THE government has outlined how it would use the money that has begun to flow from the climate change agreement it has with Norway.
The bulk of the first tranche of US$30M for 2010 goes to buying equity in the Amaila Falls hydro-power project, to the tune of US$20 million, according to details from the Office of Climate Change (OCC) in the Office of the President.
For 2011, this amount will be between US$20 million and US$35 million.
The final draft of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) said a further US$5 million may be invested in the Amaila Falls in 2012.
The OCC said between US$4 million and US$8.2 million will go towards the Amerindian Development Fund in 2010 while in 2011, the figure will be between US$4 million and US$12.3 million. The sum of US$3 million will go to Amerindian Land Titling for both 2010 and 2011.
For the fibre-optic cable being procured from Brazil for its e-governance initiative, the government will spend US$4.5 million in 2010 and US$6.5 million in 2011.
Between US$1.5 million and US$3 million will be used for the Small and Medium Enterprise and Vulnerable Groups’ Alternative Livelihoods project in 2010 and between US$1.5 million and US$5 million for this purpose in 2011.
For the International Centre for Bio-Diversity Research, Low Carbon Curriculum Development and IT Training, a sum of between US$1 million and US$2 million will be utilised in each of the years 2010 and 2011. For Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV), an amount of between US$1.5 million and US$3.7 million will be spent in each year: 2010 and 2011.
Under an agreement which Guyana and Norway signed in November 2009, Norway is to provide some US$250 million up to 2015 in payment for climate change services from Guyana’s forests.
Guyana and the World Bank on October 9 signed an agreement establishing the Guyana REDD Investment Fund (GRIF) through which the Norway funds will be disbursed.
GRIF is the financial mechanism for the ongoing cooperation on climate change between Guyana and Norway, with the latter agreeing to pay for Guyana’s performance on limiting greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and for progress made against governance-related indicators.
As part of the agreement, Guyana will invest the payments it receives, and any income earned on them, in its LCDS.
The governments of Guyana and Norway have asked the World Bank to act as the Trustee of the GRIF, and this process has just been finalised. Norway’s payments to Guyana may amount to approximately US$250 million over the period to 2015, depending on Guyana’s performance, according to the methodology set out by the two countries in November 2009.
The establishment of GRIF is a core part of the partnership between Guyana and Norway and it aims to create a potential model for climate finance that ensures Guyanese sovereignty over LCDS decisions at the same time as demonstrating adherence to internationally accepted standards, such as financial, social and environmental safeguards, the World Bank said in a release.
The Amerindian community has welcomed the establishment of the GRIF.
Mr. Colin Klautky of the Guyanese Organisation of Indigenous Peoples (GOIP) said his organisation is looking forward to the funds.
“We certainly look forward in anticipation to the disbursement. We are trying to have a positive outlook. We are hoping that the resources go towards land demarcation by the villagers themselves and not outsiders coming to do it for us,” he said.
He hopes that members of the community are involved in this process as much as possible.
Mr. Peter Persaud of The Amerindian Action Movement of Guyana (TAAMOG) said the group welcomes the establishment of the GRIF.
“We have been waiting for a long time,” he said, adding that it was very pleasing news to hear that the GRIF had been set up.
He said that despite the critics of the consultation process, these were genuine and effectively carried out, noting that they were not rushed. He said that in communities in which there was the need for translation of the document, this was provided in Akawaio and Patamona.
Persaud went on to explain that there is no pressure for Amerindian communities to opt in to the LCDS. He said that if any community chooses to do so, a technical team comprising persons from the OCC and the Environmental Protection Agency will visit that community with a view to apprising the members of their obligations and responsibilities, in addition to clarifying lingering questions.
But he said that the opt-in mechanism has not been fully established.
The LCDS, in its latest draft, said that in 2010 discussions will continue on how to develop the opt-in process. It said that the first draft of a paper outlining how the opt-in procedure might work was presented to the LCDS Multi-Stakeholder Steering Committee in March 2010. The paper was up to some weeks ago undergoing review by members of the committee.
The LCDS draft said that once the committee has completed its deliberations on the opt-in mechanism paper, the document will be circulated for public discussion and finalisation among Amerindian villages.
Toshao of Mainstay-Whyaka and Chairman of the National Toshaos Council, Ms. Yvonne Pearson said she was very happy at the movement forward.
“We are now ready to move off. We have been waiting a long time.” She said that with regards to monies coming to the indigenous people, “I would say that this is most timely.”
She said that she knows there have been discussions in many Amerindian villages looking at economic ventures that could be created. “We see this as an opportunity to help us to further develop those communities. I know that the President made some commitments and we are also looking forward to those commitments [coming to fruition],” she said.