Public engagements on GSDS open
Stakeholder Managing Coordinator, Onika Stellingburg (Adrian Narine photo)
Stakeholder Managing Coordinator, Onika Stellingburg (Adrian Narine photo)

INTERACTIVE sessions on the Green State Development Strategy (GSDS): Vision 2040, have commenced with a workshop for members of the public sector, youth groups, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society organisations.

The engagement was hosted on Thursday by the Department of Environment at the Baridi Benab, State House, where several representatives attended. “This session is supposed to ensure that persons present have a good understanding of what a ‘green’ State is. So, we’re raising the awareness of the Green State Development Strategy, its implementation schedule, how persons can participate, how you can develop projects through your own groups to execute, as well as to examine opportunities for partnerships,” Stakeholder Managing Coordinator, Onika Stellingburg, told the gathering.

The Department of Energy coordinates the execution of specific policies of the GSDS; ensures the harmonisation of environmental laws and regulations and helps agencies within the extractive sector to operate in accordance to environmental safeguards. One of the current questions in the public is how will Guyana manage its plans for the GSDS and its emerging oil and gas sector, the latter a non-renewable resource.

In explaining this, Stellingburg said, “The finding of oil is something that is very significant for a developing country as Guyana to transition into a ‘green’ State or to develop projects of any sort or kind, massive amounts of resources would be needed. Ideally what we hope to do is to have the finances and the resources from the oil to go in to the development of the ‘green’ State so as we transition in to the ‘green’ State we are hoping to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels [and] transition to cleaner energy but to do all of this we do need the resources to invest into that.”

The country will strive to achieve up to 65 per cent renewable energy by 2035 and later assess how much more it can achieve. Implementation of the GSDS will begin in 2020. In presenting the completed strategy to the President in May 2019, United Nations (UN) Environment Programme’s Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Leo Heileman, had stated that it promotes three key messages: manage natural resource wealth; support economic resilience and build human capital and institutional capacity.

He explained that the 20-year national development policy reflects the guiding vision and principles of the ‘green agenda’. Altogether, it works towards an inclusive and prosperous Guyana that provides a good quality life for all its citizens based on sound education, social protection, low-carbon and resilient development, providing new economic opportunities, justice and political empowerment.

President Granger had noted that the GSDS Vision 2040 stands to not only benefit Guyana but the Caribbean as climate change is more and more “a grim, relentless reality”. He committed that Guyana will work towards building stronger relationships with other states so that efforts can be combined in the fight against climate change.

Meanwhile, the department has several upcoming outreach activities to raise awareness through which they hope to convey that achieving a ‘green’ state is not a task for the government alone. “Beginning in 2020, we have a plan to move out into the Regions but, in December, we plan on going out to the Stabroek Market Square to distribute re-usable shopping bags, factsheets, brochures and other branded items. We would then have a conversation with persons in the streets to talk to them about that the ‘green’ State is,” Stellingburg said. Mini-bus drivers will also receive bumper stickers that speak to the ‘green’ State strategy. Through the stakeholder activity yesterday, the department had hoped to form partnerships with the organisations for their support during the upcoming outreaches.

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