Amerindian leaders from several indigenous communities yesterday welcomed Guyana’s move to adopt a European Union (EU) forest management initiative and also called for Amerindian land rights to be secured and more community involvement in the process.
Guyana is engaged in negotiations with the EU under its Forestry Law Governance and Trade (FLEGT) programme with the aim of signing a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) to effectively bring the governance regime of the country’s forest resources under international scrutiny and enhance its environmental bona fides.
A critical element of the EU-FLEGT programme is a voluntary scheme which seeks to ensure that only legally harvested timber is imported into the
