Guyana will spend US$7M from its forests’ agreement with Norway in the next two years to strengthen crucial institutions to coordinate and execute key components of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), according to a Project Concept Note released recently.
Guyana will be working with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on this project, which has to be approved by the Steering Committee of the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) that oversees the forests’ fund. The project will see the training of staff and the recruitment of qualified local and international personnel and consultants in the drive to build a “low carbon economy.”
The three key institutions where the money will be spent are the Office of Climate Change (OCC), which was established within the Office of the President (OP) through the LCDS to coordinate all climate change activities and organisations in Guyana; the Project Management Office (PMO), which was established also within the OP to coordinate the implementation of projects identified in the LCDS and to attract and drive key low carbon investments; and the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), which has the mandate to oversee the national implementation of all REDD+ activities as outlined in the LCDS, including the development and implementation of a national level Monitoring Reporting and Verification System (MRVS) to measure forest carbon stocks and changes within Guyana’s forest.
“One of the challenging factors to successful development and investment promotion in Guyana is the need to enhance the institutional capacity required to implement transformative change,” says the Project Concept Note prepared by the IDB. “However, while the country is embarking on a long-term capacity development plan to implement projects required to grow its economy, it also needs to inject experienced managers into positions where they can move assertively to help realise Guyana’s potential,” it said.
The first phase of project implementation will last two years and will also include an assessment of the institutional strengthening needs of other relevant agencies for inclusion in the next phase of implementation. The Project Concept Note is available for public review and comment until April 19. It is expected that by August 10, the Investment Grant Proposal will be approved by the IDB Board.
The Concept Note pointed out that the PMO has been established to play an essential role in addressing two core challenges: Investment promotion and facilitation and key enablers for investment and growth. Guyana aims to increase foreign direct investment in sectors that create new economic opportunities without increasing pressure on the forests, it noted. To enable investment and growth to continue over the longer term, Guyana needs to tackle major inhibitors that make it difficult for the country to pursue “low-carbon” investment options, it added, while saying that these inhibitors can be tackled through management reform programmes and improved inter-government coordination.
“In order to promote sustainability and local management capacity the PMO will recruit highly qualified international and local project managers and technical experts and over time will transfer programmes and personnel to other government agencies,” the Project Note says.
Meanwhile, it pointed out that REDD+ readiness activities form a part of the implementing of the LCDS. The LCDS requires a performance based mechanism to measure and monitor deforestation and forest degradation, which requires that a MRVS be developed and implemented. The MRVS will in essence be the performance measurement system of the LCDS.
The REDD Secretariat (RS) has been established as a part of the GFC to be responsible for the coordination and implementation of all national REDD+ activities, including the development and implementation of a MRVS, under the direction of the GFC. In order to ensure successful development and implementation these activities, technical institutional strengthening of the RS is imperative.
“The approach that has been adopted to ensure institutional strengthening is that of capacity building. In this, the personnel of the RS will receive training as the various aspects of work are being executed. In doing so, this would allow for the personnel to continue these activities as routine. To achieve this, there is need for support, not only in terms of financing and provision of necessary tools (field equipment, software etc) but also the provision of technical experts to train personnel and the recruitment of additional consultants. This project will support such activities,” the document states.
“The overall objective of the project is to enhance national institutional capacity in Guyana to address the impacts of climate change, ensure the effective implementation of the LCDS, and meet its commitments under interim REDD+ partnerships,” the Project Note further emphasised. It said that the specific objectives are to strengthen the institutional capacity of the three institutions through supporting the recruitment of specialised personnel with expertise in strategic fields, training and capacity building of permanent personnel, and ensuring sufficient equipment and technical resources to ensure smooth running of the project.
It was noted that several technical issues need to be examined in designing an investment response such as the limited national institutional capacity for climate change activities and REDD+ activities may pose a risk to the timely implementation of the project. The Note also says that limited institutional capacities for project management could also pose a risk to the effective implementation of the project and projects run the risk of facing delays due to inadequate advance planning, unclear accountability and inconsistent project control.
“To address these risks, the PMO will be strengthened through recruitment of experienced project managers. The PMO will implement a project management control system that institutionalises advance planning, clarifies accountability, and creates tight control processes, and ensures that project managers are able to achieve target results on time,” it says.
Other projects identified for funding thus far are the Amerindian Land Titling and Demarcation project and the Amaila Falls Hydro Power project. The projects have to be approved by the Steering Committee of the GRIF before any money is disbursed.
The GRIF is the financial mechanism for the ongoing cooperation on climate change between Guyana and Norway, in which Oslo will pay up to US$250M for Guyana’s performance on limiting greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and for progress made against governance-related indicators. Guyana will invest the payments it receives, and any income earned on them, in the LCDS.
Norway has so far paid US$70M into the GRIF which is overseen by the World Bank but as yet no money has been released for projects. Guyana chairs the GRIF.
