After a long day of meaningful interaction, delegates of the 6th Participants’ Committee of the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) met at the Princess Hotel for a reception Monday evening, and were educated about the aims and objectives of Guyana’s revolutionary Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) by President Bharrat Jagdeo. The participants, drawn from 37 countries, will be in Guyana for the next two days during which the meeting will be held.
President Jagdeo began his remarks by asking participants to be cognisant of the context of the developing countries which they are seeking to support, particularly in the area of forest preservation, while at the same time creating opportunities for people.
He shared the Guyana experience which began with a commitment to offer the country’s entire forest as a resource for national protection of the environment, provided that the people’s chances for prosperity are not jeopardised.
“We think we can do so, marrying the preservation of our forest with economic development. We think we can bypass the traditional polluting path that many countries have used,” President Jagdeo said.
The achievement of the twin objectives forest preservation and economic development, is outlined in the LCDS which President Jagdeo said won national acceptance from a wide cross section of society through a consultative process.
The process was one which President Jagdeo said has never been replicated in any other part of the world, as it also included the input of the National Assembly.
The strategy has outlined a number of initiatives which the financial flow from the Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) mechanism will fund, including mitigation, adaptation and technology transfer.
Among the mitigation interventions is the construction of the hydropower station which President Jagdeo assured will materialise within three years.
Amerindian communities also stand to benefit from the completion of land titling and a development programme for each village.
In the area of adaptation, President Jagdeo highlighted the importance of flood control and water management which, if not assessed carefully, could see Guyana losing 10 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per annum from adverse weather conditions.
Based on the numerous questions asked about the REDD mechanism by the donor community about its measurability, President Jagdeo said efforts are being made to install a world class Monitoring Reporting and Verification (MRV) system which comes with a capacity to provide country specific data.
“We are working with the World Bank; I must say is a laborious process, taking a very long time, and I spoke to President Zoellick about this, but we need to put that in place to ensure proper use of the money and we hope to design this mechanism where the donor’s concerns are answered,” President Jagdeo said. (GINA)