…former CI head says country can tap oil finds and still pursue green agenda

As Guyana seeks to push the frontiers of its development, particularly amidst substantial proven oil finds offshore, the government’s Green State Development Strategy (GSDS): Vision 2040 is critical to the execution of the mandate of sustainable development.

This was the view articulated by Former Executive Director of Conservation International Guyana, Dr. David Singh, who spoke with the Guyana Chronicle recently. “The GSDS is government’s means by which it frames the discussion around how do you develop an economy with a future,” Dr. Singh explained. “One of the things it’s built on, is that it seeks to provide a mechanism by which Guyana’s new found oil wealth will be used towards what is essentially a sustainable development agenda for the country.”

He noted that the GSDS follows the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), which was launched in June 2009 and outlined Guyana’s path to a low carbon economy. The LCDS, he said, developed a strong macroeconomic base and a suite of investments to enable the country to engage on the climate agenda. “What the GSDS has done is it has taken that agenda forward and really has sought to establish a national strategy on a future inclusive green economy,” Singh said. An inclusive green economy, according to the conservationist, is one which advances economic development in a way that harnesses resources in a sustainable manner, while simultaneously advancing social equity and managing environmental scarcities and ecological risks.

And importantly, he said that the GSDS when taken into context with the previous LCDS represents Guyana’s commitment to addressing climate change while recognising the country;s abundant natural resources. However, what the GSDS also details is an “ambitious” model of how Guyana can align its ‘green’, sustainable economy with its ‘brown economy’, according to Dr. Singh. With a brown economy, economic growth is largely dependent on the use of non-renewable resources like fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. And Guyana is readying itself to become an oil and gas producing nation in a few months.

OUTLIER

Dr. Singh however shared his belief that Guyana can tap into its oil and gas resources, currently estimated at approximately 5.5 billion oil-equivalent barrels on the Stabroek Block, and still develop its sustainable agenda. In fact, he said that Guyana can distinguish itself from any other country in the world, in this regard. “When you look at our forest ecosystems, and put that on a per capita basis… and on the other hand you look at the projected oil revenues for the proven oil finds per capita, and you put those two and compare that to any other country in the world, we (Guyana) are an outlier,” Dr. Singh highlighted. “There is no one else that’s close to us.”

In simple terms, an outlier represents a figure that falls, sometimes drastically, outside the normal range. In this context, Guyana has both massive oil revenues and already has its abundant natural resources that can really distinguish the country. Dr. Singh further says that Guyana, being an outlier and choosing to pursue this sustainable development path, means that the country can make a “massive difference” in the way in which the world develops tools to address climate change. “In one fell swoop, Guyana can demonstrate how in fact you address climate and inequality though the implementation of the GSDS, and the development of a mechanism by which you find an intersection by which the brown economy of the oil and gas intersects with the green economy,” the former CI Boss said. “We are set right there, we can make this happen.”

However, he warned too the GSDS is also “extremely ambitious” and as such, the strategy should be carefully implemented and monitored. It also calls for some maturity in management, according to him, where it builds upon successes. And he related that one success that the GSDS can build on, at this point in time, is that of the forest sector.
The forest sector, encompasses the forestry sector- which is traditionally viewed as timber harvesting- and forest ecosystems, including all the goods and services derived from that, in its entirety. “I am absolutely, totally and firmly convinced that the forest sector sits smack at the intersection between the brown economy and the green economy,” he said, noting that this sector already possesses the institutional capacity, adequate monitoring systems and support from stakeholders.

‘IMPORTANT STEP’

Specifically in the context of the expected oil revenues, Dr. Singh hailed the GSDS as “an incredibly important step” to guide the management of those resources. “When you look at natural resource governance across the world, one of the things that is absolutely important in the decision chain for the management of revenues like oil and gas, it is very important that there is a national plan or a nation strategy,” Dr. Singh said.

This plan details how the revenues accrued from the extractive sector is actually spent, and in what manner. In Guyana’s case, the GSDS articulates that the oil revenues will be used to fund the sustainable pathway. The objective of the ‘Green’ strategy is to reorient and diversify Guyana’s economy, reducing reliance on traditional sectors and opening up new sustainable income and investment opportunities in higher value adding and higher growth sectors. It is aimed at building greater economic resilience by diversifying production and reducing Guyana’s dependence on fossil fuels by generating renewable energy. What oftentimes happens, according to Dr. Singh, is that countries which find themselves in possession of large amounts of revenues- particularly accrued in a short time- tend to become “distracted”. And the man said that this is one of the reasons be believes having a plan like the GSDS in place is important. It ensured that country does not stray from its intentions to be a sustainable, green economy.