THE Department of Environment, Ministry of the Presidency, in collaboration with the Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) Coordinating Office/UN Environment, has commenced regional consultations for the Green State Development Strategy (GSDS).
National consultations are required to ensure participation of citizens under the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. The GSDS consultations will be conducted across Guyana’s 10 administrative regions during May and June 2018.

In a release on Tuesday, the Department of Environment said consultations commenced on April 26 in Region Three at Bagotville/Vreed-en-Hoop, and were held on May 2 at the Barnwell Conference Hall in Barnwell/Parika, and in Region Four in St. Cuthbert’s Mission (Pakuri), on April 27.

The consultations in each region were hosted by the Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs), in collaboration with the Ministry of Communities (MoC) and the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs (MoIPA), with the help of the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs).
The events saw participation by over 300 persons representing youths and school-age children, and community and village representatives who identified their key priorities for inclusion in the GSDS.

The objectives of the consultations are to raise awareness about the GSDS, and to ensure that the people of Guyana can participate in and contribute to development of the GSDS by identifying and prioritising their regional needs and expectations.
Participants will learn about the “Framework of the Guyana Green State Development Strategy and Financial Mechanisms”, a document developed in 2017 and approved by the Government of Guyana that sets about to establish key sectoral and thematic priorities of the strategy.

The national consultations are being conducted under the theme, “Time to Think”, which encourages Guyanese citizens to think about how Guyana should be developed economically and sustainably over the Strategy’s 20-year time-frame, and to communicate their ideas and vision.

“It is very important for citizens to make a special effort to attend these consultations, which will provide the opportunity for Guyanese from all walks of life to ensure that their concerns and aspirations for themselves and their communities are taken into account in the design of the GSDS,” says Minister for State, Mr. Joseph Harmon, under whose purview the Department of Environment falls.

Consultations in Region Five took place on Tuesday at the Mahaicony Community Centre, while another is scheduled for Thursday from 09:30 -15:30hrs at the St. Alban’s Anglican Church in Belladrum, West Coast Berbice.