THE European Union (EU) and the Inter American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture (IICA) on Monday signed an agreement to advance support for Guyana’s conservation efforts.
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, the agreement is in support of the EU funding to advance the EU FLEGT VPA Implementation.
The VPA Implementation is ongoing with the expectation for the first licence to be issued in 2026.

The European Union has committed to providing funds for the implementation phase that runs until 2026.
At the conclusion of the Joint Monitoring and Review Committee (JMRC) meeting in November, 2023, the EU Ambassador to Guyana Ambassador Rene Van Nes announced that the EU will be providing additional funding to assist with the VPA Implementation.
The funding is being provided through a Contribution Agreement signed between the EU Guyana Office and IICA. A work plan and budget was developed by IICA and the GFC FLEGT Secretariat.
The main objectives of the agreement and funding is to support the following key objectives as follows:

1. Improve compliance of the Guyana forest sector governance system with the EU Forest Law Governance and Trade (EU FLEGT) requirements including the implementation of the Guyana Timber Legality Assurance System.
2. Strengthen participation and improve compliance of stakeholders in the VPA process.
3. Enhance information exchange for FLEGT compliance between the EU and Guyana partners and ensure the long-term sustainability of the FLEGT VPA.

4. Support capacities at the GFC and Forestry sector level.
This support is in addition to other support for the FLEGT VPA process, including support for the Digitization of the Timber Legality Assurance System.