-says Global South contributing significantly to the fight against climate change
DESPITE having the largest and most virgin rainforests in the world, Guyana is frequently overlooked in international debates. Lush forests comprise more than 85 per cent of the country’s landmass. These forests are a component of the Guiana Shield, one of the planet’s oldest and most biodiverse regions.
But Guyana’s efforts to conserve its forests and water resources are still underappreciated globally, according to Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, despite the critical role the country plays in protecting global biodiversity and combating climate change.
Speaking at an event last week, Minister Bharrat emphasised Guyana’s exceptional status as a carbon sink—that is, the nation’s forests absorb more carbon dioxide than the country emits.
Minister Bharrat has noted that Guyana’s conservation efforts have not received enough recognition or funding on the international front, notwithstanding these accomplishments.
While nations with high rates of deforestation frequently garner the attention of the world community, he said places like Guyana that have successfully preserved their forests often go unnoticed. He noted that, for centuries, the people of Guyana have preserved the country’s resources.
“Countries like Guyana, we are in a position to benefit from our forests and our natural resources. And we should because we have preserved our forests, our biodiversity, our marine space for centuries. It has been preserved by ancestors and others to follow,” Bharrat said.
He said that Guyana possesses a unique set of natural resources, such as its abundant water and forest resources, that only a few other countries in the world can match. Specifically, he noted that only Africa and South America can truly claim this.
Guyana’s forest is almost the size of England and Scotland combined
“In Africa, we have the Congo Basin and in South America we have the Amazon Basin. The two major standing forests in the world with most of the world’s biodiversity and freshwater lies in the Global South.”
The term “Global South” describes a group of nations that are sometimes referred to as “developing,” “less developed,” or “underdeveloped.”
According to United Nations (UN) Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Global South broadly comprises Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia (excluding Israel, Japan, and South Korea), and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand).
He made the point that appeals for cooperation and engagement with countries in the Global South, including requests from Guyana, have arisen as a result of the lack of international recognition.
Bharrat added: “We [the Global South] are contributing significantly to the fight against climate change. We have most of the natural resources, we have most of the forests, we have most of the biodiversity in the Global South. But yet we are not recognised for it.”
“And yet the Global South is being pressured into total preservation and conservation as against development and enrichment of people’s lives. And that is why we have to lead this fight and ensure that our mantra in the Global South is to balance economic development with environmental sustainability. We want a better life for our people but at the same time, we will live up to our high environmental credentials,” the minister continued.
Furthermore, Minister Bharrat mentioned that the blue economy—an economic term for the exploitation, preservation, and regeneration of the marine environment—is a major theme in Guyana’s Local Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030.
Guyana is dedicated to safeguarding its forests and other resources, but the government has often emphasised that to spearhead conservation efforts, it requires financial and technical support. Guyana has had many obstacles to overcome in the fight to protect its forests, including illicit mining and logging.
The Guyanese government has put regulations in place targeted at forest conservation. Initially unveiled in 2009, the LCDS serves as a fundamental component of these endeavours.
The plan promotes economic growth while placing a strong emphasis on the sustainable utilisation of Guyana’s natural resources. Its objectives are to preserve the forest, lower carbon emissions, and make money with programmes like carbon trading.
Guyana and Norway signed a landmark deal in 2009, wherein the Kingdom of Norway committed US$250 million to help Guyana with its forest conservation. One of the earliest collaborations of its sort, this one established a standard for rewarding developing nations for their environmental stewardship. In 2019, Norway released G$9.1 billion to the World Bank-run Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF), thereby completing its final payment under a landmark forest protection deal. Guyana committed to upholding low rates of deforestation and putting mechanisms in place to protect the forest under the terms of this agreement. Numerous sustainable development projects around the nation have benefitted from the cash received.
In 2022, the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) issued the world’s first trees credit, enabling Guyana to enter into an historic agreement with Hess Corporation, whereby the oil giants opted to purchase about one-third of all Guyana’s credits.
In 2023, the country received its first payment of US$75 million (or G$15.6 billion) from the sale of carbon credits. Some 15 per cent of this was allocated to community/village-led programmes for indigenous peoples, while the remaining 85 per cent was allocated for adaptation measures outlined in the country’s Low Carbon Development Strategy.
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Publish date : 2024-08-17 21:45:00
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