– results have implications for monetary disbursements, Brattskar says
The independent review of the REDD+ enabling activities required before any money is disbursed to this country under the Guyana-Norway forest protection agreement will be done within the next few months, Director of Norway’s Climate and Forest Initiative, Ambassador Hans Brattskar says.
His statement signals that it could be some time yet before Guyana receives the money budgeted for this year from Norway for several priority Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) projects. The tender for the independent review is out. The ambassador, in an exchange with Stabroek News, also outlined several conditions that have to be in place for projects this year, which will use money received under the agreement. Brattskar said Guyana may receive up to US$30 million this year for enabling activities and other activities identified in the LCDS, based on the following conditions:
– that a satisfactory project portfolio is in place.
– that the projects are most likely to be implemented within a year.
– that the activities fulfil the requirement to be reported to OECD/DAC as development cooperation.
– that the projects are implemented in cooperation between Guyana and a multilateral institution.
These conditions are for the start up phase only and will not be sufficient for any prospective monetary disbursement in 2011, Brattskar said. “The monetary disbursement in 2010 is to be considered as an exception, with the aim of supporting enabling activities and to start the implementation of the LCDS,” said the ambassador. “Any prospective monetary disbursements in 2011 and onwards will be based on a verification process of the entire cooperation up until then, on received results and further documented needs,” he explained. “If the independent review of the enabling activities, to be carried out in 2010, shows any weaknesses, this will have consequences for any monetary disbursements in 2011 and onwards.”
President Bharrat Jagdeo had in January said that Guyana had complied with all of the conditions for last year with the only outstanding thing to set up being the trust fund mechanism through which the money will flow to Guyana. The first Annual Progress Report on REDD+ enablers under the agreement was earlier this year posted on the LCDS website and it documented activities which took place in 2009, with an update up to February 2010.
Up to that date, Guyana has met all its targets under the agreement and has reached all the benchmarks that should have been met by December 31, 2009, the report said.
In July, Jagdeo met Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg in New York and they announced the establishment of the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) with the World Bank invited to act as the fund manager. The GRIF, which aims to be a multi-donor financial mechanism, is to be operational before any contributions can be disbursed from Norway.
It was expected that it would have been set up by the end of July.
Meantime, government has identified six priority LCDS investments for 2010/2011 and in an update to the National Assembly on July 15, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh said these include purchasing equity in the Amaila Falls Hydro-electricity project; accelerating the creation of new opportunities for Amerindians; furthering the work to enable access to high quality ICT infrastructure in all parts of Guyana; and supporting the creation of new low carbon opportunities for small and micro enterprise sectors and vulnerable groups.
The two other priorities are to enable a suite of investments in the education sector and; to support the Office of Climate Change, the Low Carbon Management Unit Office, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the REDD Secretariat at the Guyana Forestry Commission. Individual government agencies are moving to translate the outlines into detailed project plans, Singh had said.
Brattskar also told this newspaper that a tender is also out for the establishment of a system for Independent Forest Monitoring. Quizzed on whether Norway is satisfied that there have been full and adequate consultations with the indigenous communities on the LCDS, Brattskar responded that the independent review will evaluate this.
Last November, Guyana and Norway inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreeing that Oslo would pay US$30 million ($6.2 billion) this year and potentially up to a total of US$250 million ($51.7 billion) by 2015 for this country to preserve its forests.
Under the partnership, Guyana will accelerate its efforts to limit forest-based greenhouse gas emissions and protect its rainforest as an asset for the world. Norway will provide financial support to Guyana at a level based on this country’s success in limiting emissions.