Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Robert Persaud told stakeholders at a workshop to draft a five-year strategic plan for the Conservation Trust Fund (CTF) that self-sustainability s critical to realising its goals.
According to a press release from GINA, participants at the two-day workshop were drawn from the CTF Board of Trustees, Protected Areas Commission, Conservation International, and the National Toshaos Council among other groups.
Persaud, in his opening remarks focused on the role of the CTF in its overall mandate and its context with regards to the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). He said stakeholders would need to address how self-financing of the LCDS could be done and what needs to be done overall for the CTF to properly fulfil its mandate.
“The discussion over the next two days will focus particularly on the critical goal, that of long – term financial sustainability. The importance of addressing this issue as early as possible cannot be overemphasised. We need only look at the challenges facing one of our flagship protected areas, the Iwokrama Forest, to understand the very real dangers of an overdependence on external funding and poor long -term fiscal planning,” he said.
Persaud acknowledged that when people put money into trusts they want to ensure transparency and accountability. He gave assurances that the relevant legislation has built-in operating rules of the fund itself and a lot of attention was paid to this, which it is hoped would boost confidence in this regard.
The Protected Areas Act, 2011 which came into force in November 2011, provides the framework for the establishment and management of a national system of protected areas, GINA said. The Act provides for the establishment of the National Protected Areas Trust Fund (NPATF) as the permanent mechanism for sustainable long-term financing of protected areas into which the CTF will transition.
The minister reminded the workshop that Guyana favours a “parks-with-people” approach to protected areas management and for government, protected areas are not just important tools for the conservation of biodiversity, but are a key piece of the sustainable development puzzle.
“We recognise that effectively managed Protected Areas (PAs) provide important services, such as the maintenance of essential water supplies and climate change mitigation and adaptation, while creating investment opportunities and employment. The Protected Areas Commission has already recognised the importance of PAs in livelihood development, and has included it as a focal area in its work programme. As such, the Trust Fund must not be restricted to supporting strict conservation activities, but be flexible enough to support sustainable use initiatives, particularly among indigenous communities that have traditional user rights to the areas,” he said.
Persaud also appealed to stakeholders not represented at the meeting to utilise the opportunity to make tangible contributions. He aimed this appeal particularly at international partners and suggested that an outreach could be developed in this regard. The minister said government’s undertaking and investment in the National Protected Areas System is not in conflict with plans for the extractive industry and in fact it is hoped that the drafting of the plan would serve as a model for others.
GINA said government and Conservation International-Guyana have partnered to establish the CTF as an interim vehicle to secure financial sustainability for the management of protected areas. The CTF was established last December and has so far been endowed to US$8.5M through the Government of Germany and Conservation International – Global Fund US$3.5M.
The operations of the CTF are overlooked by a six-member Board of Trustees nominated by the government, the University of Guyana, NTC and the Private Sector Commission. Daily management of the operations lies with Executive Director Nadia Sagar.
Investment of the endowment funds will be guided by two main objectives: to preserve capital and to earn an average annual return of 5% over the long- term. The investment strategy is based on diversification of investments with limits to the percentage assets that can be invested in any particular asset class, country or geographical region, currency and/or industry or company.
The agenda at the workshop also included defining the core strategies of the CTF and defining its goals and objectives as well as Guyana’s Protected Areas system and its link with the LCDS. Lessons will also be taken from what was learnt from the Region and experiences of the Conservations Funds in Latin America.
