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New logging regulations being studied
Stakeholders of the logging industry at the Guyana Forestry Commission offices in Kingston yesterday during a workshop to consider new regulations.
– draft Code of Practice for nibbi, manicole productions mulled
Guyana is considering upgrading its regulations for logging and finalising a Code of Practice for non-timber forest products like nibbi, kuffa and manicole.
Yesterday, stakeholders of the industry met at the training centre of the Guyana Forestry Commission, Kingston, as proposals are also being considered for the identification and management of high conservation value forests (HCVF).
According to Jagdesh Singh, a senior official of the GFC, yesterday’s forum is the first of eight consultations to be held in coming weeks to review the current Code of Practice for Timber Harvesting. The consultations will also see the finalisation of a Code of Practice for Non-Timber Forest Products.
The regulations became operational in 1998 but were revised in 2001 and cover logging operations, planning requirements, post-harvest activities and camp hygiene and waste management, among other critical areas.
Singh stressed that new regulations to monitor the nibbi, kuffa and manicole industry will cover similar areas and will undergo regular reviews to ensure that the country’s forestry activities are conducted in a safe and sustainable manner.
However, the new draft regulations will consider Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy, reclamation of mined-out areas, community forestry groups and the selection of bio-diversity areas.
Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, in addressing the workshop, assured that the updated regulations are designed to improve the industry.
He stressed that while a few see the Code of Practice as coming with the country’s move in keeping with Low Carbon Development Strategy, the reality is that changes have been ongoing for years.
With new international measures impacting on how Guyana conducts forestry activities, especially in the US and Europe, the regulations take on even more significance.
In terms of the manicole, which is used in craft making, exports for this year have surpassed last year, a sign of the growing importance of non-timber forest activities.
Last year alone, some 7,000 pieces of nibbi craft were made and exported, another good sign, the Minister said.
Persaud warned that activities must be geared to become sustainable or the economic fallout could become unthinkable for Guyana. “There must be a move to explore more value-added services and products for the forestry activities.”
The Code of Practice is also critical to ensure safety in the workplace, the Minister said.
The recent case in which a Barama Company Limited worker was found dead in a wood chipper at Essequibo supports this notion.
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