CABINET has approved six staff members of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) travelling to Belem do Para in Brazil for the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation’s 2016 training programme in tropical forest monitoring under the “Monitoring Forest cover in the Amazon Region” programme, which will run from May 30 to June 10, 2016.The Permanent Secretariat of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (PS/ACTO) has been executing the Project “Monitoring Deforestation, Land Use and Land Use Change in the Pan Amazonian Forest”, in various stages since 2011. The 2016 training programme in tropical forest monitoring is being held in this context, and is oriented towards supporting ACTO member countries developing real-time information about the extent of forest cover in the Amazon.

The main objective of the 2016 training is to gather information through mapping of land use and cover in already deforested areas. This information will contribute to public policies and actions in the areas of management and control, in order to mitigate different impacts. It also aims to communicate information about the ‘Burned Areas Project’ with the goal of mapping burned areas through the identification of burn scars, and to present the structure of the database management system, thus making is possible for participants to start activities and commands via database.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has consulted with the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Guyana Forestry Commission and the Ministry of the Presidency, and it is recommended that Guyana be represented by Mr. Yannick Edwards, Forest Resource Information Officer, Guyana Forestry Commission; Ms. Colleen Griffith, GIS Technician, Guyana Forestry Commission; Mr. Haimwant Persaud, Manager, Geographic Information Management Unit (GIMU), Ministry of Natural Resources; Ms. Reshana Thomas, Ms. Bibi Nafeeza Amin and Ms. Basantie Sukhu, GIS Remote Sensing Analysts from the Guyana Forestry Commission.

The Permanent Secretariat of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation will provide airfares, accommodation and meals for the six participants. (Ministry of the Presidency)