Vice President, Hon. Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo

By Cindy Parkinson

WITH funding from the US$37.5 million REDD+ carbon-credits scheme, over 500 projects are currently being implemented in indigenous villages all across Guyana. Guyana’s national carbon-credits programme is demonstrating how forests continue to be central to Guyana’s low-carbon vision and implementation.

During his briefing on Guyana’s Carbon Credit Programme and Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS 2030) last Friday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), the Vice-President of Guyana, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, shared Guyana’s progress on the implementation of the LCDS and the roll out of the carbon-credits programme.

At the briefing, Vice-President Jagdeo expressed that the nation has gained valuable knowledge from the 2009 Norway-Guyana Partnership. “We said let’s create a model to show that all the issues that were raised by the developed world, particularly regarding the inclusion of forests as part of a market-based mechanism, and there were several aspects that have to be further developed at the level of the UNFCCC.” It is anticipated that there would be some movement on that at the upcoming Conference of Parties meeting of the UNFCCC, scheduled for early December 2023, in the UAE.

The Vice-President outlined that implementation of the national carbon-credits programme is already seeing rapid implementation at the village level. He recalled that in February 2023, Amerindian communities received the first allocation from the sale of carbon credits in their dedicated village bank accounts. Subsequent to this, villages identified priority areas of investments in village plans that were developed by the villages themselves.

“We’re seeing implementation of over 500 projects this year in Indigenous communities using a model where community involvement is central … in fact, we’re building capacity in these villages to ensure this,” the Vice-President underscored.

Dr. Jagdeo also highlighted that capacity is being developed to effectively manage projects that are being provided by supporting leaders with the task of developing their communities and providing them with the tools necessary to assure sustainability and effective management of their projects.

According to the Vice-President, “it is a very important task for us now and in the future, as more and more funds go into these villages, not only through the LCDS 2030, but directly through the central government… Capacity-building to manage projects and to account for finances is more important, and I have seen the growth of that in these villages.”

In attendance at the briefing were Dr. Ashni Singh, Senior Minister in the Office of the President overseeing Finance; Vickram Bharrat, Minister of Natural Resources; Pauline Sukhai, Minister of Amerindian Affairs; Zulfikar Mustapha, Minister of Agriculture; and Derrick John, Chairman of the National Toshaos Council (NTC).

Dr. Jagdeo informed the public in an earlier press conference held in September 2023, that Guyana has been making significant revenues from the sale of its carbon credits. These funds are designated for important projects related to adaptation and development in the hinterland regions of Guyana.

“All the resources are channelled through a designated account that follows all required legislative requirements.”

He also outlined how the funds would be allocated, explaining that 15 per cent of the total would go towards Amerindian villages and communities and that the remaining 85 per cent would be used mainly for efforts to adapt to climate change. “So, the 15 per cent that goes to the indigenous people, they will have management responsibility for that. And of the 85 per cent for 2023, that remains, we said we want to use it mainly for adaptation in this current period,” he noted.

The Vice-President went on to describe the particular initiatives that will gain from the 85 per cent allotment, which include bolstering the capacity for water management in different areas, revitalising koker networks, and improving canal systems.

Dr. Jagdeo also added that Guyana’s devotion to combating climate change and advancing sustainable development in the area is exemplified by Guyana’s accelerated implementation of the LCDS 2030.

(This is part of a weekly series on LCDS)
The author can be contacted at cparkinson0206@gmail.com