–as climate threat looms over Amazon Basin, President Ali says

WITH statistics showing increased threats to the biodiversity of the Amazon Basin, President, Dr Irfaan Ali has said that conversation efforts to safeguard the forests and its ecosystem must align with national security objectives.

The Head of State, on Thursday, made a case to enhance efforts to conserve forests within the Caribbean and Latin American region during a presentation at the Sixth Annual Security Challenges in Latin America Forum held at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Centre, School of Advanced International Studies, United States of America.

Breaking down the statistics, President Ali highlighted that many Caribbean nations have lost over 90 per cent of its original forest cover as a result of hurricanes, agricultural purposes, urban development, and tourism infrastructure.
The Amazon Basin which is often referred to as the “lungs” of the earth is facing disastrous effects to its ecosystem.

“Over the last 50 years, we have seen some worrying trends and signs. Approximately 20 per the Amazon rainforest has been destroyed. This equates to over 300,000mi² or 77 hectares of forest loss, 77 million hectares of forest loss since 1970.”
He added: “Just imagine. 300,000mi² of forest loss. From 2001 to 2012, forest losses in the Amazon Basin approximate to about 17.7 million hectares, averaging 1.4 million hectares per year. That is the average forest loss annually, 1.4 million hectares annually.”

This, Dr Ali said, needs to be addressed, but questions of “how” are still yet to be answered.
“If we want to slow this or we want to stop this. How are we going to create the incentive? How are you going to incentivize policymaking and economic tools to mitigate this? We need action now.

We need a structure now. And we need the world to understand the value of the forests and what role the forest play in keeping the planet alive,” the Guyanese leader stressed.
Statistics provided by the Head of State have also shown that in the last 50 years, the world has lost more than 60 per cent of its biodiversity; this also translates to consequential effects on the future.

The Amazon rainforest covers over 5,000,000km² of land across nine countries; this massive landmass of forest coverage requires coordination with defence and security mechanisms.
“With such a large area… [it ] requires cross-border co-operation, integration of policies coordinating defense structures, coordinating security structures [it] requires joint monitoring shared values [and a] common purpose,” he said.

According to Dr. Ali, there is an “inextricable link” between national security and natural security that is a cause for concern.
He further related that if not addressed soon, great consequences for global security and climate change will arise, if 20 per cent more of the world’s oxygen [the Amazon] is allowed to perish.

“You’ll have forced migration, greater levels of poverty, destabilised regions because poverty and migration lead to destabilisation, and destabilisation leads to migration and that is the consequential effect in the region,” he said.

WHAT IS GUYANA DOING?
While highlighting the dire consequences, Dr. Ali also shared some of the efforts that are being made by key players like Guyana to combat the effects of climate change.
“We are developing a global model. Our forests, as you know, are the size of England and Scotland combined.

We are one of the only countries with jurisdictional scale certification, the lowest deforestation rate in the world. Guyana is uniquely positioned within the Amazon Basin and the Caribbean region,” the Head of Sate said.
Guyana, he related, is also strategically using its oil wealth to establish a sustainable development model that allows for the creation of wealth from the country’s natural resources while not sacrificing its natural asset.

In fact, the country’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030 outlines a vision on how economic development and environmental sustainability can both be achieved.
“The LCDS is not a climate document. The LCDS is an economic document also.

It aligns climate and environmental issues with the economic realities of the country and defines a path that is sustainable and cross-cutting in all sectors,” Dr. Ali said.

VALUE FOR THE FOREST
Further recognising the value of standing forests, Guyana has been lobbying for incentives to be offered to continue conservation efforts.
Guyana boasts a forest coverage of 85 per cent that traps 19.5 gigatons of carbon.

“What is our objective? First, we recognise that this 19.5 gigatons and this forest cover are global assets. A global asset must carry value. And we recognise that this asset must be deployed in the market because it is part of an economic model that speaks to the livelihood of people, that speaks to the economic well-being of the country,” Dr Ali said.

In 2022, Guyana sold 37.5 million carbon credits for a minimum of US$750 million, to be paid during 2022-2032 (a third of the credits Guyana will receive over 2016-30); this is one of the largest transactions in the world.
More recently, Guyana made the world’s First Paris Agreement Corresponding Adjustment for ART-Issued TREES Carbon Credits, allowing for the authorisation of carbon units for use in the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).