in socio-economic impact assessment.

The EIA will be reviewed by the Environmental Assessment Board (EAB) and once it is found that the mitigation measures outlined by Case Timbers are sufficient, the EPA will issue the permit for the development to go ahead.