Small loggers with concessions along the UNAMCO trail are calling on the government to repair and maintain the eroded roadway, saying that its current state is stifling business and crippling their livelihoods.
Members of the Region 10 Forest Producers’ Association and several other forest producers own about 400,000 acres of prime forested land along the 122-kilometre UNAMCO trail. According to members, 98% of the concession owners are small loggers whose livelihoods depend on money earned from logging activities.
However, for some time now, they have complained about the deplorable state of the trail and have been calling on the government and the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) to intervene.
Sylvan Baynes, a concerned association member, told Stabroek News that he and other forest producers faced an uncertain future, since they must contend with the rough trail, which becomes even more precarious during the rainy season. Baynes, whose concession is 79 kilometres up the trail, said he and other producers are unable to access the forest as a result of its poor state.
“…the state of the road, it is so bad that it is endangering the lives of people,” he said, while noting that whenever it rains, the condition of the road is ten times worse that it is during the dry season. “I can’t live only for dry season and I cannot maintain my family only when it is dry season. I have to maintain my family throughout and sometimes it force we in some awkward positions,” he explained.
According to Baynes, the limited access has had a ripple effect. He explained that the forest producers associations depend on members’ dues to function and as many members cannot access their lands, they have abandoned ship, leaving the associations dormant. He noted that forestry officers are also affected as they too cannot access the area to conduct investigations.
Baynes said if the road is fixed, members would be able to generate enough money to acquire the necessary materials to assist in maintaining the trail. “Not even six wheeled trucks and other vehicles [can] make it through that road, it is that bad. And many of the bridges are in a terrible state,” he noted.
Secretary of the Region 10 Forest Producers’ Association Winston Smith said that his and other associations that depend on the road are currently in talks with the government to solicit support to rehabilitate the trail. He said that they are not expecting 100% funding from the government, but they do expect it to contribute the largest percentage. Smith said about 20 kilometres of the trail requires major rehabilitation and more than 25 bridges are critical and need major repairs or replacement. “What we intend to do is when the road is finished… and members have agreed to this, is to put in place a toll station where we would be collecting fees each time a vehicle passes and that fee would be managed by the association and used to maintain the road, so we wouldn’t have to go back to the government to repair that road,” he said.
President of the Association Phillip Bynoe said that the area is known for its greenheart and purpleheart wood, while noting that the former is the lumber of choice for all local constructions for both government and private buildings. He said once the trail is fixed, heavy-duty trucks can easily traverse the area and bring out the produce.
According to Bynoe, the Association is also mulling the possibilities of establishing a revolving fund to assist members with acquiring small loans for the purchase of machinery and other necessities for individual forest producers. To this end, they are seeking government’s intervention to set up the fund.
“We need a small investment of about $500,000 per person and within six to eight months we can pay back that money and they could continue producing for buyers… now if this situation comes on stream we can easily create 1,500 to 2,000 jobs within another year within the forestry sector. And that is only the primary aspect of the forestry sector,” he said.
Bynoe explained that because the concessions are owned by the Association, all payments will be made to the group so that persons who take loans from the fund would have their loan repayments deducted at source.
Another likely benefit would be putting into operation the recently commissioned kiln aback the Wismar Market at Linden to dry lumber.
Cabinetry and joinery has become almost extinct in Linden because of the lack of materials and Bynoe said persons in these fields hope the situation can be remedied and that the kiln is put into operation in another three to six months, so that they can stock and sell cured wood to the public.
“So we are expecting an upsurge in joinery and in cabinet making and in carpentry,” Bynoe said, noting that it would mean that skilled artisans in Linden could now access proper materials and be able to sell their furniture and finished products either in Guyana or in export markets.
