The United Nations Development Programme is funding the development of a five-year strategic roadmap to support Guyana’s Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) in its management of the petroleum and other sectors that it is responsible for.
“The objective is to prepare a strategic plan for the MNR which promotes sustainable development and the integration of environmental and natural resources considerations in economic development planning. This would include the harmonization of policy and management in the petroleum, forestry, mining and other natural resources-based sectors, and better mainstreaming of protection, conservation and environmental management,” the UNDP’s Request for Proposal states.
A call for firms to submit RFPs was placed by the UNDP in yesterday’s dailies and is currently on its website. (https://procurement-notices.undp.org/ view_notice.cfm?notice_id=76826)
The target date for the start of the consultancy would be April 19th and the plan is expected to be completed by September of 2021.
The proposed Technical and Institutional Strengthening for the Ministry of Natural Resources plan will run for the period 2021-2026 and consultants should review the last costed plan to cover all sectors.
Efforts to contact Minister of Natural Resource Vickram Bharrat for questions on the scope of the project and government’s short and long-term objectives for the assistance proved futile as calls to his cell phone went unanswered.
In giving a background on the proposed contract, the UNDP highlighted that the MNR was established at the end of 2011 and represented a significant and far-reaching institutional change in Guyana’s natural resource management sector which covers oil and gas, forestry and mining.
It pointed out that since its establishment, the institutional structure along with the portfolios of the Ministry have undergone several changes. “Currently the MNR is responsible for overseeing the coordination of activities among three (3) agencies: the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and the Guyana Gold Board and will soon take on a fourth agency (the Petroleum Commission of Guyana-PCG) in preparation for Guyana’s emerging oil and gas sector,” the UNDP noted.
The organization contended that many of the challenges facing natural resources and environmental management today “stem from weak linkages between key sector agencies and a somewhat fragmented and evolving governance approach, especially in the emerging oil and gas sector”.
For this reason, the Ministry’s primary focus is therefore harmonizing policy and management in the natural resources-based sectors, and better mainstreaming of conservation, protection and environmental management.
Its mission is also to develop, implement and oversee policies for the responsible exploration, development and utilization of natural resources whilst ensuring the protection and conservation of the environment and advancement of the green economy.
To achieve this mission, the UNDP said it helped the MNR develop its first Strategic Plan, covering the period 2013-2018. The Plan identified three strategic areas: (i) Effective Institutional Framework and Legislation (ii) Holistic and Integrated Planning and (iii) Sustainable Resource Use and Monitoring.
It is with that framework that the MNR, with support from UNDP, is now seeking to update the Strategic Plan to effectively address the changes in the natural resource sector.
Prospective bidders were told that the specific objectives are: “To review the Costed Strategic Plan for the Ministry of Natural Resources 2013-2018, identifying any gaps, areas of improvement etc. To prepare a new costed Strategic Framework for the MNR for the period 2021-2026. The Framework should include a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework. To conduct training on the strategic planning process and application of the new costed Strategic Framework 2021 -2026.”