Guyana and the European Union (EU) have agreed to commence formal negotiations later this year on entering into a forestry partnership, which would ensure ready access to the EU market for Guyana’s wood products.
The aim is to conclude negotiations on a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) by September 2015, according to an agreed roadmap which will be developed jointly, a joint statement from the two partners said yesterday. “Guyana and the EU will work towards an agreement which should define clear objectives of adding value to forest governance, forest industry development and sustainability of the forestry sector. Negotiations will also take into account the implications on the non-timber sector, in particular the extractive sector,” the statement said.
At a joint press conference yesterday at the boardroom of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, Ambassador Robert Kopecky, head of the Delegation of the European Union to Guyana, said that at this stage around €300,000 will be sent from Brussels to help the process along “in practical terms,” such as including local communities because they are the stakeholders. He said the Delegation will also offer logistical facilities to negotiate the terms to not only the government but to civil society and the communities, so that their voices could be heard. He stressed that the opportunity is good and emphasised that the way forward is value-added.
Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Robert Persaud said that the EU is an important market for local timber products and over the last four to five years, Guyana would have exported close to US$30M in products and expect this to increase. “The onus is on us, government of Guyana and all stakeholders that we preserve access to that market,” he said, while adding that efforts to join the partnership scheme will allow Guyana to continue to have access to that market because the country’s products would be deemed certified and meet the different standards.
According to the joint statement, Guyana and the EU anticipate that the conclusion and effective implementation of the VPA will contribute to the sustainable management of the country’s forests, rural employment and economic development. In an effort to combat illegal logging, the EU has set up the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan and a VPA under the plan between Guyana and the EU would be an important step which will support this programme of work on forest legality and governance and will link to existing national scale efforts like Independent Forest Monitoring, that are currently being undertaken in Guyana.
The statement said the government of Guyana is aware of the benefits of EU FLEGT such as stimulating markets, enabling Guyana’s exporters to retain markets, and expanding reporting requirements and existing systems in the chain of custody management. “It is the intention that the efforts made over the past two year to engage with stakeholders will be further expanded over the course of the negotiation period,” the statement said.
It pointed out that the expectation of both parties is that this process will lead to a Voluntary Partnership Agreement, under the EU FLEGT Action Plan, that is nationally appropriate, fully reflective of national laws, guidelines, customs and traditions, for example with reference to Guyana’s indigenous peoples, and existing efforts, whilst developing an internationally credible framework.
The statement noted that Guyana possesses approximately 18.3 million hectares of tropical rainforest, which cover roughly 87% of the country (21.1 million hectares). Guyana has put in place a legal and policy framework to practice forest management, resulting in one of the lowest deforestation rates in the world. Its forests are among the most pristine on the planet, it said.
The statement noted that illegal logging and its associated trade lead to worldwide sustainable economic, social, and environmental damage, involving financial, technical and trading links between companies and individuals in both timber-producing and timber-consuming countries. Therefore, the combat against these illegal activities is not solely the responsibility of the producer countries, but is also the responsibility of consumer countries. In fulfilling common objectives of strong forest governance, sustainable forest management and forest legality, Guyana has engaged in strategic partnerships and alliances, with like-minded countries and regional groupings and over the past few years, Guyana has made significant strides in building this foundation and has been doing so, both at the national level and through collaboration with international partners, the statement said.
Stakeholder involvement
An important part of Guyana’s approach has been to look at available international programmes that exemplify the objectives that Guyana aims to achieve, and build partnerships that are mutually beneficial and nationally appropriate to Guyana’s circumstance, the statement added.
It pointed out that a VPA will be legally-binding on both parties once negotiations are completed and the agreement is concluded. “When fully operational, the system provides confidence to the EU buyers that Guyana’s timber products were legally sourced. The VPA will be applied to all timber exports on a list of forest products defined during negotiations with the European Union. The system can optionally be developed to cover forest products to all other exporting markets,” the statement said.
It stated that informal consultations to date have resulted in an understanding amongst Guyanese stakeholders on the major issues that needs to be addressed during the negotiation process. These include the implications that a VPA would have on multiple land uses such as agriculture, forestry and mining; the impact on indigenous peoples on their titled lands in regard to commercial and subsistence activities. Further, the potential costs, associated with meeting the requirements of the VPA both from the public and private sectors, particularly as it relates to additional compliance requirements for the extractive sectors and indigenous communities. The potential synergies with existing processes such as Independent Forest Monitoring are important factors to consider, it stated.
The statement said that the government of Guyana and the EU recognise the complexities involved in negotiating a VPA and it emphasised the importance of stakeholder involvement during the negotiation process to ensure a credible and implementable agreement.
“The legality assurance system that will be developed under the VPA must be simple, pragmatic and built on existing procedures. It has to be sufficiently robust to ensure its credibility and financial sustainability. The contribution of Guyana’s domestic timber market in the socio-economic life of forest communities as well as in the provision of industrial timber for local purposes should be considered in the development of the VPA,” the statement said.
Persaud yesterday emphasised that the local stakeholders have supported the initiative. “We’ve had the buy in and support of the forest community,” he said. Going forward with the initiative would reinforce Guyana’s commitment to sustainable management and utilisation of natural resources, particularly forests, he said. “This here will not in any restrict the activities that we have embarked on, be it mining, forestry or natural resources activity or what we intend to do in the future in terms of expanding those sectors but rather would continue to guarantee us access in terms of the market,” he stressed. “We are quite secure and quite confident too that this will not put additional burden but rather will more or less confirm the systems that we have and the arrangements that we have that have been internationally-verified.”
Persaud also expressed concern that the negotiations could be “taxing financially” but said that donors have been engaged on this. Guyana is about to constitute its national team in terms of representing the county at the negotiations, he said. Persaud said that the EU market accounts for between 16 to 18% of total wood exports. He also stressed the need for value-added.
He said that what is required once an agreement has been signed has been explained to stakeholders.
A lot of it would entail record keeping and enhancing the type of monitoring, among other things. Persaud said that Guyana has a very robust system and he does not in any way feel that this is unattainable. Stakeholders are comfortable with what they have learnt and, through the negotiations, would ensure that the final product is one which that suits and fits Guyana’s situation, while at the same time allowing the country to attain the EU benchmarks, he said.
