…says UK committed to helping Guyana build value-added capacity
Guyana’s forest management and sustainable logging has been described as a model for the world, with British High Commissioner to Guyana, Jane Miller, making it clear that her Government also remains committed to helping Guyana boost its value-added production of timber products. Here are the details.
During an event to launch the Forest Value Creation Hubs Project on Monday at her residence, High Commissioner Miller reflected on Guyana’s forest management system. In an interview with this publication, she noted that the sustainable logging model used in Guyana is one that is so good, persons from around the world come here to learn from it.
“Guyana has got a lot to be proud of. People come from all over the world to see Guyana’s sustainable, low impact logging and how its done. I’m very proud that the UK (United Kingdom) has been working with Guyana, together with other partners like the EU (European Union), but we’ve been working with Guyana for years on sustainable forestry.”
“The way they do the selective logging, so that you maintain the canopy but you extract forest timber that has amazing uses all over the world. So, Guyana should be very proud of what it’s been doing in sustainable forestry,” Miller added.
That being said, however, the Ambassador noted that more work remains to be done to boost the value-added side of forestry. She noted that once this can be expanded, the value that will be created, both financially and human capital, will be significantly more.
“The real value is when you convert that log into products. And that is something Guyana has not been so great at. Over the years, Guyana has exported a huge number of round logs. What we need to be doing is supporting Guyana in terms of adding value.”
“So, I have been working with the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), the Ministry of Natural Resources and one thing they have asked from the UK Government is support in the value added,” the High Commissioner added.
Guyana’s forestry sector has attracted several new investors and has expanded to employ more than 25,000 Guyanese over the past few years. In January, Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat had also revealed that as a result of the added investors and spike in both direct and indirect employment, the sector’s production was hiked to 20,000 cubic metres in 2024.
“It shows clearly that the confidence has been renewed in Guyanese, investors and stakeholders to invest in the forestry sector,” the Minister also said, during a press conference at the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) Head Office on Water Street, Georgetown.
There has also been an increase in the number of furniture factories, while several companies have invested in kiln drying process of wood. This process leads to better quality of wood products and, by extension, enhances the quality of the products being exported as well.
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has also been beefing up its Monitoring Reporting & Verification System (MRVS), which has played an important role in Guyana being able to verify its carbon credits, so that they can be sold on the international market.
In 2022, Guyana signed a historic, multi-year US$750 million agreement with Hess Corporation for the purchase of 37.5 million carbon credits. Guyana was also the first country to conclude the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) process of certifying its forest carbon.
These serialised credits, listed on the Architecture for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (ART) public registry, are available to buyers on the global carbon market.
They can be used by airlines to comply with the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) Global Emission Reduction Programme (GERP), the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), as well as for voluntary corporate climate commitments.
Guyana’s completion of the ART process paved the way for other Governments that are looking to receive carbon market finance for success in protecting and restoring forests. At the time Guyana was issued with the credits, 14 other countries and large sub-national jurisdictions are working toward their own issuances of the REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard (TREES) credits.
