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“Over the years, Almond Beach was one of the best places.

“People across the globe know about Almond Beach because of the sea turtle nesting,” Arnold Benjamin, the Almond Beach Community Development Council Chairman, told the News Room during a recent visit to Region One.

Benjamin, however, noted that the erosion has significantly affected life at Almond Beach. For example, the community no longer has the school that was constructed there in response to the growing population in the 1990s.

According to Benjamin, between 1991 and 1997, about 150 people lived on the beach. Because of the population growth, several facilities were constructed: a school, a church, and a ball field (a recreational area).

By 2005, the school was dismantled and moved further inland because the coastline had receded.

“It was really rapid,” Benjamin said.

He added, “It forced people to move. We lost about two miles (of land), farms (and) coconut trees.”

Over the next 10 years, the erosion continued, and the residents moved further inland. Eventually, Benjamin said they asked the government not to dismantle and reconstruct the school; it was just a “waste of money” and families started leaving the beach.

Benjamin is among those people who believe the residents are climate migrants because erosion, as a result of or worsened by climatic changes, forced them to migrate.

So what is causing the erosion?

Based on data collected and analysed between 2019 and 2023, the PAC found that parts of the Shell Beach coastline have been washed away by the Atlantic Ocean.

The PAC is the body with oversight for Guyana’s protected areas, including the Shell Beach Area. The Commission also found that the Shell Beach coastline had a mass area of about 1.3 miles in 2019. In 2022, that was reduced to a mass area of about 0.7 miles.

The beach is eroding from the eastern end, while accretion, which is the dumping of the materials washed away, is happening at the western end.

The coastal changes are part of a seemingly natural 30-year cycle, but the PAC also noted, “These changes are believed to be a result of climatic changes which have resulted in stronger ocean currents and intense wave action.”

PAC’s data revealed there were 70 people living there in 2014; at the beginning of 2023, only three families were living there.

The Thornhills are among those who remained – at least until now.

Residents help save the turtles

Leonard Thornhill moved from Moruca, a Region One community found more inland, to Almond Beach about 35 years ago.

“Over the years, it [the erosion] wasn’t affecting us like how it is during this time.

“Back in the years, the erosion was, like, slow but from like two years back we experienced it moving very fast,” Thornhill said as he sat on the beach recalling the coastal changes he has been observing.

Thornhill said life as he knows it is on Almond Beach so moving would be very difficult.

Seine nets are scattered around his wooden house; his farms are located further inland. These are indications of how he makes a living on the beach.

“Most of my children, they born and grow on Shell Beach so it’s kinda hard to take them from here to somewhere strange.

“… We got our lil farmlands, but you can see the erosion taking place.

“We will still remain until whenever,” he said.

As long as he is on the beach, Thornhill also wants to help monitor and protect the turtles that nest there. And he has been doing just that.

In mid-September, when most of the PAC rangers left the beach, Thornhill found a few hawksbill hatchlings on the beach. He instinctively collected them and kept them safe in his yellow bucket at his house until nightfall, the time when they could be left to venture into the ocean.

If he hadn’t picked them up, intense sunlight or dogs on the beach might’ve harmed them. Like Thornhill, Almond Beach residents all know the importance of protecting these endangered species.

Seeta Augustus, for example, grew up at the beach with her family. She relocated to attend a secondary school in Mabaruma, the capital town about 30 miles inland, but she’s now back as a ranger on the beach, helping to protect the turtles.

She can tell you many facts about the turtles coming to the beach. She also knows about the changes the community grappled with because of the erosion— the loss of the school, the church, and the ball field. The changes make her emotional.

“It’s very sad to know because it’s my hometown.

“…I born and grow up here, and now everything is washing away and it’s very hard to see, like, everybody moving away.”

“It’s really hurting,” Seeta said, trying to laugh away tears.

Coastal changes in Guyana

The Shell Beach area is part of Guyana’s low coastal plain, one of the country’s four natural regions, and the area that hugs the Atlantic Ocean. That coastal plain is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels because it is itself below sea level.

At other parts of the coast, especially near more populated, urban areas, there are sea defences like mangroves and sea walls. These are necessary to help protect the coast and the people who live there.

Even so, the World Bank, in its 2021 report titled “360° Resilience: A Guide to Prepare the Caribbean for a New Generation of Shocks” found that Guyana could face the Caribbean’s second-highest level of shoreline retreat if high climate change impacts persist.

Essentially, it noted that Guyana risks losing 65 metres of its shoreline by 2050; only neighbouring Suriname (with an estimated retreat of 71 metres) risks losing more of its shoreline.

Local scientist and engineer Dr. Kofi Dalrymple has been studying the impact of climate change and sea level rise on coastal erosion for years.

According to him, the shoreline naturally evolves through a process of erosion and accretion but climate change is exacerbating that. In the case of Guyana’s coastal plain, much of the land was formerly marshland where the Atlantic Ocean would have naturally covered and receded over time.

With land development on the coast, however, he said the ocean has been kept “at bay” instead of allowing it to flow in and out naturally.

“What climate change does to that natural process is, as the sea rises, its ability to go further inland increases.

“So there is a direct link between rising sea levels and, sort of, coastline recession,” Dr. Dalrymple said.

Dr. Dalrymple said more research specific to the Shell Beach area would prove insightful. A study of wave intensity and coastline changes would help stakeholders grasp just how climate change is impacting the protected area.

Already though, the PAC, based on the information provided to the News Room, believes the erosion has “drastically” decreased the Almond Beach coastline and forced residents to migrate.

Still, the PAC believes that Almond Beach and wider, Shell Beach, still serve as a “viable ground for nesting sea turtles.”

Is inland migration a must?

The situation is a bit more complicated for those who still live there. Seeta’s father, Liston Augustus, retired recently after teaching for decades. He knows he should probably move more inland, but fishing and farming on the beach are his main sources of income.

“I have to try because I don’t really have any other alternative to where we can go.

“…When the water reach 10 metres, we normally break down our house and move away. This is the third time now we move away. It happens like every three years or so depending on how fast the water comes in,” Augustus told the News Room.

As long as the turtles continue nesting in the Shell Beach area, there will be efforts to monitor and protect them, but for the remaining residents who face losing their homes and livelihoods, inland migration may be their best bet.

Arnold Benjamin told the News Room that an area at Khan’s Hill, another Indigenous community found much closer to Mabaruma, is being prepared for the remaining families at Almond Beach. According to him, some may move, but some may remain on the beach.

This story was published with the support of the Caribbean Climate Justice Journalism Fellowship, which is a joint venture of Climate Tracker and Open Society Foundations.

With the Government of Guyana more focused on developing several sectors in the country, including culture and entertainment, Telford said he intends to engage policymakers in a push for copyright laws which will also ensure adequate compensation for artistes. Telford commended the government for its keen interest in transforming the industry.

The company plans to establish a state-of-the-art studio with a space where performers can record and occupy as needed. Using his influence in the music industry, Telford said he will collaborate with other entertainment companies and international artistes to transform the industry.

One such partner is Audiomack Caribbean, which wants to enter several new markets and Guyana being one, has given the two companies a chance to collaborate.

Telford has been in the music industry for many years and has a team of writers and producers who are responsible hit records such as Koffee’s “Toast” and Jorja Smith’s “Be Honest” featuring Burna Boy. He has major influence in the industry and intends to use it here.

The company will host several activities between November and February as it enters the country’s entertainment industry. Telford said these activities reflect the ‘party theme’ that the entertainment is known for here.

The first activity is set for November 4, 2023 at the Outside Lounge. Telford advises that participants keep their wrist bands for each of the parties hosted as they will have a chance to win a new car as well. He explained that the promotion is another form of “talking the language” of Guyanese consumers.

In terms of artiste lineup, Bounty Killer and Bling Dawg will be at these events.

“I’m bringing in friends from the music industry; a-list artists to come and take the information that they learn and pass it on to people in Guyana.

“You will see these artists up close and personal as opposed to these big shows where you just pay a lot of money and leave,” Telford said.

Archibald made a strong start in Lane 1 and kept with the top two until a close finish, as the Guyanese secured bronze in 10.31s (.310)

Silver went to Brazilian Felipe Bardi, who also had 10.31s (.302), while gold went to Alnardo Gonzalez of the Dominican Republic with 10.30 seconds.

It is the first Athletics medal for Guyana at the Games since Aliann Pompey (400m Bronze) and Marian Burnett (800m Silver) got the podium at the 2003 Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Additionally, it was the first medal for Guyana at the Games since 2011, when squash player Nicolette Fernandes got bronze in Mexico.

Guyana won no medals in 2015 (Canada) and 2019 (Peru).

Abrams and Archibald indicated the focus shifts to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as they aim to meet the entry standards – 10.00 seconds for men and 11.07 seconds for women in the 100m.

Those times need to be achieved between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024.

Abrams holds the national record at 11.07 seconds, while Archibald’s personal best is 10.13 seconds.

Athletes can qualify in two ways for the Paris 2024 Games, with 50% of qualification places based on achieving the entry standard for an event within the qualification period and the other 50% based on the World Athletics Ranking within the ranking period.

On Wednesday (November 1), Aliyah Abrams will run out of Lane 5 in the Women’s 400m final from 19:23h. She enters the race as the second-fastest qualifier.

At 18:15h, Archibald starts in Lane 4 for semi-final one in the Men’s 200m. He enters the race with a season-best of 20.69s.

The top two automatically qualify for the final, along with the two fastest non-direct qualifiers.

Additionally, archer Devin Permaul competes in the Men’s Individual Recurve (ranking round) from 08:00h, while Hemchandra Persaud contests Esport football from Thursday at 10:00h.

Leslain Baird will seek glory in the Men’s Javelin on Saturday from 18:59h.

Mohase said a fire tender arrived at about 13:00 hrs and went to the origin of the fire to extinguish it. When the firefighters finally decided to focus on the lumberyard, most of the wood was already on fire.

However, the fire service in a statement on Monday said four fire tenders from Melanie, Mahaica, Alberttown and Campellville responded to the fire at about 12:32 hrs. The Fire Service claimed that the fire spread rapidly due to heavy winds and the flammable materials surrounding it.

The brush fire reignited several times on Tuesday. Because of Guyana’s current severe hot weather, the Fire Service is urging citizens to desist from setting fires to grass and garbage during the dry season.

The situation is devastating for Mahase because he relocated the business from a different area in Enmore in January and he was pleased with the new location; he did not anticipate such tragedy.

According to Mahase, on Saturday, he received a delivery of a truckload of 8,500 logs and was scheduled to fill the orders of several contractors.

Meanwhile, Richard Hardeen, the owner of the field and compound where the lumberyard was, told the News Room that several complaints were made to the NDC about residents who set fire to garbage.

“Despite many efforts through the NDC (Neighbourhood Democratic Council) to solve this problem, we never solve it with the residents at the other side in Haslington. It’s a sore area that never been addressed and that created millions, maybe billions of losses,” Hardeen said.

The man had machinery housed at the lumberyard and all were destroyed.

Several workers who resided at the compound are now displaced. Collin Yhap said “Documents and everything that I had burn up. Entirely the lumberyard where we work, we lose a lot.”