– exports drop to US$1 million

THE ban on greenheart exports to the UK saw a dramatic slump in exports to that country, moving from U.S.$3.2 million in 2014 to U.S.$ 1 million last year and stakeholders are about to launch a serious lobby to reverse the decision.
In a statement Saturday evening, the Guyana Manufacturers and Services Association (GMSA) and other stakeholders blamed incorrect labelling of Guyana’s forest management practices by activists for the ban.
“Given that markets for tropical forest products are declining and challenging, incorrect labelling of our forest management practices in this negative way can only be detrimental to the future lives and livelihoods of the 25,000 people directly employed in this industry ,” the GMSA and other stakeholders stated.
The ban, which went into effect in May, 2015 and which was imposed by the UK Environment Agency, came as a surprise to the local industry, especially since the private sector and Government were in communication with CPET, the Central Point for Expertise on Timber that advised UK Government Agencies on Timber Procurement Policies for over four years previous to the “note to provide evidence of legality and sustainable timber practices.”
Sustainable Forestry
The GMSA and other stakeholders noted that because of the need to prove legality and sustainability and meet certification standards, the industry had entered into negotiations under the European Union orogramme for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT), which aims to reduce illegal logging by strengthening sustainable and legal forest management, improving governance and promoting trade in legally produced timber.
The stakeholders noted that the consultants to CPET did state that EU FLEGT licensing “would” constitute adequate evidence of Category B compliance, and hence allow exports.
The GMSA and stakeholders noted that while Dr Janet Bulkan – the activist and now member of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) board – pronounces on the sustainability of Greenheart forest harvesting by referring to the studies carried out by Tropenbos in the Bartica Triangle, the UK Environment Agency Technical Note refers to the sustainable forest management of the “Forests of Origin” and not only Greenheart.
“The labelling of Guyana as a ‘pariah’ in tropical forestry flies in the face of overwhelming, independently verified evidence by internationally credible third parties, evidence which is available on line and specifically on the GFC Website for those who wish to be further informed on the hard reality,” the GMSA and other stakeholders noted.
High marks
They stated that the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) has stated that Guyana was one of only six tropical forest-producing countries in the world practising sustainable forestry management at the forest- concession level.
Further, it noted that Global Forest Watch’s deforestation ranking put Guyana’s periodic deforestation rate at 0.568%, making Guyana the lowest- ranked tropical or largely forested country in the world.
In addition, the stakeholders noted that Yale University Environmental Performance Index in 2016 ranked Guyana 4th worldwide (out of 116 countries) in tree cover loss, behind only Georgia, Vanuatu and Bhutan.
The stakeholders claimed that the article on the Bartica Triangle references inventories carried out in the forests 40 years and 36 years apart and that during that period, there were no harvesting restrictions such as those applied today.
“There was also a focus by the then concession holders on harvesting just greenheart, a practice that is not allowed under current management practices and regulations,” the stakeholders noted.
However, currently, the annual allowable cut is capped at 20 m3 per hectare over a 60-year cycle – operators can choose a shorter cutting cycle, but the allowable cut is reduced proportionally to compensate.
In addition, via an inclusive, transparent consultation mechanism, a Code of Practice for Forest Harvesting was developed that embraced the best principles and practices of Reduced Impact Logging and other requirements enshrined in current forest- management regulations.
The stakeholders also noted that integrated log-tagging and log-tracking systems to ensure legality of all timber harvested and rigorous enforcement began 16 years ago.
“Our forest management system is subject to regular, independent forest monitoring; in addition to Guyana welcoming this, it is also a requirement of the agreement with the Kingdom of Norway,” the stakeholders noted, referring to Guyana’s US$250 million forest-saving deal.
The stakeholders said that Guyana would not have received any funding for avoided deforestation from Norway if the forest- regulatory environment was considered a “pariah.”
Low deforestation
They stated that Guyana has the third lowest deforestation rate in the world and of that, according to data released for 2015, forest operations contribute only 1 % of the yearly total annual deforestation in Guyana.
“In particular, the accusation of over harvesting and unsustainable practices in our forests based on the Bartica Triangle report cited are not borne out by current statistics and practices on the ground, nor the actual conclusions of the authors,” the stakeholders stated.
They noted that the effect of these new regulations on the sustainability of greenheart harvesting was tested in a joint industry/GFC on-the-ground study in late 2015.
The study did pre-harvest, harvest and post-harvest inventories in five blocks (100 ha each) in five different concessions; it further analysed pre-harvest inventories and harvesting data over 67,100 hectares in 16 timber concessions around the country and found that in the five blocks where pre-harvest, harvest and post- harvest inventories were done, 2,630 Greenheart trees were inventoried. Only 822 were actually harvested, leaving 1,808 Greenheart trees for the next harvest cycle in 60 years. In addition, a further 2,082 Greenheart trees would have grown to a harvestable size by the next cutting cycle, giving a total harvestable volume by the year 2075 of 3,890.
In the data from the 67,100 ha in 16 concessions analysed, only 56% of the total merchantable trees inventoried were actually harvested, clearly indicating, given Greenheart growth rates and present forest- management prescriptions, that current Greenheart harvesting practices are more than sustainable in the ecological sense of the word.
“The facts and figures highlight the great efforts that both the industry and the Government has made to ensure sustainable forest management of our forests for our future generations and that in an ecological sense, our forests are being sustainably managed, an effort clearly verified through abundant, independent, third-party analysis and certification,” the stakeholders stated.
As such, the stakeholders in the forestry sector appealed for persons to ensure that their analysis and conclusions are based on facts, especially if they will be published and that doing otherwise, is being totally irresponsible and unfair — to the sector, rural communities, and to Guyana.