Forestry sector has seen ‘strong recovery’ in last 3 years – acting Commissioner

– says 5% growth recorded for 2023

Acting Commissioner of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), Edward Goberdhan, has reported a strong recovery within the sector over the past three years in both production and environmental scopes, and has credited this development to proper resource utilization and robust policies at the level of the State.
During a press conference held by the Natural Resources Ministry this week, the acting GFC Commissioner pointed to a gradual upscaling over the last three years. He said 2022 has seen a 10 percent growth compared to 2021, and 2023 growth stands at about five percent.
This contrasts with the period 2015 to 2020, when the sector had seen a decline in production.
Goberdhan relayed, “The sector has shown robust growth over the last three years. We know also of the COVID, tremendous rainfall, and flooding in the interior. So, it went through quite a difficult period, and we are happy. With the good weather pattern, the robustness in the sector, good Government policies, interventions in terms of allocation and resource utilization, we have seen strong recovery within the sector.”
The GFC Head shared that local consumption has been high for traditional and lesser-known species; and even with this progress, the country’s deforestation rate remains among the lowest in the world.
“In terms of monitoring the forest cover, illegal logging, sustainability, illegality, we have to report that we have strong environmental credentials from both the administration of the GFC and also compliance level within the sector,” he declared.
The National Forest Inventory has been completed this year. It entailed updating forest resource information that is essential for national and concession-level planning, and scientific research and referencing to support the modern outlook of the National Forest Policy and the Low Carbon Development Strategy.
Last December, an agreement was signed between the Guyana Government and the European Union in a bid to give buyers assurance that timber products from Guyana are legal. That agreement would help improve forest governance, further curb illegal logging, and promote trade in verified legal timber products. The GFC is currently at the stage of implementing this agreement.
Among the achievements this year is the completion of a National Standard for Forest Certification, the endorsement process for which is being carried out across agencies.
“Next year we will have a national standard that companies could apply and have certification using a Guyana Standard. We had started this project over 20 years ago, and we are now happy that it is completed in 2023,” Goberdhan shared.

Value-added products
An important focus of the GFC has been to propel more value-added products. Within the last two years, investors have been encouraged to explore opportunities in this aspect. The Commissioner reported that there has been a gradual shift in persons investing in value-added using local timber.
“This is an area we will continue to advocate, because it creates more employment, higher value for our timber, and it’s more environmentally friendly. We have also started to work with communities, and having them set up value-added projects that can sell locally; and eventually we can export it,” Goberdhan explained.
The Community Forestry Programme involves about 70 villages. Small loggers also benefit under the banner of this initiative. (G-12)