THE Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) launched a booklet on the speeches made between 1992-1997 by late President Dr. Cheddi Jagan on the environment and sustainable development last Wednesday at the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre (Red House) High Street, Kingston. The booklet is entitled “President Cheddi Jagan speaks on Environment and Development Selected Speeches 1992-1997.”
General Secretary of GAWU, Seepaul Narine who chaired the proceedings noted that Dr. Jagan “was the undisputed defender of the poor and his implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency Act and establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are testimony to his commitment to the preservation of the environment and sustainable development.
Former Presidential Adviser on Science, Technology and the Environment, to both President Jagan and President Bharrat Jagdeo and now Principal of GAWU Labour College, Navin Chandarpal edited and compiled the 50-page publication.
Chandarpal, speaking to a packed audience, which included Caracas-based Finnish Ambassador to Guyana, Mikko Pyhala, recalled that at the Hemispheric Summit on Sustainable Development in 1996, Dr Jagan was highly commended for saying things which many leaders dared not say.
He also stressed that Dr. Jagan continued the work on the Iwokrama Rainforest Project begun by his predecessor Desmond Hoyte who had promised to donate 350,000 hectares of pristine rainforests for environmental research.
Dealing with Dr. Jagan’s crusade on debt write offs and sustainable development for developing countries, Chandarpal recollected that he used every international fora to wage his campaign and articulated his case that without debt write offs these countries would find it extremely difficult to fund sustainable development initiatives.
Speaking at the Global Conference on the Sustainable development of Small Island States in Barbados  in 1994, Dr. Jagan exhorted: “if the debt pressure is removed, small island developing states  in particular and developing countries in general will be able to work rapidly to achieve sustainability.”
Summing up his presentation Chandarpal observed that Dr. Jagan had the remarkable ability to identify   the smaller issues which add up to the big ones.
Mr. Pyhala who worked at the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) recalled fond his memories of his encounters with Dr. Jagan who he said was introduced to him by Mozambique’s revolutionary Amilcar Cabral.
The Ambassador said the recommendations of UNEP on environmental protection were implemented in a strikingly speedy manner under the stewardship of Dr. Jagan, adding that it was an honourable gesture to keep focus on his contributions, adding that he was an important visionary and statesman.
Mr. Pyhala also informed the gathering that he was a proud owner of the first hard cover publication by Dr.  Jagan-The West On Trial, which he promised to donate to the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre.
President of GAWU, Komal Chand said his union was inspired by Dr. Jagan’s commitment to people-centred development and that he stood up firmly against adverse environmental methods of production.
He also alluded to Dr. Jagan’s debt cancellation crusade noting that he laid the foundation for good environmental practices through the establishment of the EPA and Environmental Protection Agency.
As regards to  Dr. Jagan’s views on the environment, Chand asserted that there is a huge gap to be filled.