Before beginning today’s article, two issues raised recently in the print media are worthy of comment: the extension of Baishanlin’s State Forest Exploratory Permit (SFEP); and the Presidential Inauguration expenditure. In December 2006, following a public advertisement, Baishanlin applied for the grant of an SFEP covering 104,768 hectares of State Forest. Since the company was newly formed under the Guyana Companies Act, it could not have met all the qualifying requirements, especially as regards audited financial statements for the last five years. It was not until November 2011 that the SFEP was granted, following the lease of 200 acres in Region 10 to establish state-of-art integrated wood processing value-added processing facility. The company had given a commitment to complete the facility by 2013, following which the Government would to make available a further 100 acres for further value-added activities. The facility is, however, yet to be built.
Section 9 (8) of the Forests Act 2009 states that an exploratory permit expires on the earlier of the expiry date contained in the permit, or on the third anniversary of the permit, while Section 9 (9) specifically prohibits the renewal of a such a permit. There is no provision in the Act for the extension of an existing SFEP beyond its expiry date. During the life of the permit, the holder is required to: (a) undertake a Management Level Forest Inventory; (b) prepare a Forest Management Plan; and (c) carry out an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA). While the permit is in force, the holder may apply for a concession in respect of all or part of the exploratory area.
Baishanlin’s exploratory permit expired in November 2014. However, based on representations made by the company, the Board of the Guyana Forestry Commission approved of an extension for another year. Since the law specifically prohibits a renewal of an SFEP, it is uncertain whether an extension is legally permissible. Be that as it may, Baishanlin’s extended permit expired a little less than two weeks ago, but there is no board in place to decide on the way forward for the company. We now learn from the