APA, District Councils engage carbon credit scheme verifier

The Amerindian People’s Association (APA) along with several District Councils last weekend met with carbon credits scheme verifier Aster Global as Guyana enters its second crediting phase, in order to ensure compliance with REDD+.
Entities who were represented during the engagement included the Moruca District Council (MDC), Upper Mazaruni District Council (UMDC), North Pakaraimas District Council (NPDC), and South Rupununi District Council (SRDC).
Aster Global has been contracted as the auditor of Guyana’s carbon credits scheme to ensure compliance with the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) Secretariat’s TREES (The REDD+ Environmental Excellence) Standard.
Aster Global was represented by its Principal Scientist, Kevin Markham, and Remote Sensing Specialist, Sandesh Shrestha. ART’s Director of Policy, Franklin Paniagua, was also part of the team.

The APA delegation was led by Executive Director, Jean La Rose and included Vice President, Junisha Johnny; Secretary, David Wilson; Assistant Secretary, John Campbell; Treasurer, Earl Thomas, and others.
Markham told the meeting that Guyana is entering its second crediting phase (2021-2025) and his team was conducting site visits for the verification of the credits and compliance with the TREES standards. He said the meeting with the APA stems from the comments submitted during the last crediting phase (2016-2020) and subsequent complaints to the ART Secretariat.
In his introduction, the lead auditor explained that his team met with communities in Regions One (Barima-Waini), Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), and Five (Mahaica-Berbice) along with Government and other stakeholders. He added that the team’s priorities were based on the useful comments submitted by the APA.
During the meeting, a series of questions were asked surrounding concerns raised during the last crediting period particularly relating to the processes employed to arrive at the benefit-sharing agreement, the National Toshaos Council (NTC) resolution endorsing the Low Carbon Development Strategy 2023, and the overall consultation period led by the Government.
Additionally, Markham committed to follow-up meetings, if necessary, with the APA and District Councils to ensure that all their questions are addressed.
The District Council representatives took the lead during the discussion and presented the Aster Global team with all the relevant information relating to the law, processes, and guidelines of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC).
The meeting was also used as an opportunity to elicit answers from Aster Global’s team about the work they do and how they ensure compliance with the TREE Standards.
At the end of the meeting, there was a commitment to further collaboration and information sharing from all the parties present.