– Dr. Luncheon
HEAD of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, disclosed yesterday that government has supported the protection of biodiversity and has focused its efforts on building capacity at the grassroots level. Hosting his weekly post-Cabinet press briefing at the Office of the President, Dr. Luncheon was speaking on the occasion of a UN Convention on Biological Diversity workshop on traditional knowledge and biodiversity being held in Guyana this week.
He said, “The Convention on Biological Diversity is hosting a workshop in Guyana from March 16 to 19, and it’s a regional one that brings participants from treaty states and other national bodies. We have with us participants from Antigua and Barbuda, from Belize, French Guiana, Grenada, St. Lucia and Suriname.”
He noted that on Wednesday, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Collin Croal, spoke at the opening of the workshop.
Croal, according to the HPS, pointed out that the Government and stakeholders have made considerable effort to preserve indigenous knowledge. “Organisations have enjoyed the support of Central Government in their establishment and community-level bodies have similarly been supported. Academia has also been supported in doing anthropological research on Amerindian tribes, their knowledge, their innovations, and their practices,” the HPS said.
The HPS said Croal pointed out that assessments have been done on capacity building in the area of traditional knowledge in biodiversity and conservation.
“[Croal] ended by revealing that the National Policy on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing was adopted by Cabinet in August 2008,” the HPS said.
He said that since then, regulations have been drafted and efforts made to develop biodiversity legislation. He added that these efforts are being made in conjunction with local and international stakeholders.