Partnership signed for legislative mandate to co-finance protected areas system

A partnership agreement was signed between the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF) and Guyana Protected Areas Trust (PAT) on Tuesday, which will provide the PAT with additional resources to fulfil its legislative mandate of co-financing Guyana’s National Protected Areas System (NPAS), as articulated in the Protected Areas Act of 2011.

This is the 10th agreement of its kind for the CBF.
The partnership agreement formalises the relationship between the PAT and CBF and further bolsters the PAT’s ability to support the financing and management of Guyana’s protected areas.
Under the agreement, the CBF will manage and invest Endowment Funds for Guyana and make annual payments to the PAT to support its mandate.
During a simple signing ceremony in the Boardroom of the Protected Areas Commission (PAC), Chair of PAT’s Board of Trustees, Curtis Bernard noted that the work towards the partnership agreement started in February 2020.
He further remarked that the agreement was timely and would provide well-needed resources for effective management of protected areas in Guyana.
In congratulating the PAT, Chief Executive Officer of the CBF Karen McDonald Gayle expressed immense pleasure that the discussions with the PAT have now culminated with the signing of this first 5-year agreement between the two entities.
The PAT is a body corporate established under the Protected Areas Act of 2011 and provides co-financing for the management of Guyana’s National Protected Areas System, principally through the Protected Areas Commission (PAC).
The National Protected Areas System currently covers 8.5 per cent of Guyana’s terrestrial space in five protected areas – Kanuku Mountains Protected Area (KMPA) in the Rupununi; Shell Beach Protected Area (SBPA) in the coastal north-west region; Kanashen Amerindian Protected Area (KAPA) in southern Guyana, a community-owned protected area and Guyana’s largest protected areas; Kaieteur National Park; Iwokrama Rain Forests; and four urban parks. PAT started operation in 2014 and has, since 2017, provided resources to support the management of the KMPA, SBPA, and KAPA.