-says his grasp of forestry management practices limited
FROM the thrust of his copious letters to the press, he comes across as an authority on forestry management matters, but former Chairman of Barama Company Ltd. (BLC), Mr. Girwar Lalaram begs to differ. Lalaram said that after a careful review of Mr. Tarron Khemraj’s writings on such issues as certification, sustainable harvest management and Low-Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), he has come to the conclusion that they are “a reflection of his [Khemraj’s] ignorance and lack of understanding” of such matters.
“On many or all of these occasions, the critics have totally misconstrued or misinterpreted their own understanding of the issues, and the prerequisites regarding forestry management, and its connectivity to [the] LCDS,” Lalaram said, adding:
“The GFC, with its limited resources, has moved ahead beyond many other countries in implementing in an effective way, proper monitoring standards, and policies that are in compliance with international requirements.”
He is of the opinion that Khemraj needs to conduct comparative studies of the global forestry industry, and to also take a more comprehensive look at the roles and functions of the GFC, and compare them with that of other countries.
“If he does this,” Lalaram said, “it will signal to him that Guyana and the GFC have gone leaps and bounds beyond the vast majority of these countries to ensure sustainable forestry management, and to monitor and implement rules and regulations to satisfy the requirements of Guyana’s LCDS programme.
“And also that Guyana, through the forestry commission and in concurrence with stakeholders, has gone far beyond to ensure that the preconditions/conditions of the LCDS are met. Therefore, the GFC should be commended, because, within such a short timeframe, and with limited resources, we are far above the benchmark internationally.”
Lalaram said he strongly disagrees with Khemraj’s criticisms of the Forest Product Marketing Council, since he fails to fully grasp the role and function of the council in light of President Jagdeo’s global initiative.
“The role and function of this council,” he stated, “is to support this initiative, as well as to ensure a balance between commerce and environment. I have never seen, in any international journal, where Mr. Khemraj could show evidence of research and findings in forestry economics and management.
“Mr. Khemraj’s criticism on the export of logs to China and India reflects his inability to understand the trade and taxation issues that are relevant.  Uninformed and unaware of the efforts taken by the government of Guyana through the GFC and the marketing council to enhance investment and value added processing, he showcases his utter ignorance of these policies and activities that are in trade to ensure that there is greater value, not only to the widely known, commercial species, but also the heavy emphasis that is placed on converting lesser used species into final products.
“Further, Mr. Khemraj lacks understanding and insight of global forestry and environment. To add to this, he does not understand the functional role of international organizations such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and Accreditation Services International (ASI). In his letters, he seems to be totally confused about the role and responsibility of certifiers and auditors.
“For the purpose of clarity, and to educate Mr. Khemraj, ASI is the auditing arm of the FSC, and its role is to audit certifiers such as SGS, Smart Wood, Rainforest Foundation etc. Mr. Khemraj unfortunately falls in the category of the ignorant who do not understand the roles of the FSC, and other auditors and certifiers, that fall under the umbrella of the FSC.”
In response to Mr. Khemraj’s statement that Barama is grossly deficient in its management practices, Lalaram  said that Barama was the very first company in Guyana to take the initiative of exercising sustainable forestry management practices, and of being certified.
According to him, Barama teamed up with the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) to support this initiative in order to achieve FSC certification, which was eventually realized. But unfortunately, Barama failed to maintain its certification because they did not correct certain prescribed conditions.
Among those conditions were some major Corrective Action Remedies (CARs) after an audit by the ASI. That said, Lalaram contends: “What is important as it relates to Barama is that it was the first company in Guyana to undertake a major step forward in the circumstance of tremendous difficulties, to ensure that its management standards and practices are kept, not only within the guidelines of the GRF, but also to ensure that they met the international forestry management standards.”
The Barama case, he said “was a difficult one, having achieved FSC certification and being later suspended after ASI auditing; short-term success with a long-term failure. The reason to say that is because the WWF, a partner in the arrangement with Barama’s certification, withdrew its support on the basis that Barama does not have the management and technical capabilities to proceed in obtaining or regaining FSC certification.”
Explaining the situation further, Lalaram said: “Notwithstanding what took place, Barama needs to be recognized, and everyone needs to take cognizance of the fact that the efforts of Barama are justified, despite its subsequent failure to maintain its FSC certification.
“To add, the management at Barama at the time, envisioned that sustainable forestry management was is crucial and important, from economic, social and global perspectives. Important to recognize is that President Bharrat Jagdeo’s initiative coincides with the initiatives that were taken by Barama. His August 19, 2010 letter leaves any intelligent, forest economist baffled as to weather he truly understands the subject matter in relation to climate change and LCDS. Mr. Khemraj needs to circumspectly examine Guyana’s role and President Jagdeo’s initiative in a global scope, before unassumingly making deficient statements that lack unsubstantiated facts.”
Lalaram dismissed Khemraj’s criticisms of the GFC in relation to its programme of endorsements under the Norway/Guyana agreement as another highlight of his misinterpretation of the very requirements of the GFC’s monitoring and facilitating support of this to ensure endorsements.
He said that Khemraj’s doubt as to whether his forest law enforcement governance and practices meet the requirements of the Center for International Forestry and Research (CIFR) is totally unfounded. “Mr. Khemraj should have seen the efforts undertaken by the GFC in relation to Redd Cross, as many concessionaires have undertaken programs and activities to avoid deforestation and to enable activities to adhere to restoring the forest.
“He spoke about the FLECG, the European standard by which operators are judged before they enter the European market, but failed to examine the many other certifying requirements, like those of the United States and elsewhere. Important to note is that he is not researching enough of the many other requirements that the GFC has virtually been successful, such as the legal verification system, and the national standards.
“His references are so limited and without any substantive evidence of adherence, an expression of his own ignorance, which logically exposes his inability to understand. Mr. Khemraj needs to understand that when he writes about forestry, forestry certification, it is not a matter of simple economics, as he has classically portrays himself, in so many of his previous letters, as more of a pseudo-economist. Rather than that, he should be analytical in utilizing
socio-economic and econometric theories and integrate these with reality and issues, and bring to bear in the press, if so be it, a new version that will take not only the forestry sector, but any other sector forward.”
Further, he stated that Mr. Khemraj’s comparison between Guyana and Liberia is accurate, since Guyana has one of the best log tagging and tracking systems in the world. And, in the case of Liberia, he advised that Mr. Khemraj read articles of global watch, and take note of the level of illegal logging and corrupt practices in the forestry sector of Liberia to gain knowledge of the fact that this is not the case with Guyana.
According to Mr. Lalaram, there must, first and foremost, be a balance between the economics of forestry and the environment, and this must be seen in the context of the President’s global initiative. Better forestry management must not be seen only in the context of the large forest operators, but also with the small operators as well as the Amerindian communities. All must come under the mainstream of the code of practice of the GFC to ensure proper forest management.
Barama, according to him, should be the model for the forestry sector, but needs to “get their act together in order to continue that model role of sustainable forestry management, harvesting and certification.”
In his opinion, Demerara Timbers Ltd. is now the leading timber organization in the industry, since that company has exhibited high standards of forestry management and business practice. In terms of local companies, Variety Woods has excelled in all aspects of good forestry management practices. Local companies are coming to adhere to international forestry standards and this, he says, is because of the GFC stringent and strong efforts in monitoring the activities of the forestry sector.
Lalaram sees Mr. Khemraj as a textbook economist, who uses statistics and basic economic theory to criticize and condemn the government’s initiatives and policies. “The crucial problem,” he said, “is that an economist by profession is supposed to use data and appropriate analysis in order to advise, so that positive changes will be effected. Most of his articles are statistically only based. High-school economics cannot work in a developing world, and much of what Mr. Khemraj has been writing is based on high-school economics.”
What is needed in the developing world, in Lalaram’s opinion, are creative thinkers, who will come up with effective solutions and vision for success. “Theories do not work, and Mr. Khemraj’s writings reflect only theory. He (Mr. Khemraj) is far behind the times, where economics and economic vision and social economic development, is necessary for Guyana.”