Global Biodiversity Alliance Secretariat to be established in Georgetown – Pres Ali

– as regional leaders laud Guyana’s environmental leadership

President Irfaan Ali was joined by regional member states, conservationists, researchers, financiers and local indigenous leaders to formally launch the Global Biodiversity Alliance (GBA) on Wednesday in Georgetown.
Guyana is currently hosting the inaugural Global Biodiversity Alliance Summit at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), where 15 signatories to the ‘Georgetown Declaration’ have committed to strengthen global action for the protection, restoration, and sustainable use of the planet’s biodiversity as well as support the Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) – an international agreement adopted in 2022 to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.
Following the signing of the declaration on Wednesday, President Ali revealed that Guyana will be the seat of the Alliance, and resources will be allocated to ensure the work of the GBA is implemented.

“Guyana has agreed that we’re going to host the secretariat here. We’re going to put the resources in establishing the Secretariat here to follow up the work of this Alliance and conference,” the Guyanese leader declared during the plenary session of Day One of the summit on Wednesday.
The inaugural GBA summit is a strategic two-day event that brings together world leaders, biodiversity experts, key stakeholders from various sectors, and the local community in Guyana to have tough conversations on biodiversity preservation.
Speaking at Wednesday’s opening ceremony, President Ali noted that this event is being held at a moment of unprecedented urgency and presents immense opportunities to tackle the world’s diminishing biodiversity resources.
“Today, we are not simply launching an initiative – we are igniting a global movement to protect the living fabric of our planet, and I am proud that this movement begins here, in Guyana, with the support and partnership of all of you in this room. We cannot overcome these challenges individually. We must build strong, resilient, sustainable partnerships so that we can overcome all the headwinds and storms that will come our way,” he noted.
Guyana is already innovating in areas like forest carbon and biodiversity credit, sustainable forestry, community tourism, and low carbon finance but is now looking to take its leadership to a higher level through the Alliance.
According to Ali, the Global Biodiversity Alliance brings together countries, communities, scientists, and leaders to share knowledge, pool resources, and tackle big problems like habitat loss and climate change faster and smarter.
However, the Guyanese leader pointed out that no biodiversity strategy can succeed without the full involvement of those who live closest to nature – the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.

Georgetown Declaration
In fact, this commitment to involving the indigenous people in the work of the alliance was reflected in the fact that two major local Amerindian entities were named among the 15 signatories to the Georgetown Declaration. These are the Chairperson of the National Toshaos Council, Derrick John, and the Makushi Conservation Leader at the South Rupununi Conservation Society (SRCS), Leroy Ignacio.
The other signatories included President Ali; President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader Corona; Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr Ralph Gonsalves; Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley; Vice President of Ecuador, María José Pinto; former President of Colombia, Iván Duque Márquez; Chief Executive Officer of Conservation International (CI), Dr M. Sanjayan; Managing Director of the Center for Biodiversity and Global Change at Yale University, Dr Alexander Killion; Executive Director of Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), Dr Christof Schenck; Senior Director of the Keller Science Action Center at the Chicago Field Museum, Dr Erin Hagen; Director of the Campaign for Nature, Brian O’Donnell; Principal Executive-Ecosystems & Biodiversity at the Bank of Latin America & Caribbean (CAF), Mauricio Velasquez; and Head of Origination EMEA – Environmental Products at Mercuria/ Silvania, James Cooper.
During Wednesday’s plenary session prior to the signing of the Georgetown Declaration, several of these regional leaders lauded Guyana’s commitment towards the protection and preservation of biodiversity.

Accolades
President Abinader of the Dominican Republic pointed to the fragility of the ecosystems in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and emphasised the need for the GBA to transcend the declaration of principles.
“Biodiversity is not a luxury. It’s not an abstract concept. It is the foundation of our food security, our health and the economic wellbeing of all our nations… Defending it is an ethical imperative… We need a thriving force of real, measurable and robust financial solutions that ensure equity for the countries of the Global South and, in particular, for the Small Island Developing States,” he posited.
The Dominican Republic leader also spoke of efforts, particularly by his county, on maritime protection.
Similar work being done in Barbados was also shared by Prime Minister (PM) Mottley. According to the Head of State, who is leading the Caribbean’s climate change efforts, the scale of what the region faces is so great that it cannot be addressed in isolation.
“It is the collective actions of citizens and actions of countries that can stem this regrettable slide into a situation where we are putting at risk those living organisms and animals that are literally required to keep the balance of the earth.
However, PM Mottley went on to note that the issues faced by the planet cannot be addressed without first tackling climate, biodiversity and pollution – all at the same time.
“Those of us, therefore, who live this reality in the region have come to understand that while we will argue strongly internationally, we must act even stronger locally. Today is an example of such local action,” the Barbadian leader stated.
Meanwhile, the former Colombian president lauded Guyana’s efforts at protecting its rich biodiversity as he bemoaned the significant loss of the Amazon Rainforest over the last four decades and stressed the importance of ending deforestation.
“People may believe that stopping that level of deforestation seems impossible. Well, the response is no, because we are in a country like Guyana that has been able to keep 95 per cent of its territory in tropical jungle successfully,” he declared.
Márquez too underscored the integral role of indigenous communities in protecting global ecosystems. He further highlighted the importance of a policy initiative like Guyana’s Low-Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), under which the country is earning through the sale of carbon credits from its forest.
In fact, the former Colombian leader noted the importance of pricing carbon accurately, which can help to incentivise biodiversity protection and climate action.
“So, it is important that carbon sinking is rightly compensated. The Amazon biome is sinking every year, accounting for almost 15 per cent of all global greenhouse gas emissions. But we need to put the right pricing on carbon.” Márquez contended.