Guyana Resilience Profile

The region incurred an estimated $27 billion in losses and damages from natural hazards between 2000 and 2017, averaging 5.7 percent loss of GDP annually due to such disasters. The economic impact is staggering, making resilience an imperative for the region. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Eastern and Southern Caribbean Mission partners with regional and national institutions to support long-term resilience to natural hazards. In 2020, USAID/ESC conducted a Resilience Assessment for the ESC region to better understand the interplay of the region's socioeconomic, environmental, and institutional context, the natural hazard and human-induced stressors that impact its communities and development sectors, and the spectrum of resilience capacities already in place. Guyana, a tropical, low-lying country located in northeastern South America, is also vulnerable to natural hazards. The country experiences coastal flooding, flooding due to excessive rainfall, drought, and wildfires. Guyana's United Nations Human Development Index score has improved recently, although gender inequality remains a pervasive challenge. The country has several pieces of legislation aimed at building resilience, but they have yet to be put into full force. Guyana's environmental context is characterized by a varied geography and natural landscape, with approximately 85 percent of the country's total land area being forested. Rainfall in Guyana is highly variable, and the country can be divided into climatic regions ranging from dry to extremely wet. Projections indicate that mean annual temperature will rise by 1.9°C and annual precipitation will decrease by 36.8 mm by 2040-2059. Average sea level is expected to rise one to three meters by the end of the century. Guyana's social context is diverse, with 35 percent of the population of African descent, 35 percent of East Indian descent, 20 percent mixed, and 10 percent other. Ninety percent of the population lives in the coastal strip bordering the Atlantic Ocean, and just over a quarter of the country's population lives near or below the poverty line. Guyana's UNDP Human Development Index ranks in the middle tier of countries and has been increasing in recent years due to improvements in life expectancy, mean years of schooling, and gross national income. Agriculture and mining are the most significant contributors to Guyana's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The country is a net food exporter but faces challenges processing goods in-country due to high energy costs. The economy of Guyana grew by approximately 4.5 percent in 2019 and 4.1 percent in 2018, primarily due to increased timber and gold production. Commercial oil production began in the country in 2020, resulting in significant economic growth and an expected increase in GDP of 53 percent. Disaster preparedness and management in Guyana is overseen by the Guyana Civil Defense Commission (CDC), which plans and implements national-level disaster management measures, promotes the adoption of disaster loss reduction and mitigation policies, and provides disaster management training and education. The CDC works in close collaboration with Guyana's Office of the President, Ministry of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, Red Cross, Ministry of Health, and Defense Force. Guyana is at risk from coastal flooding and sea level rise, flooding due to excessive rainfall, drought, and wildfires. The country experiences frequent flooding during the rainy seasons, affecting both the inland regions and the coast. In January 2005, heavy rainfall coupled with drainage blockages and pump malfunctions caused severe flooding in several regions, affecting 274,774 individuals and resulting in economic losses of $465 million. Guyana is also at risk from drought and is expected to see an increase in consecutive dry days due to climate change. Institutional capacity in Guyana is a mixed bag, with several frameworks and systems in place, such as the National Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS) Framework and regional disaster risk management systems. However, the country struggles with limited institutional capacity to enact disaster risk management activities and limited monitoring and enforcement. There is high duplication of initiatives and a lack of integration or harmonization across activities, and the country's Regional Democratic Councils and Neighborhood Democratic Councils have limited authority and resources to implement initiatives and plans at a sub-national level.