NATURAL Resources and the Environment Minister Robert Persaud met the staff of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) on Friday at the GFC’s Kingston headquarters. He commended their 2011 performance and disclosed that, in recognition of their efforts, Government had approved an incentive for them.   
He told the staff that the workers should take credit for the commission being able to achieve a number of its objectives during the year.

Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud, addressing GFC staff Friday

The minister said he was aware that agencies similar to the GFC in several countries around the world struggle to attain the success the GFC has attained.
He asked that the workers take seriously their accomplishments and achievements in the sector, and added that their steady and vigilant efforts can only augur well for the future of the forestry and natural resources sector.   
Despite challenges, the timber industry is still successful, as, through the agency, Government worked with the many stakeholders in terms of increasing recovery and production.
Government is hopeful that, come 2012, the timber industry would see enhanced production in light of the current housing boom and the rising local and international demand for lumber, Persaud disclosed.
GFC is one of the agencies falling under the purview of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment.
Minister Persaud also underscored the role that the GFC and its staff would play under the new ministry he heads.
Establishing the role of the new Natural Resources and the Environment Ministry, Minister Persaud told the workers that the new ministry allows for “better coordination, better management, and better oversight of the natural resources sector.”
This new ministry was established in recognition of the need for interaction and coordination among the different agencies of the natural resources sector, Minister Persaud disclosed. 
What workers can expect in the future is greater integration, coordination, and synergy of all agencies under the purview of the natural resources sector.
Persaud added that, during different intervals, the workers of one agency would be called upon to support the efforts of other agencies, and vice versa. He consequently advised workers to widen their perspectives relative to the sectors, and be prepared.
Persaud told the workers that, in moving forward, forestry will play a key role in the natural resources and environment sector; and, as such, the workers can expect a lot of activities in that area, moreso because Government intends to realise and explore the tremendous possibilities of each of the sub-sectors under its purview, and in view of the fact that Government has already had a number of enquiries from investors looking to get involved in the sector.
He told the workers that invigorated efforts in natural resources will require a higher level of vigilance and responsiveness from the workers in the different agencies, and would also call for workers to be innovative when executing their work.
Minister Persaud also told the workers that the new ministry would soon be engaging them in a level of familiarization and reorientation in terms of their work programmes, so as to better prepare them for their tasks under the new ministry.