It is bounded to the North by a man-made 45 mile earthen dam and to the deep south by a natural topographic rise composing largely of ancient coastal dune formation over geological time.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) sponsored work to improve the EDWC in an effort to assist countries vulnerable to climate change.
[3] JICA provided grant aid which was utilized to improve the drainage and irrigation capacity within the EDWC by supplying eight long-reach excavators and two pontoons to the Government of Guyana.
The second component of the programme was the rehabilitation of six key EDWC structures in 2016: Phase II funds were used to obtain the country's first amphibious excavator.
[5] The EDWC NRC (Hope Canal) project was designed in response to the 2005 Georgetown flood due to the over-topping of the conservancy dam.