– President for key talks in New York
GUYANA is scoring more points for its climate change leadership role, and its deforestation model that seems certain to set the pattern for other forest countries.

Building on this international high profile, President Bharrat Jagdeo is due to leave today for a round of key climate change talks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York and meetings on the sidelines.

Further commendations for the country’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) have come from the government of Norway, and the prestigious Clinton Foundation.

The Norwegian government expects to conclude an agreement soon with this country that could result in funds to help its avoided deforestation and forest degradation model.

President Jagdeo announced at a press briefing at his official State House residence Friday that he is, today, to meet Norwegian Minister of the Environment and International Development, Erik Solheim in New York.

The two countries are negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will see Norway providing Guyana with resources to implement the LCDS, and Mr. Jagdeo said they expect to sign this in Georgetown in early November. This will be a significant step for Guyana ahead of the UN summit on global climate change in Copenhagen, Denmark in December.

Guyana and Norway agreed to establish closer cooperation on climate and forest issues earlier this year when President Jagdeo met Norwegian Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg during his trip to Europe to attend the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

It was agreed that this co-operation, which is guiding the negotiations on the MoU, will be founded on a broad-based, transparent, inclusive multi-stakeholder national strategy developed in Guyana, which led to the LCDS and the widespread stakeholder consultations that were held all over Guyana.

In New York, the President is scheduled to attend up to 16 different events, including a round table on climate change that he will co-chair with British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.

“I will also speak on the special side event on REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation). I will address the General Assembly, I will speak at Columbia University, and I will also be speaking at the Secretary General’s (Ban Ki-moon’s) dinner on financing for climate change,” he said.

Mr. Jagdeo is also to have bilateral meetings, including with a delegation from Kenya and Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd.

“It’s a packed week, and I think it is lending a lot of profile to Guyana. I have already had, earlier today, an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Later tonight, I will be speaking with the Guardian (newspaper), and sometime on Monday, with the Financial Times about our strategy and our views on how we can proceed to have a good agreement in Copenhagen,” President Jagdeo said, adding:

“The country is getting quite a bit of attention in the international media, largely because we are leading in terms of REDD, and the discussions on including forests in the Copenhagen agreement.”

MRV WORK ADVANCES
International experts have also supported the framework for establishing a Guyana Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system for REDD-Plus (REDD+) with the Clinton Foundation and other groups helping to advance the process.

The MRV was advanced at workshop sessions last week at the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and the International Convention Centre, Liliendaal. The workshop was organised by GFC and the Office of Climate Change, with support from the Government of Norway and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Dr. James Baker, Director of the Clinton Foundation’s Climate Initiative, Global Carbon Measurement Programme, said the organization is working with the Guyana Government to help reduce deforestation and forest degradation through the development of an MRV.

“We are focusing on helping the Government of Guyana, working with the Office of Climate Change and the GFC to put together a plan for that MRV to be in place. We are at the point of discussing that. We had an expert meeting review Monday; the experts agreed on a framework to move forward, and we are now taking the next steps to make that happen,” he explained.

Baker said the United Nations climate change summit in Copenhagen, Denmark in December will be an important step for all governments to make decisions about how climate change can be mitigated to try to reduce emissions.

“All the issues about climate change will be discussed in Copenhagen, but there will be a major focus on reducing deforestation and forest degradation, which is a large part of the problem and something that can be addressed, particularly in tropical developing countries,” he said.

He commended Guyana as a major leader for having an LCDS, adding that President Jagdeo “is the only world leader that has come out (and) made a major speech that a country should have a national LCDS; and part of that is dealing with forest in the right way – reducing deforestation and forest degradation.”

“And that is an important part of the LCDS. The GFC has developed a Readiness Preparation proposal, and that has been accepted by the World Bank. So that will be an important piece… and our work is to help support the GFC in making that happen,” Baker said.

Mr. Gary Richards, also with the Clinton Foundation, said that based on discussions from the workshop on Monday, it was recommended that a carbon accounting technical team be established in Guyana.

Two senior advisers from the Norwegian Ministry of the Environment, Ms. Inger Naess and Ms. Marte Nordseth, were among other experts and representatives from the World Bank, the Clinton Foundation, the Australian Government and others at the sessions.

They commended Guyana for its thrust towards an LCDS, with Nordseth saying the process has been “very positive” and “impressive.”

Naess noted that globally, deforestation and forest degradation represent almost 20 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, and that Guyana is a country with huge forest cover and a very low deforestation rate.

“It’s important that your country conserve or sustainably manage the forest that you have. That’s an important contribution to the global climate for all of us. But I also think it’s important for Guyana to protect the forest for the livelihood of your people, for water resource management and for biodiversity,” she said.

She said the draft LCDS is “a good start, and we are really looking forward to have a positive process. I think it’s very important to have this LCDS; it’s really going into the future to meet the new challenges of climate change – the need to have a low carbon energy supply.”

Nordseth told the session that Guyana has demonstrated tremendous leadership in the deforestation model, and is doing a lot of good work nationally.

She said too that within the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), the two countries are working on how funding for REDD compensation can be structured.

Nordseth pointed out that there is not yet a REDD mechanism, and that Guyana and Norway are hoping they can set a global standard for this.

Mr. Shyam Nokta, Head of the Office of Climate Change in the Office of the President and Chairman of the National Climate Change Committee, said the two-day meeting brought together some of the leading global experts and specialists in climate change to provide advice and guidance on how to design and implement a REDD+ MRV System for Guyana.

Also at the meetings were officials from the US Forestry Service, the Canadian Forestry Service, Winrock International, the World Resources Institute, and the Meridien Institute.

Nokta said their presence here was an assurance of the international recognition and support for Guyana and its climate initiatives.

He pointed out that in the context of climate change and forests, the MRV refers to forest carbon, but can also include land use and forest cover change and other parameters.

“The MRV system will be the mechanism through which Guyana will be monitored for compliance as part of any agreement for receiving payments for avoided deforestation, whether from international partners such as Norway, or through the international carbon market as part of a REDD Mechanism,” he said.

Nokta said that globally, the design and development of an MRV system for REDD and REDD+ is relatively new, and there are few examples to look to.

“While this could be seen as a challenge, it presents an opportunity for Guyana to engage in model building and to set the standard, especially as it relates to countries with High Forest Cover and Low Deforestation Rates.

“Clearly, we need to develop an MRV System that is transparent, accountable, and in accordance with international best practice and guidelines. But at the same time, we need to develop a system to suit our national circumstances, and one which is robust, cost-effective, utilising existing technology, and one we can manage, improve and sustain over time,” he stated.

Nokta said Guyana has been working for several months with the Clinton Climate Initiative on how to proceed with an MRV system, and with support from Conservation International and World Wildlife Fund, the GFC has started some of the technical and fieldwork towards developing such a system.

The work done so far has benefitted from this expert review which has provided the guidance for further development of Guyana’s MRV, he said.