ACTING President Moses Nagamootoo has appealed for the embrace of the dream of a “green and clean” Guyana as he called for sustainable funding for international conservation and research organisation, Iwokrama.The acting President said Iwokrama is both relevant to Guyana and the world, and in the framework of the 2015-2030 sustainable development agenda, it has the potential to contribute to the battle against climate change.

Climate change aside, he pointed out that it also has a role to play in the reduction of poverty by developing low-volume, high-value markets for forest products and services and encourage local, national and international partnerships for development.

Speaking at an Iwokrama-sponsored diplomatic business luncheon yesterday, Nagamootoo said the non-profit organisation illustrates Guyana’s rich biodiversity, the benefits that can accrue from the sustainable use of forest resources, the accumulation of carbon stocks which are now being costed worldwide and the provision of eco-system services.

The mission of Iwokrama is “to promote the conservation and the sustainable and equitable use of tropical rain forests in a manner that will lead to lasting ecological, economic and social benefits to the people of Guyana and to the world in general, by undertaking research, training and the development and dissemination of technologies.

“We therefore need to explore opportunities to keep the vision alive and the centre viable. Like many other non-profit organisations, Iwokrama has suffered from recent upheavals in the world’s financial architecture which has impacted heavily on its own financial stability. The Secretary General of the Commonwealth was briefed about the financial constraints faced by the centre and Guyana’s inability to continue its financial support to the centre on its own,” the acting President told the luncheon.

He added: “Our task therefore is to promote the value of sustainable forest management nationally and internationally within the context of the 2030 sustainable development agenda. I understand that the Commonwealth Secretariat completed a financial review of the centre and has been seeking additional sources of finance to support the work of the Board of Trustees in placing it on a secure financial footing. Unfortunately, it has at the same time expressed its inability to increase funding for the centre.”

NEW BUSINESS PLAN

Against this backdrop, Iwokrama has since commissioned a new business plan which will pursue the development activities within the centre with a view to reducing its dependency on donor funding.

To this end, the centre embarked on sustainable timber operations in 2015 and continues to invest in its eco-tourism business. Training services continue to grow with universities and educational groups using the Iwokrama Forest as a living laboratory.

Nagamootoo reminded the esteemed gathering at the Herdmanston Lodge of the growing international awareness of the reality of climate change and an acceptance that it is being caused by human actions.

And on that score, he pointed to the fact that a Working Group of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change has advised that sustainable forest management and reducing deforestation are cost-effective mitigation measures.

This, he said, further reinforces the relevance of Iwokrama’s work in the context of the inter-relationship between climate change and sustainable forest management.

WIN-WIN PARTNERSHIPS

“Despite its high promise, and the real benefits to Guyana and the world, particularly in mitigation efforts against climate change, Iwokrama still needs a stable funding base. At the governmental level and through diplomatic initiatives, action is being taken to have the Commonwealth and climate-conscious countries enter partnerships similar to the 2009 Guyana/Norway agreement that would be a win-win situation for all. Iwokrama’s current financial model includes funding from various sources including earned revenues from services and investments (from businesses and partners), donor funding and intellectual property and services (including eco-system services) to meet its core costs of an estimated US$1.2 million annually,” the acting President said.

He charged the gathering to examine how partnerships can be developed to finance and further the work of Iwokrama, pointing out that in the debates and negotiations for the 2030 sustainable development agenda, much emphasis was placed on the means of implementation of the new agenda and particularly on the need for a revitalised global partnership for sustainable development.

“What are needed to move forward are political will and an understanding across every divide of the importance of sustainable development to the creation of a better world and the critical role that entities such as Iwokrama can play. I invite you to share in a Guyana Dream to help make the world clean and green, to preserve Iwokrama as a world patrimony, as an irresistible project that seeks your generous support and solidarity,” a passionate Nagamootoo said.

The Iwokrama Rainforest Programme was launched under Commonwealth auspices following Guyana’s offer at the 1989 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malaysia to set aside some 371,000 hectares of tropical rainforest for research and to demonstrate methods for conservation and sustainable use of tropical forest resources.

The acting President believes that too little recognition and credit have been given to the late President Hugh Desmond Hoyte, for this visionary programme which captured the world’s attention at the 1992 Earth Summit in Brazil.