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Hurried allocation of over one million acres of state forest will be a national environmental disaster

Jan 23, 2020 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

It was widely reported in the print and online media as well as on GFC website that the GFC Board is planning to allocate or reallocate a significant tract of state forest previously held by Baishanlin and Barama.
This is a significant development. Allocation of such large-scale state forest – presumably over one million acres – a mere 40+ days before National Elections, looks premature and ill-advised if not foggy. Something does not augur and smell right about this transaction. Why wait until the last days, when these lands as reported were re- possessed sometime ago.
Contrary to the GFC Board’s belief, the State Forest is a National Patrimony and belongs to all Guyanese, and not to one group of stakeholders. In this day of Climate change and the sensitivity of the Environment to Natural Disaster, this seemingly hurried and reckless decision will have dire consequences on our Environment.
What has suddenly happened to the Green State Development Strategy and the Agreement with Norway? The President has been on record as stating that he was committing two million acres of forest to Protected Areas or Conservation back in 2015. Has this promise ever materialized? Why now, instead of putting the forest to protection, has the recently appointed Commissioner decided to give large scale allocation for log production? Export of logs will no doubt skyrocket.
I am calling on all Environment groups, the Norway, EU, Civil society and all local and international partners who have an interest in protection of the global environment, to please do your bit to stop the GFC/Board/Government; to put on hold any large-scale issuance of State Forest.
The recent forest and bush fires in Australia, Bolivia and California should serve as a living example of how vulnerable the environment is to Natural Disaster and thus Forest Protection is a must, not an option.
Sincerely,
V. Li
Concerned Environmentalist

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