THE Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) signed a US$50,000 (Gy$10M) agreement on Monday. It would support capacity building among 30 small loggers associations over the next three years and Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud said the pact will allow Guyana to fulfil the obligations outlined in the REDD+ initiative.
But more at the grassroots level, assist Guyana in maintaining its sustainable forest management practices that are second to none, he said.
Mr. Persaud said more than 400 logging permits have been issued by GFC and one-fifths of those are near forestry communities, where capacity building initiatives will improve the local socio-economic conditions.
The areas of capacity building were identified by the beneficiaries and include forestry policy and law, forest management, timber grading, poultry rearing and handicraft using forestry products.
The minister said best practices employed support compliance in the sector, as well as the improvement of forestry community.
Representing the FAO, Mrs. Lystra Fletcher-Paul remarked that protection and management of the forest is no longer a technical but a policy and governance issue that needs to be addressed.
According to her, global statistics indicate that some 13 million hectares of forest are lost due to mismanagement of forest resources.
Against that background, she emphasised that FAO is partnering with 80 countries and international agencies to assist in developing and implementing programmes that address deforestation.
Fletcher-Paul maintained that capacity building at the grassroots level supports sustainable forest management.

IN BATCHES
The capacity building sessions will begin in July and will benefit organisations in batches of 10 over the next three years.
The GFC will implement the programme in collaboration with the Forestry Training Centre Incorporated (FTCI).
FAO’s financial support comes under its National Forestry Programme Facility (NFPF), which was created in 2002 as a response to inter-governmental dialogue that has recognised the essential role of national forest programmes in addressing forest sector issues.
The main objective is to assist countries in developing and implementing NFPFs that effectively address local needs and national priorities and reflect internationally agreed principles (country leadership, participation and integration of cross sectoral issues).
The NFPF stimulates broad stakeholder participation in the processes by providing grants directly to civil society to implement activities they planned. The allocation of grants is based on a competitive and transparent process led by the national multi-stakeholders steering committee.
The NFPF is a natural platform for implementing sustainable forest management and, therefore, forest-related climate change issues.