THE University of Guyana (UG) and Conservation International (CI)  Tuesday signed  a cooperation agreement on the Turkeyen campus.
Through this agreement, CI will collaborate with UG in teaching and research in areas related to integration of management of natural resources; ecosystem services and management; curriculum development; and building strategic international alliances.
In signing the agreement, Vice-Chancellor Professor Lawrence Carrington noted a long standing relationship with CI that was formally established in 2004, and expressed his happiness that the level of collaboration in conservation and sustainable development in Guyana has been further defined through the agreement.
CI- Guyana  Executive Director, David Singh, stated, “We are seized by the urgent attention that is needed to respond to the growing demands for an educated population that can manage our natural assets more effectively, especially as the world’s resources become scarcer. For us to grow our economy, more so to grow an economy that is built on our intact ecosystems rather than on destroying them, we need to have a labour force that understands the value and necessity to manage these ecosystems in a holistic manner.”
He further  emphasised the central importance of the university in the process of transforming Guyana’s national economy, especially as it relates to the government’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).
Meanwhile, CI has also made a tangible input of funds to support the UG’s strategic plan. Its grant assisted UG to create an implementation mechanism for the Strategic Plan in a manner that will accelerate the achievement of the goals pertinent to natural resource management. As a result, the University has been able to accelerate planning for its infrastructural development.