Dear Editor,
I came across an article, ‘China in Africa’ in the June issue of the Fast Company Magazine at fastcompany.com. We should pay attention to China’s approach to logging (among many other investments) in Africa and must thank God for Janette Bulkan and others, who have contributed to opening our eyes to the strategy of Asian lumber companies in Guyana as it relates to the exportation of our logs.
We should also take note of China’s approach to development. China, which is presently lending the US money, has made it clear that it is still a developing country and as such would not allow evironmental and climate change issues to obstruct their development policy. Note that the only reason China has stopped extensive logging in China is due to the flooding the deforestation had caused. China has given no indication that it will get on board with greenhouse gas emmission guidelines.
My concern is that our government’s approach to development seems to be tied to giving up our forest to uncertain carbon credit schemes. The approach seems to be more about saving the planet than saving ourselves. As a nation we need to look again at our approach to the development of our country. Our neighbour Brazil with a similar geography and challenges has moved ahead and is now considered a role model.
Yours faithfully,
F Skinner
