SEVENTEEN staffers of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) staffers successfully completed a 12-month programme in Geographic Information System/Remote Sensing and were presented their certificates by Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Robert Persaud last Thursday. The training course was part of the Guyana Forestry Commission and the United States Agency for International Development (GFC and USAID) Geographic Information System/Remote Sensing Capacity Building Support Project a 12-month programme to train and upgrade the skills of the GFC staffers.
Delivering the feature address at the presentation ceremony, Persaud expressed gratitude for the USAID support in all sectors of the economy and social development and said he is pleased with this area of support since they have had collaboration some 10 years ago in various initiatives.
He added that the training programme was geared towards capacity building of reporting and monitoring and the benefits are enormous and when the programme started it was to develop the necessary framework to LCDS and REDD initiatives but later Remote Sensing was drawn in given the critical role it plays in the forestry sector as it relates to forest fires.
He noted that the technical skills garnered is critical since a cadre of persons were trained in this aspect which foresees the proper management of natural resources as such they are constantly looking at technology training in the quest to have proper management and monitoring in areas of climate change among others.
Persaud said that given the credence and the changes in environment science is being questioned in transparency in Guyana and our capabilities have been questioned over time but the technology skills will enforce our scientific bases in promoting transparency where there are tremendous benefits.
The minister stated that as such the deployment is not restricted to GFC only but will be integrated to the Lands and Survey Department and Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).
Persaud added that he is however, grateful for the USAID support in capacity building in land management in Guyana and also for wider natural resources sector in which they are looking for further support in other areas such as oil and gas sectors to develop benchmarks internationally in this regard.
Meanwhile, US Ambassador, Brent Hardt said that on behalf of the United States Government and USAID he was pleased to be there to mark another important step forward in enhancing Guyana’s ability to administer and manage its vast forest resources.
He was also pleased to be able to highlight the completion of another effective partnership between Guyana and the United States, and like the trees of the forest, it has taken root and is now bearing fruit.
He said: “I understand that this training represents the culmination of a partnership that began back in 2007, when representatives of the United States Forest Service (USFS) traveled to Guyana to explore opportunities for developing cooperation for sustainable forest management activities.”
Hardt stated that an agreement was forged in 2008 to support the GFC mandate to administer and manage state forest lands and a work plan was developed with stakeholders in January 2010 and to implement it, USAID funded a long-term expert on Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing to train over 30 staff of the Guyana Forestry Commission and its sister agencies in topics such as Introduction to Remote Sensing, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Fundamentals and Advanced Geographical Information Systems. This training was targeted to assist Guyana in meeting its obligations under the REDD+ initiative.
He noted that the training, conducted over the past year, concluded on May 30. It encompassed four primary areas:
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) Monitoring, Reporting and Verification System (MRVS) and components of conducting a National Forest Inventory (NFI)  Establishing a Code of Practice (COP) for timber operations & Reviewing the Lacey Act Expanding the use of Lesser Used Species to reduce stresses on primary species and Implementing a community Forest Fire Management Strategy.
Hardt said: “We understand from our colleagues in the GFC that this training initiative has already had a positive impact on their operations by expediting their workflow, improving data development and data management procedures, and boosting the GFC’s confidence in moving forward with the technical components of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+).”
He explained that as a result of this advanced expertise, the GFC has accelerated expansion plans for their Geographical Information System Unit.  The GIS Specialist has in turn trained staff at the University of Guyana with the hope that this will generate a steady flow of Geographical Information Systems/Remote Sensing (GIS/RS) graduates to agencies that require these technical skills.
Hardt noted that in the area of the Monitoring, Reporting and Verification Systems and the National Forest Inventory, the GFC has been collaborating with a leading Biometrician and Senior Scientist of the U.S. Forest Service who was also made available under the USAID/USFS Agreement to develop the parameters and methodology for the critical National Forest Inventory.
He said: “This training effort also produced some unique training resources, including manuals that can be used for future training efforts to enhance the capacity of the GFC staff to manage complex carbon monitoring systems. So overall, it has been a partnership of breadth and depth that has helped to strengthen Guyana’s capacity to manage its unique forestry resources. I would like to recognize the commitment of the Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment to this effort and to working in partnership with the United States.”
GFC Head of Planning and Development, Pradeepa Bholanauth said that the programme itself lasted 12 months and was first conceptualised in 2010 and over 2011 and a few months in 2012 the execution happened.
She added that the training programme focused on three modules GIS Fundamentals for junior staffers of the GIS Unit, informed by advanced GIS module and applied by GIS for remote sensing.
Bholanauth stated that it was a progressive emphasis on the staff at lower level and then moving up to the higher level for applied science in terms of remote sensing and 17 students, who benefitted from training were able to get multiple certificates in some cases, were able to graduate from one then to the next as well.
She pointed out that overall they are quite pleased that not only were they able to cover three modules but progressively built on capacity on each staff to attain then move to the next and as the speakers have outlined immediate impacts already not only in terms of mapping but works that are ongoing to apply in a more informed and scientifically study way the manner in which we do forestry.
Bholanauth said, “So previous we would have done much of this work in a credible way but in a scientific way using external expertise but now we have our own people doing it so of course it comes with a significant advantage to be able to have local people which helps a lot.”
Instructor, Mr. John Kerkering, talked about the achievements in the Project in which 30 staff from the GFC received certificates: 18 in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Fundamentals, seven in Advanced Geographical Information Systems and five for Remote Sensing.