Guyana, EU sign agreement for sustainable trade of legal timber

Dec 17, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – Guyana and the European Union (EU) have signed an agreement to ensure the legal trade of timber to EU buyers on Friday at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) in Montreal, Canada.

The legally binding trade agreement was signed by Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat and the European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, and co-signed by Deputy Minister of the Environment of the Czech Republic, and EU Presidency of the Council, Jan Dusík, a statement from the EU said.

The signing of the agreement marks the end of a 10-year negotiation process. It consolidates Guyana’s position as a frontrunner in the protection, restoration, and sustainable management of forests.

The agreement will give EU based timber buyers assurance that timber products from Guyana are legal. It will help improve forest governance, tackle illegal logging and promote trade in verified legal timber products.

Guyana is the first country in the Amazon region to sign a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on forest law enforcement, governance and trade (FLEGT) with the EU.

Under the EU Global Gateway Strategy, Guyana is also one of the first five countries worldwide that signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a Forest Partnership with the EU at COP 27 a month ago.

This cooperation takes place in the context of the EU’s global strategy which stands for sustainable and trusted connections. Global Gateway is tackling the most pressing global challenges, including fighting climate change and supporting security of global supply chains.

Through the VPA, Guyana will tackle trade in timber that has been illegally harvested, transported or processed. The country will improve market access for law abiding businesses, as well as modernise its forestry sector, create jobs, promote sustainable development, and protect the rights of indigenous peoples.

Under the VPA, Guyana commits to developing a timber legality assurance system to assess that timber products -for all stages of the supply chain- have been produced in accordance with national legislation.

When this system is operational, Guyana can issue verified legal timber products with FLEGT licences. The licence certifies that the timber or timber products exported under that licence are legal.

With the signing of the deal, Guyana and the EU need to ratify the VPA, according to their respective procedures. It was stated that, forest stakeholders as the private sector, indigenous peoples, local communities and civil society, have all been closely involved in the negotiation of the agreement, alongside with the Government and EU representatives.

For his part, Minister Bharrat said, “Guyana has one of the oldest, most diverse and largest tropical ecosystems worldwide that houses an array of diverse flora and fauna. Our forests are home to more than 9 000 species and it is crucial that we preserve such wildlife.”

He added, “Forests in Guyana are also a net carbon sink and have a major role to play in the world to mitigate climate change. They cover nearly 80% of our land and through sustainable forest management we can ensure they can continue to be a home to our rich biodiversity, help us strengthen the economy, and improve people’s livelihoods. This deal with the EU will boost the trade in legal timber, which will stimulate the creation of green jobs while protecting the precious environment we have. This bilateral agreement will advance the integrated planning and management of Guyana’s forest sector under the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030.”

Meanwhile, Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen said “We are thrilled to have reached this agreement with Guyana.”

“After the forest Partnership signed at COP 27, this VPA provides an opportunity for the EU and Guyana to keep on building on our long standing partnership to further cooperate in the area of environment and forests. Forests are our allies in fighting climate change and protecting biodiversity, and local communities benefit from sustainable forest management. I am confident that this agreement will also lead to a positive impact on the Guyanese population, including Indigenous Peoples,” Urpilainen said.

Commissioner for Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius added: “This VPA is yet another positive development in fighting illegal logging, as the world meets in Montreal to agree on ambitious new targets to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. Earlier this month, the EU agreed on the world’s first law to fight global deforestation and forest degradation driven by EU production and consumption. The new law will integrate and improve the existing system to control timber legality, going beyond legality and addressing several other crucial commodities beyond wood. We will work with Guyana and all other partner countries to help them reap the economic opportunities of this new law for deforestation-free producers across the globe.”

Likewise, Jan Dusík, Deputy Minister of the Environment of the Czech Republic and Special Envoy of the Czech Government, on behalf of Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU said the agreement constitutes a “significant contribution to the conservation of Guyana’s forests which is essential for both protecting the biodiversity and fight against climate change.”

“Guyana and the European Union already work together very closely, and the Voluntary Partnership Agreement will strengthen our cooperation and also stimulate good governance and sustainable forest management,” Dusík said.