Stories of Impact: Communicating Flood Risk Along Guyana’s Coast

This document discusses the Government of Guyana's Conservancy Adaptation Project (CAP) to address catastrophic flood risks in Guyana’s coastal areas. The project aimed to strengthen understanding of the coastal drainage system and water conservancy, improve drainage infrastructure, pinpoint key strategic interventions to reduce flood risk and build institutional capacity.

A targeted risk communication strategy, including animated videos and key publications, ensured that policy-makers, stakeholders, and local communities were fully informed of disaster risk measures in case of catastrophic rainfall events. 

Workshops were held to share information from CAP and disseminate technical information, facilitating information exchange and improving coordination within and between ministries and stakeholder groups.

Lessons learned from the project include the following: 

• Good communications and outreach is an important part of disaster recovery and prevention efforts;
• Awareness raising and capacity building of policy makers can help avert future disasters;
• Coordination among stakeholders can be improved with better communications.