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Three countries contemplate adopting Guyana’s system

Dec 03, 2009 News

… Financing mechanisms for REDD+:

 

Several countries within the region are in Guyana to examine this country’s work on financing mechanisms for maintaining its forest cover and exploring possibilities of replicating it.
The two-day workshop, organized by the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and which opened yesterday, was expected to review possible financing mechanism to compensate countries with high forests and low deforestation (HFLD) rates for efforts to preserve forest cover and to discuss options and recommend an applicable mechanism.
Here for the workshop are representatives from Dominica, Suriname and Belize.
FAO’s representative, Claus Ecklemann, at the opening, noted that Guyana has “jumped the gun”, taking the initiative and already entering an agreement with Norway to manage this country’s forests.
According to Ecklemann, Guyana’s situation is similar to Suriname’s with more than 80 per cent of its forests still intact.
With greenhouse gases being blamed on the ravages of climate, there is are no questions that something needs to be done.
Like Guyana, there are several countries that can vie for the opportunity of being rewarded for forest cover, he disclosed.
Cuba for example, since the 1960 has managed to reclaim 13 per cent of its forests which was lost to degradation, he said.
The idea of yesterday’s workshop, therefore, is for countries to learn from the Guyana experience.
Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, noted that the workshop is timely since it gives Guyana an opportunity to showcase its pioneering work in the fight against climate change that could encourage regional and global replication.
Pointing out that Guyana has not over-utilized its resources, Persaud was confident that overtime, through successive government, a system to protect this country’s forests has been fully developed. In addition to the various measures, there is a transparent method in Guyana’s land allocation and log tracking system, among others.
Additionally, over 360,000 hectares of virgin forests under the care of Iwokrama Rainforests has been given to the international community as a model of forest conservation.
Guyana’s record of only 0.3 per cent of deforestation is a prime example of its policies, he pointed out.
And this comes in spite of continuous logging in an atmosphere of deliberate policies to protect the eco-system.
According to Persaud, along with the opening of Takatu Bridge, linking Brazil and Guyana and the Berbice Bridge, there have been several applications for investments in soya beans and palm oil farms, and gold and diamond permits.
These are real opportunities that can pose significant threats to the forests of Guyana, Persaud said.
Arguing his case for financial rewards for this country’s forests, the Minister said that the emphasis alone should not be on reducing emissions but must consider avoided deforestation and sustainable forest management.
There must be a global recognition that developing countries would need financial support to help in the fight against climate change.
Against this background, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen later this month must take a decision to provide financing for developing countries like Guyana, the Minister said.
The official noted that yesterday’s workshop would serve to detail the processes experienced to reach where it is and the participating countries should be able to adopt and replicate it.

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