–President Ali says, highlights government’s push to position country as global leader in biodiversity, climate, ecological services
GUYANA has signalled its intention to become a global leader in biodiversity and ecosystem services as President Dr. Irfaan Ali, on an official visit to the United Kingdom, announced plans for a Commonwealth Centre of Excellence on Biodiversity in Guyana and revealed renewed backing from King Charles for the country’s pioneering work on climate, forests and the environment.
The Head of State, in a video posted to his Facebook page Wednesday morning, disclosed that discussions were held on creating a market-based biodiversity financing model to fund conservation and ecosystem services.
He stressed that the government intends to position the country as a global leader in biodiversity and ecosystem services, linked to pharmaceuticals, indigenous culture, rights and language.
President Ali and his delegation also met with the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Shirley Botchwey, who he confirmed is backing the establishment of a Commonwealth Centre of Excellence on Biodiversity in Guyana.
“I think there are some exciting announcements, some exciting programmes and exciting opportunities ahead of us, and this is all part of building that resilient, sustainable economy that has diversified; not only diversified in traditional areas, but diversified in new areas that are future proof,” the President said.
The goal is to build a resilient, sustainable economy through environmental services, ensuring future-proofing and global leadership in biodiversity and ecological services.
“As you know, biodiversity is integrally related to pharmaceuticals, indigenous culture, rights, language, so all of this enable us to position Guyana as the focal point on this issue of biodiversity,” the President said.
President Ali noted that Guyana’s Centre of Excellence will be integrated with similar institutions across the world; this type of collaboration, he noted, is critical to bolstering conservation efforts.
Already the world has 60 per cent of its biodiversity. President Ali had previously emphasised the urgency of protecting biodiversity, noting the loss of 10 million hectares of forest annually and the extinction of one billion species.
The world, he had said, is quickly approaching a ‘irreversible tipping point’ as key ecosystems are coming under siege.
“Environmental Services, ecological services and biodiversity services are future proof, just like we have massive interest and investment in AI [Artificial Intelligence] and digitization, the future will be about biodiversity, ecological services, Forest Services, climate services, and we are positioning Guyana ahead of that time,” he said adding:
“[We are] future proofing our economy for our people, for sustainability and resilience, but more importantly, for the world, taking responsibility, providing leadership in a value-based system, so that we support a world that is stronger, safer, and one in which sustainability and resilience are a part of our everyday life.”
Back in July 2025, Guyana had launched the global biodiversity summit, where several leaders signed what is known as the Georgetown Declaration, an ambitious roadmap to protect and conserve biodiversity, halt biodiversity loss, and accelerate nature-positive action.
The Alliance has five pillars, first to advance the global goal of conserving at least 30 per cent of land and oceans by 2030; secondly, to embed biodiversity in national and corporate planning through measurable indicators.
Its third pillar will be focusing on unlocking innovative finance, including biodiversity credits, green bonds, and debt-for-nature swaps.
Fourthly, the empowerment of Indigenous peoples and local communities is crucial, alongside the establishment of institutionalised monitoring and transparency mechanisms, such as the Global Biodiversity Product and the Gross Biodiversity Power Index.
