LAST WEEK, President Bharrat Jagdeo was among six persons recognised as Champions of the Earth by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP).  Until the announcement was made in the press, I’m sure few Guyanese even knew about the award and its significance. I was not one of them.
The Internet being a ready source of material for a crash course on any topic, I visited the UNEP website to find out a little more on the significance of the award.  Established in 2004, the awards are intended to reward global leadership, vision, inspiration and action in best environmental sustainability practices.
I admit that on first learning about the President’s receipt of the award, the first question that came to my mind was: “What for?”  Not in any cynical way, but more in keeping with the way many Obama supporters would have initially questioned his receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize last year.
While on the website, trying to find out exactly what the reward was for, what caught my attention in the scrolling profile pictures of the awardees was that only President Jagdeo had any sort of national symbol, in this case, the national flag.  At least two of the other awardees, President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, and Prince Mostapha Zaher of Afghanistan’s EPA, were awarded for work done in their official capacity as governmental officials, but neither of the latter included any national symbol in their profile picture.
The symbolism is telling.  While the award may have gone to the individual, it is clear that the President is determined that the focus is the country.  As he said at the opening of his acceptance speech:

Quote: ‘It is not often that small societies are recognised for innovation and vision in a world in which the major economic powers seem to have all the cards stacked in their favour. Guyana has proven that small can lead, by not only coming up with a blueprint for sustainable development of our own economy, but one that can be applied globally’

“I don’t see it as an award for myself as an individual. Rather, I interpret is as an endorsement of the people of Guyana’s long-standing efforts to help change the way the world values scarce natural resources.  For years, the people of Guyana have demonstrated real commitment to the preservation of nature and biodiversity, most notably as it relates to our still largely intact tropical rainforest. But they have also struggled against the global economic reality that long term national development and protecting nature are frequently competing, not complementary, objectives.”
Read the rest of the speech, and it becomes clear that it is Guyana’s innovation, in merging these two non-complementary objectives, which served as a basis for the President’s inclusion in the 2010 Champions of the Earth.
In comparison also to the Obama Nobel knee-jerk reaction, there may be the tendency also to question the award at the early stages of what seems to be more an aspiration than a proven workable strategy.  The rabid criticisms of the LCDS notwithstanding, it is clear that UNEP saw enough substance in the strategy to assign a special award – for Biodiversity and Ecosystems Management – to the country’s efforts, as spearheaded by the President.
In these columns, I’ve spoken often about the need for the establishment of certain benchmarks when it comes to the acknowledgment of the positives associated with Guyana, at least on the international stage.  What I believe was admirable in the President’s presentation was the emphasis on the ownership of the award by all of Guyana’s people; nowhere in his acceptance speech is the Government of Guyana, although he does mention the “Government of Norway,” which has tangibly and literally bought into the LCDS.  This is in contrast to the very real battle faced by the President – reminiscent in some small degree of the Obama healthcare debacle – in implementing some aspects of his environmental programme at home.
It is not often that small societies are recognised for innovation and vision in a world in which the major economic powers seem to have all the cards stacked in their favour – Guyana has proven that small can lead, by not only coming up with a blueprint for sustainable development of our own economy, but one that can be applied globally.
What would be commendable in my view is if there was some universal acknowledgment of this locally.  It is amazing how quickly some sections of society are in claiming the negative about Guyana, especially reports coming out of organisations, like Transparency International for example, whose very reason for existence is based upon perpetuating myths and misinformation about countries they have no real connection to or presence in, and which they do not have the resources to paint as accurate a picture as they claim to paint.
The irony of all of this: I don’t believe that the model used by organisations like TI can stand up to scrutiny with regard to charges of inherently discriminatory elements, whereas the UN does not hand out awards lightly.
On the flip side of this, I noticed there have been numerous congratulatory advertisements and messages being issued by various agencies in both the public and private sector and I am sure there are more to appear.  So many have placed focus on the President, even as the President has himself stressed the primacy of the country in the receipt of UNEP’s recognition of Guyana’s efforts.
In my estimation, this knee-jerk showering of praise also detracts – if not as much as knee-jerk condemnation – from the overall importance of this seminal honour.  As Guyana continues in leading the way in developing models for engaging climate change while enhancing the economy of less economically advanced countries, it will take a great deal of public education and greater national ownership of an approach that has been globally acknowledged as exemplary in its innovation. (This article was first published in the April 25th edition of the Sunday Chronicle)