Guyana’s LCDS: Priority Areas for Implementation
Low-Carbon Development: Research, Education and Training
IN PREVIOUS articles, we introduced Guyana’s Low-Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and identified the priority areas for implementation over the next two years. On May 24, 2010, the third draft of the LCDS was released and launched by His Excellency, President Bharrat Jagdeo.
The revised draft of the LCDS places greater emphasis on implementation, and outlines seven key priority areas for investment of forest payments over the next two years. This week, we will discuss Research, Education and Training initiatives to support low-carbon development.
According to the LCDS (2010), successfully creating a new low-carbon economy will require a suite of investments in the education sector, and in 2010/11, priority will be given to:
·         Development of an International Centre for Biodiversity Research
·         Low-Carbon curriculum development
·         Training in Information Technology (IT)

International Centre for Biodiversity Research and Low-Carbon Development
Latin America and the Caribbean is the region with the greatest biological diversity on the planet, and holds almost half of the world’s tropical forests, 33 per cent of its total mammals, 35 per cent of its reptilian species, 41 per cent of its birds, and 50 per cent of its amphibians. (UNEP, 2010)

Guyana’s pristine forests, which cover about 15 million hectares, or 80 per cent of the country, are one of its most valuable natural assets. These forests contain a wealth of biodiversity, and provide valuable ecosystem services, both at a local level — such as flood control, the provision of non-timber products, maintenance of water quality and prevention of soil erosion — and at a global level, such as carbon sequestration, regulation of climate systems and biodiversity conservation.

Rainforests currently provide sources for two (2) per cent of today’s medicines, representing a pharmaceutical market of close to US$100 billion. However, it is likely that the full value of rainforests is not yet realized and there are many plant and animal species whose properties and potential uses have not been explored, including species that may not even have been discovered. Investment in research is important to broaden our understanding and awareness of the full value of rainforests and the biodiversity they contain.

Guyana will seek to partner with national and international educational, research and commercial establishments to set up an International Centre dedicated to researching (and where possible, deriving economic value from) Guyana’s rich biodiversity.

The centre will work with emerging global institutes (e.g the Green Growth Institute) to ensure that Guyana is integrated with international advances in this field.

Requests for proposals will be developed and issued later in 2010.

Low-Carbon Curriculum Development
Education is central to ensuring that today’s young people fully understand the challenges their generation is expected to face in the decades ahead, especially as it relates to global issues like climate change. 
It is essential to ensure that Guyana has the human resources and skills-base to implement and maintain growth and low-carbon development.

According to the LCDS (2010), “long-term buy-in for low-carbon development, and ongoing discussion and improvement of Guyana’s ability to deliver a low-carbon future will come about with the mainstreaming of these topics into the long-term education system.”

In 2010, this will involve the Ministry of Education and the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) working to enhance the school curriculum, with the goal of introducing, on a pilot basis, the LCDS and climate change into the formal education system from 2010.

The project will focus on integrating the low-carbon initiative into the primary and secondary schools’ social studies and science curricula.  For primary schools, the project targets Grades 1-6 (ages around six to 12), and  aims to ensure that primary level students are aware of the fundamental topics of  climate, environment, global warming and the role Guyana can play in the protection of the environment through its LCDS.

Because the level targeted represents a relatively young age group, efforts would be made to create child-friendly, creative and interactive material to facilitate effective learning of these concepts.

For secondary schools, the project will target Grades 7 to 9, and will seek to raise awareness of climate change, biodiversity and low-carbon initiatives, with Guyana’s LCDS as a case study. It will support the development of interactive material to support face-to-face instruction and project-based learning.

Information Technology (IT) Training
In today’s modern world, IT is becoming increasingly important as a means of producing, manipulating, storing, communicating and disseminating information.

In order for Guyanese businesses and individuals to be competitive in a technologically driven world, it is essential that young people and professionals become competent in the use of IT.

The Ministry of Education has been engaged in ongoing efforts to support IT development in schools. The ministry’s Strategic Plan (2009-2012) highlights that the government has outlined various policies that are aimed at creating an environment that will foster technology use and encourage investment in ICT.  In addition, efforts are ongoing to enhance the curriculum with IT education in the primary and secondary school population.

In support of the enhancement of Information Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure nation-wide (as discussed in the previous article), the Government of Guyana will support measures to improve training of school children and prospective employees.

This will be done in conjunction with other support projects.

Next week, we will continue to explore important aspects of Guyana’s efforts to address climate change and implement the LCDS.

*Information used in this feature was extracted from the following reports and sources: Guyana’s Low-Carbon Development Strategy (2010), Ministry of Education, NCERD, Office of the President, UNEP.
Prepared by the Office of Climate Change, July, 2010
For additional information, please contact:
Office of Climate Change, Office of the President
Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown
Tel. 223-5205
Email: info@lcds.gov.gy , Website: www.lcds.gov.gy