Almost three years after it hoped to start up, lumber company Simon and Shock International Logging Inc (SSI), now under new management, has applied for environmental authorization to start a logging and sawmill operation in Region Nine.
It has submitted an application to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the agency has advised that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required for the project before any decision to approve or reject the proposed project is taken since the project may have significant impacts on the environment.
In an advertisement in the Guyana Chronicle yesterday, the EPA advised members of the public to make written submissions to the agency within 28 days of the publishing of the notice setting out questions and matters which they require to be answered or considered in the EIA.
The project site is in the biodiversity-rich area surrounding the Iwokrama rainforest preserve. It consists of an area of State Forest of 391,853 hectares. This area of prime forest was allocated through a State Forest Exploratory Permit (SFEP) which was approved by Government and issued by the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC). The forest concession is situated in the Upper Corentyne-Essequibo District and southeast of the Iwokrama Protected Area. It is south of the Sherwood Forests Inc.’s Concession and East, West, and South of the Conservation International (CI) Concession.
According to the project summary, the company to execute the project is an Indian-based company which has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of Guyana and with the original owners of SSI for a total buy-out in which 100% shares belongs to Dark Forest Company (S) Pte Ltd. (DFCPL). SSI new management plans to establish a composite logging and sawmilling operation with associated downstream processing plants and kiln drying facility. Housing for employees with electricity and potable water supply and other auxiliary facilities will be provided in order to realize the goals of the main beneficiaries and the vision of the Company. The project will be solely financed and managed by DFCPL, the Summary says.
Annai
It said that the processing operations are planned to be located at or near Annai. Initially, the Company will use portable mills to process logs into lumber until a stationary sawmill is established. The sawn lumber will be transported from Annai to Linden. Then from Linden, lumber will be shipped out to India for further processing.
According to the summary, SSI intends to adopt best-practice approaches in its operations which could eventually lead to forest certification.
The main purpose of the logging operation within the concession is to secure raw materials needed for the sawmilling operation and other downstream processing plants in the manufacture of high quality tropical hardwood furniture. This project is designed to produce top quality air and kiln-dried and dressed lumber for world class furniture manufacturing and building construction projects. The main goal is to revolutionize the local lumber market by providing dimensional wood stock ready for the production line. The bulk of the production, initially, will be exported to India, other Asian countries and Caribbean markets, the summary says.
The project comprises two operational phases. Phase one involves the forestry operation activities which entail the extraction of the timber in the forest and transportation to processing sites at Annai and at Linden. The second phase focuses on the processing of the logs at the mill into specific dimensions, kiln drying and treating in preparation for the market.
Currently, the company is in the exploration phase where the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), the Five Year Management Plan/Annual Operation Plan and the Forest Inventory are being conducted. Once this phase is successfully completed the company will pursue the Timber Sales Agreement (TSA) from the GFC which would allow for project implementation.
According to the summary, the project will be solely financed by DFCPL with a proposed total investment of US$18.7M during the first five years stated as 2010 to 2015. It said that during the pre-harvest phase of the operation, employment by the company is expected to be in the vicinity of 45 personnel. However, this figure will be increased to 321 persons once harvesting and processing activities commences. The life of the project is 25 years.
The summary outlines some of the possible social and environmental impacts of the project and the mitigation measures that the company will adopt. It says that construction of roads, bridges log yards and drainage will require the removal of topsoil and vegetation and the removal of vegetation will expose soil to the elements of erosion. The company said it will comply with the GFC code of practice and vegetation removal will be limited and logging will not be done on steep slopes.
Impacts to air are not expected to be significant while surface water could be impacted by the construction of roads, bridges, skid trails and from surface runoff especially during the rainy season. Contamination can also occur from spillage and improper disposal of both liquid and solid waste. The company says that GFC code of practice will be followed.
As regards plants and animal species, the summary says that the construction of logging and processing infrastructure and the logging and processing operation itself will have impact on the flora and fauna of the concession but this will not be significant. In the initial stages, there can be expected animal movement/migration away from construction zones and during the logging operations as well. This, however, is not expected to be permanent and will be localized. Only commercial species will be targeted as part of SSI’s operations. The company says that 5% of its operations will be established as a biodiversity reserve and operations will comply with the stringent GFC Code of Practice while the company will implement reduce impact logging (RIL) techniques.
It noted that the area was previously used for logging and the surrounding areas are currently being used for logging. As such, the project would not change the land use of the area.
The summary says that the project will have a positive impact on income, principally through direct employment. Also, the provision of goods and services for SSI’s operations by local service providers will create indirect employment.
Scan
Under its previous management, SSI had proposed to invest US$26M in three years. It had said it would build a brand new, modern sawmill, which, with the aid of computer imagery, will be able to scan a log and calculate the number of boards that it would yield. It had hoped to achieve recovery rates upwards of 70 per cent, twice as much as is being achieved in Guyana. As a direct result of the talks with the government, the company had offered three written guarantees. Firstly, that it would not export logs from Guyana, since it was a lumber company and not a logging company; secondly, that it would build an advanced milling complex in Linden before any logging activity took place; and thirdly, that if SSI did not build the advanced mill in Linden in a specific time period, all logging concessions granted to SSI by the government would be returned uncut.
