Minister of State, Joseph Harmon on Wednesday afternoon, met with United Nations Resident Coordinator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ms. Mikiko Tanaka and representatives from the Department of the Environment (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to discuss environmental matters.

The meeting was held in Minister Harmon’s office at the Ministry of the Presidency in Georgetown, the Ministry of the Presidency said in a release. The meeting was conducted to discuss the strengthening of the enabling framework for small and medium scale gold-mining in Guyana, the Enhancement of Biodiversity Protection through Strengthened

Monitoring, Enforcement, and uptake of Environmental Regulations in Guyana’s Gold Mining Sector, the Government’s priorities for Global Environment Facility (GEF-7) with a focus on biodiversity, ecosystems, and GEF Programmes, and Guyana’s possible involvement in the Regional Project focused on Jaguar Conservation and Habitat connectivity.

The meeting was attended by Regional Technical Advisor of UNDP, Ms. Alexandra Fischer, National Focal Point at the UNDP, Ms. Astrid Lynch, Head of the Department of Environment, Ms. Ndibi Schwiers, and Acting Executive Director of the EPA, Mr. Khemraj Parsram.