Guyana, EU ink $1B deal for local forest preservation, sustainable development

By Vahnu Manikchand

The Guyana Government on Wednesday signed a contract worth more than $1 billion with the European Union (EU) to increase forest preservation activities in the country, as well as to foster sustainable development within local communities that are dependent on the forest for their livelihoods.
The €10 million “Sustainable Forest Livelihoods for the communities of Guyana and Suriname” project was launched on Wednesday morning in the two South American nations – in which each country has been injected €5 million to strengthen capacity development and sustainable livelihood in and around forest-dependent communities over a four-year period.

At the State House in Georgetown on Wednesday morning, the contract was inked by President Dr Irfaan Ali and Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Helena KÖNIG. This $1 billion agreement falls under the Forest Partnership Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed between Guyana and the EU back in November 2022 on the sidelines of COP 27 in Egypt, for the provision of a €5 million grant to advance efforts towards sustainable forest management and preservation here.
According to the EEAS official, this project is aimed at increasing the resilience of local forest populations, and increasing their value-added outputs specifically through the development of sustainable income generation activities.
“I can only highlight…how important it is to work together with the local communities in the forest to make sure that this is sustainable also in their environment…This project will provide support to local forest communities to increase knowledge, capacity, and for the use of and supply of nature-based goods and services. It would also provide and improve skills, working practices, equipment as well as market links, and access to finance,” she stated.
KÖNIG added that this billion-dollar initiative would also support alternative livelihoods in forest-dependent communities, in order to reduce pressure on forest resources. She noted that this is especially important.
“…despite the immense national resource wealth that characterises a forest, not everyone is able to generate sufficient income. Remote and small communities offer few job opportunities, and push local communities towards unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, with potentially severe consequences for forest biodiversity and ecosystem services,” the EEAS official stressed.

Meaningful action
Meanwhile, in his remarks, President Ali lauded the EU, along with implementing partners France-based Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and WWF Guianas for translating their forest preservation commitments into meaningful action on the ground by supporting community livelihood opportunities within forest-based communities in Guyana.
“This partnership with ADF and WWF is underpinned by focus on what works, moving to create practical solutions to development challenges, and addressing the vital role that forests play in overcoming these challenges. Sustainable livelihoods sit at the heart of this endeavour, as when we create the opportunities for people for economic advancement and social upliftment, we provide them with resources to make decisions to safeguard the environment and protect the forests,” he posited.
According to the Head of State, this project falls in line with the Guyana Government’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) initiative, which is geared towards sustainable development as well as making Guyana a model nation and global leader on sustainable forest management.
In addition to its rich biodiversity and ecosystem, Guyana’s total forest cover of some 18.4 million hectares stores more than 19.5 gigatonnes of carbon and removes some 154 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually.
To this end, President Ali argued that Guyana’s forests are not just standing trees, and are an important global asset, thus it is only fair that the country earns from these services, especially the people who ensure the forests stay intact.
“Guyana looks to provide a practical example to the world on how that environment: forests, freshwater and biodiversity in particular, must be safeguarded to sustain mankind and life as we know it. We also look to develop new ways of incentivising the global fight to safeguard forests. The main actions identified to be advanced by this cooperation will look to strengthen sustainable livelihoods in forest communities and enhance knowledge and capacity for sustainable use and supply of nature-based goods and services,” the Guyanese Leader noted.
Moreover, he pointed out that this EU-funded project is expected to be carried out in close coordination with national institutions and local partners in order to maximise the benefits of significant resources already invested at the community level, as well as to avoid redundancy.
In fact, President Ali stated that, only recently, the benefits sharing mechanism on the Guyana Carbon Credit Financing Programme was rolled out with some US$22.5 million being dispersed across 242 hinterland communities – monies that were earned from the US$750 million deal with Hess Corporation. He noted that the financing from this EU deal should add value to this programme and complement existing plans that are being implemented.
“We would expect that this project complements the initiatives already outlined by villages in the Village Sustainable Plan, so that we do not duplicate efforts. Villages have already outlined their Village Sustainability Plan, and we want to complement those plans, we want to augment those plans,” the Guyanese Leader said.
Consequently, the Head of State urged the involvement of the National Toshaos Council and other national bodies – Guyana Forestry Commission, Natural Resources Ministry, and the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs – in support of this $1 billion initiative.