THERE is a great need for a higher level of stakeholder participation in Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), Minister of State Joseph Harmon opined on Friday during the inaugural

meeting of the LDN, Target-Setting Programme (TSP) and National Working Group (NWG).
The Minister of State also announced that Cabinet has initiated a process that aims to settle issues related to indigenous land-titling and ancestral lands. Acknowledging the leadership that the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) has demonstrated to fulfil Guyana’s commitment to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Harmon, who is the political focal point for the UNCCD, said Guyana is one of few member states that have since taken steps to implement its mandate.

The country’s mandate which must be achieved within one year requires wide consultations and collaboration with all land agencies and stakeholders.
“More importantly, it is our responsibility to the people of Guyana to ensure that land is properly managed, that land is properly utilised for the…benefit and the development of this country; for the benefit and the development of individuals and for the benefit of that common good that we speak about; that good life,” he said.

Land-degradation neutrality, which aims to maintain and/or improve the amount of healthy and productive land resources over time, is an important aspect of the ‘green’ pathway that President David Granger has outlined for the nation.

As such, stakeholder participation in the NWG, along with technical support, is essential to achieving the overall objective of the LDN Target-Setting Programme.
Additionally, the Minister of State said Cabinet has taken steps to establish a Guyana Lands Commission, which will be tasked with addressing issues associated with indigenous land titling and ancestral lands. Persons have already been identified to serve on the commission, the Terms of Reference (ToR) have already been drafted and consultations are on-going with the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs, the African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA) and the groups that are concerned with ancestral lands. The consultations are expected to be completed by the end of next week and the data used to inform a final ToR for the commission.

Meanwhile, Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Trevor Benn, echoed the minister’s call for more stakeholder participation to achieve the LDN and the Sustainable Land Management Project, the latter of which is being spearheaded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Guyana. Benn said too that the GL&SC continues to be hampered by a dearth of finances and appealed to persons, who have defaulted on land-rent payments to urgently bring their accounts up to date.

“It is affecting the work of the commission. It is affecting the liquidity of the commission. Many people have received leases and for five, six years they have never paid… We are calling on those people to take appropriate action so that we could …capitalise the commission,” he said.
Reuben Robertson, Food and Agriculture Organisation Representative to Guyana, Mr. Durwin Humphrey, Policy Analyst, Mr. David Cole, Information Systems Manager, Ms. Andrea Mahammad, Senior Land Use Planner all of the GL&SC, Ms. Patsy Ross, National Consultant and managers and members of the GL&SC Board also attended the meeting.