Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud says that a $500M Land Reclamation Project that will be embarked on by the government.
He was speaking on Friday at an International Day of the Forest ceremony at the Umana Yana, Kingston, according to the Government Information Agency.
He said that the project will see emphasis on reclaiming forested land and reforestation activities in areas that are affected as result of mining and timber extraction. Persaud, said according to GINA, that the Government will not shirk from its commitments and responsibilities at the global and national levels. As such, it has been putting in place the necessary policies and legislation to ensure sound and strict forest management.
“Guyana recommits itself to the principles of sustainable utilisation of these very important forest resources for socio-economic and other development, ensuring that this is done in keeping with environmental best practices,” the Minister said.
Persaud’s announcement came on the same day that Stabroek News reported that verification of Guyana’s deforestation figures for 2012 had confirmed a rate of 0.079%, a figure at which cuts in payments to Guyana under the forests protection partnership with Norway were expected to kick in.
When the initial figures were released last year, Persaud had said that once increased deforestation is confirmed by independent verification exercises, Guyana will lose out on around US$20 million of the payment it would have received for Year 3 (2012) under the forest protection agreement.
The preliminary report on deforestation rates for the year 2012 compiled by the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and the forestry consulting firm Indufor showed that Guyana’s deforestation rate jumped to 0.079% in the Year 3 reporting period (2012), from 0.054% in the Year 2 reporting period (2011).
The verification report by the Norwegian certification firm Det Norske Veritas (DNV) has confirmed that Guyana’s deforestation rate for 2012 was 0.079% and after delays, an announcement on payments is expected to be made soon.
“Taking into consideration all the findings obtained with the verification…and the final results provided for the independent accuracy assessment, the verification team considers that the validated methodology has been followed correctly and that reported results are free from omissions and misrepresentations that could lead to material misstatements,” DNV said in the report seen by Stabroek News. “The verification confirms the gross deforestation rate in Year 3 is 0.079%,” the report said.
