The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) says the Community Forest Organisations (CFOs) have been effective in ensuring equitable distribution among communities that depend on forest resources for their livelihoods.
According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release the CFOs are designed to ensure equity as well as sustainable logging and they are managed under a constitution registered under the Friendly Societies Act.
Community forestry has played an important part in the GFC’s work programme over the past 11 years. It evolved out of the Commission’s Social Development Programme which was developed to ensure that all communities located within and without forest concession areas use their forest resources in an environmentally sustainable manner to garner economic and social benefits for all.
In his address at a seminar in commemoration of International Year of Forests, as declared by the United Nations General Assembly, President Bharrat Jagdeo lauded the GFC for this “unique” programme which places Guyana in a more advanced position with regards to sustainable logging, an issue that other countries are still struggling with.
‘If individuals were not organised then you would have had illegal logging but because we moved ahead of the curve and tried to mobilise people together, we have deterred them from going off individually to cut trees to earn a living,” he said. This initiative began with about six communities, however today, the Commission has successfully mobilised 54 communities to be part of CFOs with almost 2000 people (both indigenous and non-indigenous) from all counties.
CFOs have also been identified as a priority in the National Forest Plan and Policy Statement. In addition, the revised forest legislation also makes provisions for CFOs with regards to sustainable forest management and resource allocation. In an effort to ensure that the community forestry programme is sustained, the GFC has formalised arrangements for the governance and administration of a Community Forest Loggers Association to oversee collective logging activities.
