The sinister agenda of Mr. King is clearly exposed

Aug 21, 2014 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
I have noted that Kaieteur News published an article, supposedly by ECHO, on pages 9 and 24 of Tuesday August 19 2014. This article titled – “ECHO tell Bai Shan Ling to cease logging operations or face the Courts”, is simply laughable.
I am reliably informed that after leading a picketing exercise in front of the GFC office, Mr. Royston King and his group were invited by the GFC to its Boardroom to be apprised of the real facts. However, I learnt that Mr. King conveniently decided then that he had another meeting to go to and abandoned the rest of his group who chose to accept GFC’s offer to provide clarity.
The sinister agenda of Mr. King is however, clearly exposed, since he still chooses to make totally ridiculous claims, and give inappropriate and irrelevant advice that is simply not applicable in the current Guyana situation, whilst refusing offers for clarification.
This is unacceptable behaviour from someone that is supposed to be a mentor and a role model to young minds and community residents.
If this is the kind of teaching/guidance ECHO is imparting to the members of the environmental youth clubs, I would strongly urge parents not to send their children to this forum since the young minds would only be poisoned with inaccurate information.
But let me identify some glaring mistakes and totally outrageous statements:
1. The Company’s name is Bai Shan Lin (not Bai Shan Ling as stated in the article)
2. Who will verify that Bai Shan Lin (BSL) is operating within the law – is it a case where ECHO is looking for a consultancy that it is most unqualified for? The forest regulatory agency has the mandate to ensure the forest sector companies operate within the law and this is exactly what they are doing. One only has to read the reports of the independent auditors that is on the website (www.forestry.gov.gy), and peruse the various guidelines that we concession holders must comply with to be educated on this.
3. GFC has clarified that BSL can log and can export, having satisfied the GFC requirements to do so. In summary, it can do limited harvesting from the SFEP, and the maximum allowable harvesting from its joint venture concessions. It can export logs in keeping with the log export guidelines. It has the relevant export licenses to do so.
A timber company is in the business of logging (in keeping with the guidelines) and profit making – it is therefore only natural that they would seek to harvest as much as they can (and as many species as they have markets for). Once they comply with the sector’s set guidelines, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, more companies should follow this example so that the Government gets the increased returns from our forest resources within the acceptable limits of harvesting.
4. If Mr. King had done even a little bit of research before penning his vitriol, he would know that deforestation/forest degradation due to forestry activities (as verified by international auditors on behalf of Norway ) approximated a mere 360 ha last year. These auditors also praised the systems in place as being very strong; compliance by stakeholders was also deemed satisfactory. The Guyanese public must be made aware that this is just a smokescreen by King. How can he assume that there will be damage to the environment in the face of all this evidence and in light of all of the sector’s controls. Let me alert Mr. King that we the loggers sometimes feel very strongly that GFC is over regulating the sector. Maybe this is an area that he can channel his energies to.
5. GFC, EPA and the media have all reported the BSL is currently doing an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) in keeping with the EPA Act. Sadly however, King and ECHO seem to be unaware of this – is this a reflection of their understanding of current affairs? Is this the kind of outdated and incorrect (mis)information they saturate the youth/environmental clubs with? Is this the kind of garbage that is fed to community residents under the guise of “educational programmes and projects to foster environmental protection awareness”?
As a small logger, let me say that in the past years there were simply little or no markets for our logs/lumber. We depended and were at the mercy of lumber dealers on the Coast, and had to transport our produce there. We had to accept the grade and price of the buyer, then endure another waiting period before we were paid.
With BSL, we get a very fair price, our produce is collected from us, and we get our prompt payment. Is this a bad or unwanted development Mr. King and ECHO? Or do you and your organization hold the view that the interior people must remain impoverished and their children have no secure future?
Are they to remain like that so that they can be fed the trash that you and Kaieteur and Stabroek News are maliciously publicising? Let me warn all of you that what you are trying to do is equivalent to taking bread out of our children’s mouth, and leaving them without hope for the future.
But we will not let this happen.  We will not stand by idly and let your silly attempt at publicity for ECHO and whatever other agenda you have succeed. Closure of BSL operations will directly affect us small loggers and our families. We call on you to stop this malicious campaign, and act responsibly as you should. Also, please do proper research next time you have the compulsion to write an article for the newspapers – even if it is Kaieteur and Stabroek News.
You owe this to the young members of your club
Mark Fraser

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