Forestry Commission defends 164,000 acres approval

Mar 01, 2020 News

The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) has defended its approval for a large tract of forest lands in Upper Berbice area.

Former GFC chair, Jocelyn Dow

There is absolutely nothing sinister about the transaction which would have followed the necessary checks and balances, says outgoing chair of the Board of Directors, Jocelyn Dow.
In recent days, there were media reports that the Commission has allocated the lands to Lloyd Singh, principal of International Pharmaceutical Agency (IPA), who is also said to be a close supporter of the Coalition Government.
However, Dow yesterday said that nothing is formalised as yet, as a new board will have to inform the new concessionaire officially.
In fact, there were no approvals for a concession for any “Lloyd Singh”.
The transaction had raised the ire of the Opposition who noted the nearness of general elections, scheduled to be held tomorrow.
It was reported that forest associations in Region Ten were also upset at not having an opportunity.
Dow explained that the Forest Act 2009 stipulated that prior to the issuance and or award of a State Forest Exploration Permit (SFEP), the Commission is mandated to advertise these areas and so inform the general public and invite interested persons to apply.
The SFEP in question was one of several concessions revoked from BaiShanLin, a locally registered company owned by Chinese, for various infractions under the Forests Act 2009.
BaiShanLin had secured this concession and a number of others, and had been harvesting logs and shipping them out by the containers without building a processing plant in Linden as it had committed to.
It ended up owing the government millions of dollars for taxes despite billions granted in tax breaks and duty free concessions.

No application from Lloyd Singh: Businessman, Lloyd Singh

The Coalition Government had moved in amid growing concerns over BaiShanLin.
According to Dow, since the revocation, this and other similar areas have been held in abeyance by the Commission until a comprehensive plan was prepared and recommended by the then Commissioner of Forests, James Singh.
It appeared that attempts were made to illegally mine and log in the concessions which lie between Region Ten and Region One.
“This fact among other reasons was proffered as to why the lands in question should be re-advertised for reallocation. The recommendations were considered and approved by the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) Board in 2019.
GFC, facing cash issues, decided to advertise the concession in according to the law.
“The GFC’s records would clearly show that only one applicant applied for the said area and that no application was received by a Lloyd Singh.
“It should be noted that notwithstanding the fact that the GFC has not formally or otherwise communicated any award of any of the advertised concessions to any of the applicants, the methodology employed can withstand any scrutiny as it complied with GFC laws, rules and policies for the allocation of SFEPs and State Forest Authorizations (SFAs).”
Under the law, because of their size, SFEPs, as in this case of the 164,000 acres (the same size as previously issued to BaiShanLin) require that no holder can undertake any harvesting or other similar operations within the said concession without first completing an Environmental Impact Assessment (ESIA), a business plan and an inventory.
“It should be noted that the cost of the SFEP application is a non- refundable fee of US$20,000 or $4M. In addition to the application fee a further financial investment, usually a minimum of $30M, is required to execute the ESIA and the other requirements.
Notwithstanding the sums aforementioned, an SFEP is only granted for a maximum period of the years and a new board will have every opportunity to scrutinise the performance of all applicants and satisfy themselves that they have complied with all the legal and other requirements before granting them permission over the area on a long-term basis,” Dow stressed.
She said that one application was received for the area under consideration and the applicant satisfied all requirements stipulated under the law, including one which was never previously required by the GFC – offering the GFC a premium bid for the ability to access the area to carry out the said ESIA, inventory and business plan.
“Therefore, in addition to the non-refundable application fee, the costs associated with the ESIA, inventory and business plan, the applicant was further required to offer to the GFC a premium bid based on the GFC’s assessment of the current commercial value of the standing trees which the GFC must receive in full before the applicant is allowed access to the area.”
In fact, the Commission advertised three SFEPs and only received four applications for the areas.
Ms. Dow said that none of the applicants belonged to any association and or groups from Region Ten or elsewhere.
“In addition to the three SFEPS, two former BaiShanLin areas were subdivided into 11 small concessions as recommended. These were also advertised.
“The GFC received a number of applications from associations and other small loggers for these other areas. For the record, no association and or any small loggers from Region Ten or else applied for any of the SFEPs.”
The former Chair said that the law further mandates the GFC to keep records of such applications and anyone can write requesting information on any matter, which does not fall within the realm of confidentiality. The GFC is mandated to provide the information.
“To demonstrate the GFC’s confidence in the process and to ensure that the said process and intended awards were fairly, transparently and legally done, the GFC urges all interested persons to request the information relating to those vacant areas as advertised so that they can satisfy themselves of the integrity of the process.”
Dow made it clear that the GFC has not communicated any award of any vacant area to any applicant and “it should again be stated unequivocally that no application was received for any SFEP in the name of Lloyd Singh.
“While I personally believe in the freedom of the press and the obligation for full transparency by boards, I am disappointed that a newspaper that describes itself as a responsible member of the press should without any attempt at verification, headline incorrect information that it could easily have checked if it had any passing interest in the truth.”
She also pointed out that the Board, which she chaired to date has repossessed and approved a number of concessions.
The awardees, in this instance, have not been informed to date and a new Board will have the opportunity to scrutinise the process, and the staff of the Commission led by the acting Commissioner will be there to defend the process.
“All members of this current Board would, I am sure, make themselves available for the ongoing work of the GFC.
“Finally, our staff have done commendable work in the face of the well-known financial constraints that they have endured and should be praised for their commitment to the GFC and by extension to the patrimony of all Guyanese.”
Dow said she is endorsing the work of the technical committee that reviewed the some 100-odd applications even though they are subject to false and unjustified criticisms.