A group of civil society organisations yesterday welcomed government’s determination to press for a renewal of the forest protection partnership with Norway.
Stabroek News reported yesterday that Minister of Governance Raphael Trotman has said that the APNU+AFC government is interested in extending the forests protection agreement with Norway but there are some concerns that have to be addressed and there is need for a high-level meeting to discuss these issues.
Recently, the group of civil society organisations expressed concern at indications that government is walking away from renewing the agreement with Norway and also expressed dissatisfaction that the administration is dismissive of its views on the upcoming climate change meeting in Paris. In a statement issued by the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA), several groups which comprise the Guyana Policy Forum, had criticized the failure to incorporate recommendations from civic caucuses into the revised draft document for the Paris talks and also complained over the lack of clarity on the future of the Guyana-Norway agreement.
In another statement yesterday, the group welcomed the clarification from Trotman on government’s intention to “deepen and pursue” the agreement with Norway. It emphasised that in addition to completing the work undertaken on the Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) forestry programme, a public commitment from both sides to continuing and renewing the arrangement will provide a sound platform and send positive signal prior to the United Nations Climate Change Meeting – COP21.
On Friday, Trotman told Stabroek News that the agreement with Norway is critical to Guyana’s long-term development and the relationship is of paramount importance and must be preserved. “The government is deeply interested in pursuing and extending that agreement,” he said.
Yesterday’s statement by the Guyana Policy Forum said that although not widely-known domestically, the REDD+ programme enabled, for the first time, the development by Guyanese technicians of reliable techniques for measuring deforestation, “thereby encouraging a range of large emitter countries to look more seriously at the concept of compensating forest-rich countries for deferring deforestation.”
According to the group, the success of the Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system at national and community levels was achieved in both Guyana and Brazil, the two countries where the REDD+ pilot scheme was applied on a national scale.
The statement said that Trotman’s announcement that government is seeking a high-level meeting with the Norwegians bodes well for bringing the first partnership to a mutually acceptable conclusion. “In particular, such a meeting could ensure that decisions relating to the Amaila Falls are translated into a formal modification of the (partnership). The recent conclusion reached by the Inter-American Development Bank that Amaila is no longer feasible, could be the basis for replacing it by the commitment to a renewable energy matrix mentioned by Minister Trotman,” the statement said.
According to the grouping, the benefits of clarification on the Norway-Guyana Agreement will allow both Guyana and Norway to attend the COP21 meeting in Paris in a mode that builds on the success of REDD+, raising the possible expansion of compensatory schemes for conservation of other natural resources including fresh water bio-diversity and mineral resources. “In this respect, such initiatives will serve as a platform for sustainable life-styles and for a genuinely green economy,” the statement said.
There is uncertainty over whether the partnership would continue after it ended this year. Under the agreement, which was signed in 2009, Guyana could earn up to US$250 million in performance-based payments for the period up until 2015, based on an independent verification of Guyana’s deforestation and forest degradation rates and progress on REDD+ enabling activities. REDD+ is a global initiative that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. Guyana has so far earned US$190 million under the partnership.
The editorial in yesterday’s edition of the Norwegian newspaper Bergens Tidende, headlined ‘Partner without the ability’ argued that Guyana should not continue as a partner in Norway’s rainforest initiative. Earlier, the newspaper reported that 84% of the money paid to Guyana remains untouched or are held back by the Norwegian authorities. Among other things, the editorial cited poor governance and corruption in its call for the partnership not to be renewed.
