Dear Editor,
The table of donor contributions posted by the Office of Climate Change (OCC) on the LCDS website,http://www.lcds.gov.gy/international-financing-for-lcds-and-redd.html, and mentioned in your article ‘Gov’t releases LCDS, REDD+ funding details – dedicated website still to be set up’ (SN, 07 May 2011), appears to be quite incomplete.
The OCC has not mentioned who paid for the McKinsey consultancy on avoided deforestation, which was summarized in the document issued by the Office of the President in December 2008 – ‘Saving the world’s forests today: creating incentives to avoid deforestation’ – http://www.lcds.gov.gy/ images/stories/Documents/Guyana%20Office% 20of%20the%20President%20Avoiding%20Deforestation%20Paper.pdf.
That consultancy was co-funded by the Clinton foundation (a reputed USD 500,000) and the Caribbean regional office of the UK Department for International Development (DFID, a reported £300,000).
Conservation International provided four named staff to prepare the REDD Readiness Plan Idea Note (February/May/ July 2008, http://www.forestcarbonpartnership.org/fcp/sites/ forestcarbonpartnership.org/files/Documents/PDF/Guyana_R-PIN_Final_ 2008-7-31.pdf) alongside Government of Guyana staff.
DFID also paid for the services of Ed Dreyfus, the US banker who worked in the Project Management Office of the Office of Climate Change on potential investments in LCDS projects; see http:// www.lcds.gov.gy/images/stories/ Documents/pmo/Investing% 20in%20Guyana%27s%20Low%20Carbon%20Future.pdf – only this page is now inaccessible on the LCDS website.
Most conspicuously the contributions of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) have been under-reported. The figures below have been derived from the IDB’s own website, updated to 30 April 2011. In total the IDB has approved grants of USD 3,876,000 to the Government of Guyana for LCDS and REDD+. Of this sum, USD 269,978 have reportedly been disbursed.
IDB itself has reported the following:
Grant GY-T1058: Climate Change and Biodiversity Mainstreaming through Avoided Deforestation. Operation ATN/NP-10749-GY closed 01 April 2009 and operation ATN/NP-10750-GY closed 25 September 2009, total cost USD150,000; http:// www.iadb. rg/ en/projects/ project, 1303.html?id=GY-T1058
Grant GY-T1069: Measurement of Climate Change Impacts and Eco-system Services in Iwokrama. Operation ATN/MC-11548-GY in progress since 02 April 2009. Total cost USD 286,875, Iwokrama’s in-kind contribution USD 57,375, spent USD 206,360 by 30 April 2011;http://www.iadb.org/en/projects/project,1303.html?id=GY-T1069
*Grant GY-T1068: Supporting Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy.
Operation ATN/SF11788-GY in progress since 25 September 2009. Total cost USD 509,000, OCC’s and Office of the President’s in-kind contribution USD 59,000, spent USD 269,978 by 30 April 2011; http://www.iadb.org/en/projects/project,1303.html?id=GY-T1068
Grant GY-T1075: Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project Preparation Studies. Operations ATN/OC-12248 and 12249-GY signed on 12 August 2010. Total cost USD 2,517,000, Government of Guyana in-kind contribution USD 1,307,000, approved USD 1,210,000;
http://www.iadb.org/en/projects/project,1303.html?id=GY-T1075
*Grant GY-T1076: Developing Capacities in Implementing REDD+.
Operation ATN/SF-12553-GY signed on 01 March 2011. Total cost USD 850,000, Guyana Forestry Commission in-kind contribution USD 115,000, approved USD 735,000;
http://www.iadb.org/en/projects/project,1303.html?id=GY-T1076
Only the two grants marked above with an asterisk are reported on the LCDS website. The revised Joint Concept Note of 31 March 2011 to accompany the Norway-Guyana MoU says on page 3 – ‘The contributions to Guyana’s REDD-plus/LCDS from Norway and other contributors, including the FCPF, will be administered in a transparent manner. Information concerning all expenditures, both planned and implemented, will be publicly available on the relevant website of the Government of Guyana, and through national systems of public disclosure, including to the National Assembly.’, http://www.lcds.gov.gy/images/stories/Documents/JCN%20March%2031%2c%202011.pdf
The table of donor contributions posted to the LCDS website does not fulfill this promise.
Yours faithfully,
Janette Bulkan
