THE Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) is presently working to develop the Guyana Legality Assurance System (LAS) as a national standard, which is currently out for public perusal. In an invited comment GNBS Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr. Lloyd David, said as part of the consultative process, the public is invited to comment of the LAS which is in draft form.
This draft standard was prepared by the Technical Committee- Wood Products and has been approved by the National Standard Council.
The committee includes Mr. Sean Ramrattan (Chairperson) from the Georgetown Chambers of Commerce (GCCI); Mr. Siew Khoon Chan from the Demerara Timbers Limited; Ms. Laura Singh from Forest Product Development and Marketing Council; Ms. Rameena Mangal from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Mr. Peter Khalawan from Forest Products Association; Mr. Kerion Husbands     Guyana Geology and Mines Commission; Ms. Rebecca Mitchell from Guyana Trade and Investment Support; Mr. Imole Mc Donald from the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Guyana (UG); Ms. Prema Roopnarine from the Ministry of Agriculture; Mr. Kenny David from the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC); Mr. Ovid Williams from the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs; Ms. Lydia Greene from Ministry of Labour and Human Services; and Mr. Elton Patram (Technical Secretary) from GNBS.
The purpose of the LAS is to provide a reliable means to certify forest products are derived from legal sources. Issuance of certificates requires a system that ensures only legally produced wood products are for exported. This includes checks of forest operations and control of supply chains from harvesting to export.
This standard prescribes the requirements to be met by traders, producers and supplier of forest products either as individuals, companies, or as part of a defined supply chain, to confirm that the wood, log or lumber come from a legal source.
Additionally, the draft document is guided by three primary principles: the Forest Management Operator (FMO) has legal rights to harvest and other parties legal rights tenure rights are respected; the FMO complies with relevant national legislation as it pertains to forest management, environment, labour and safety and health; and the FMO has paid taxes, fees, duties, royalties and penalties.
These principles are used to address:
* Legal compliance of Timber Sales Agreement and Wood Cutting Lease;
* Legal compliance of State Forest Permit (SFPs) and conversion areas;
* Legal compliance of FMO operating in Amerindian Village;
* Legal compliance of agricultural or mining property owners; and
* Chain of Custody.
David noted that the consultations will end on September 24th and afterwards the Technical Committee will consider the comments and amend the draft standard.
“When the final document is ready it will be sent to the National Standards Council for approval,” the PRO said.
He added that the development of this new standard is in keeping with GNBS’s mission to promote standardisation for economic development and consumer protection through standards development, promotion and implementation, metrology services and Conformity Assessment.
The Bureau’s vision is to improve the quality of goods and services in Guyana through the process of standardization.
GNBS was established in March of the year 1984 and has the legal status of a statutory corporation and is governed by a National Standards Council, whose members are appointed annually by the subject minister. The Council meets monthly and the standards development process is executed through the various technical committees setup by the National Standards Council. The Chairman of each Committee is a member of the Council.
The objectives of the Bureau are to:
* Promote standardisation in all sectors of the economy;
* Encourage or undertake educational work in connection with standardisation;
* Establish, form, furnish and maintain information systems and laboratories for the purpose of furthering the practice of standardisation;
* Provide for the testing, at the request of the Minister and on behalf of the Government, of locally manufactured and imported commodities with the view of determining whether such commodities comply with the provision of the Standards Act or any other law dealing with standards and quality;
* Prepare, frame, modify or amend specifications and codes of practice;
* Make arrangements and provide facilities for: the testing and calibration of precision instruments, gauges and scientific apparatus to determine their degree of accuracy;
* Examine and test commodities and any material or substance which may be manufactured produced, processed or treated;
* Control, in accordance with the provisions of the Standards Act, the use of standardisation marks and distinctive marks; and
* Provide for co-operation with any person, association or organisation outside of Guyana which has objects similar to those for which the Bureau was established.