Introduction
My recent columns have argued that, despite a relatively rich forest resource endowment, and relatedly a very high standing in the world of forests, Guyana has had historically one of the world’s lowest deforestation rates. This constitutes a major dilemma for the country. This situation is, in my opinion, not singularly a source of comfort, as several forest analysts have suggested.
As we try to comprehend the historical dynamics of Guyana’s extractive sector, the argument I am advancing is that its low deforestation rate derives principally from the limited capability of its then pre-capitalist forms of colonial production, organization, structures, and processes, which have historically generated the livelihoods of the forest-dependent population. In this sense this limited intrinsic capacity to utilize abundant resources was a misfortune for Guyana. This view directly contradicts those of the ruling orthodoxy, which attributes this circumstance to the consideration that, governance through the historically evolved forms of forest culture, was based on a uniform prioritizing of being in harmony with nature in its most virgin and pristine state. This is considered a great boon to Guyana.
Today’s column concludes my presentation on this topic.
