The meaning of LCDS

Interviews and photos by Tiffny Rhodius and Femi Harris

We asked the man and woman in the street this week if they knew what the acronym LCDS (Low Carbon Development Strategy) stood for.

Gweneth, student
I don’t know what it means. It probably means Learning Co-operation Development Society. And it is probably some programme whereby persons cooperate with each other in their communities to develop the country and make Guyana a better place.

Hewley Prince, private sector employee
That is Low Carbon Development something. I know it has to do with the global warming. It is some form of protection for the rain forest. I don’t follow it up much because the problem I have is I want to know if it is going to benefit some or all.

But I also think that it can be sustainable with proper management. However I would like to know if the true people of the rain forest are going to benefit from it. That is what I’m most concerned about.

Allan Ramkissoon, driver
I think it is the Low Carbon Defence Syndrome or something like that. It’s due to climate change, deforestation, preserving the forest. I think it is to get rid of carbon in the atmosphere by preserving the forest and reducing pollution. That is basically what I understand it to mean.

I think it is a sustainable strategy because it helps to minimise the low carbon and it’ll boost our country. It will do several things for us one of which is we become recognised by the international community and two; it contributes to climate reduction in the world.

Stacy, vendor
I think it stands for Lackadaisical Crime Department Service. It is what the police provide. This is the term for police who do not do their jobs and not being punished. Look at what they did to that little boy and nobody did anything about it.

These men should be punished and they are not doing that so I think LCDS means that. Something should be done to these police they are not doing their jobs and when they do these things they are not being disciplined.

Tamika, vendor
I haven’t heard of that before but I think it means Learning, Caring and Demanding Satisfaction. I think it is a service that should be created to look into the needs of poor people. It is a public service that goes out into communities and feeds, clothes and provides shelter to vagrants.

I think it also provides free education to street children. It would also fight the government rule that keeps children back and going to nursery school a whole year because they born on April 1. They would see that this one day difference be discarded.

Davanand Sankar, private sector employee
I’m not sure…oh the Low Carbon Development Strategy. They getting a set of money from international countries for our forest but what I want to know is what will they utilise that money for? Yeah it is a good strategy but what are we doing with the income? Are we all getting $2,000 for each of our trees? Something positive has to be done with the money.

It’s a lot of money and if you are protecting the forest for $5 million but what are they going to do when we have to cut timber? I want to know how this will affect logging and mining and these things. It is a wise move but I still worry what the money will be used for.  I don’t understand the benefit to me.

Tandika Griffith, teacher
It is the Low Carbon Development Strategy and it’s basically strategies that are implemented in order to reduce the amount of carbon emission in the atmosphere for the protection of the forest. It is also to the extent that our government is trying to maintain our forest with the hope of reducing the world’s carbon emission is what I understand the LCDS to mean.

It is right, yeah in a sense to have people pay us to keep our forest but my question in relation to LCDS is where is the money going? What I am interested in knowing is who is going to benefit from this thing and how.

Leon John, public sector employee
I can’t remember exactly what it stands for but it has something to do with low carbon, you are using less carbon, less CO2 in the atmosphere and preserve the forest. I think it was a project initiated by (President Bharrat) Jagdeo at the Caricom Meeting sometime back.

I think that providing that we get the support of the First World countries it would make us less developed because we have to save our forest. The first thing that you have to do is create jobs. Without jobs people will not be able to live. Jobs are important and the government can use the money it receives from this thing to create a manufacturing industry where we use our raw materials. We can can fruits and such and export them.

While I have an idea of what the LCDS is, I don’t fully understand this strategy.

John Greaves, public sector employee
That has got to do with the all this thing that Jagdeo is getting money for: The Low Carbon Development Strategy. That to my mind would take a lot of economic consideration for example; if we are going to keep our forest we’re restricting another type of investment. You have to ask, what is the economic significance of the payoff from this strategy as opposed to the other investment that you have given up? Where does the balance sway?

The other investments that we are giving up for this strategy would have created jobs. If what the international leaders are paying us to keep our forest is as reasonable as what we are giving up in other investors in logging can offer us, I would say let’s go with the LCDS thing.

However, what the government has to be mindful of is that they’ve created employment with this fund besides using it to develop roads and such. The creation of employment has to be addressed.

Margret Greaves, public sector employee
It is the Low Carbon Development Strategy. I don’t have a wide knowledge of it but my little knowledge of it understands it has to do with saving our forest. From what I know the forest absorbs the carbon monoxide and so it helps protect our country.

I’m optimistic that the money we get from this strategy will be properly accounted for. I don’t fully understand LCDS but I have somewhat of an idea of this strategy. I think that most of us Guyanese are guilty of not keeping up with these issues.  But the average Guyanese don’t follow these things because of their disappointment over other issues. However I’m hoping something good will come from this strategy.

It’s good that as a little country we are playing our part and it will also put us back on the map. I will try to follow this issue more.