Guyana and the European Union (EU) on Thursday agreed on a roadmap for implementing the Guyana-EU Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA), which aims to improve forest governance and verify the trade in legal timber.
According to a Department of Public Information (DPI) report that was issued yesterday, the aide-mémoire was signed by Minister of Natural Re-sources, Vickram Bharrat and EU Ambassador to Guyana Fernando Ponz Cantó at the Pegasus hotel after a meeting with the various stakeholders.
“In no way the FLEGT/ VPA or the Low Carbon Development Strategy, that is in the consultative process right now is speaking towards reduction in forest activities, reduction in harvesting or the production of wood products. What it speaks to directly is the sustainability of it, how inclusive the process is and also, and importantly how legal, the operation and the products are,” Bharrat was quoted as saying.
He made it clear that the agreement in no way means that the country is “cutting down” on forest activities, but ensuring that it is done in a sustainable, legal manner.
He also noted that Guyana has one of the best forest management systems in the world.
“We are way above in terms of the management, in terms of sustainability and eradicating illegal logging,” Bharrat was further quoted as saying.
According to the report, Bharrat said government has been successful in tackling illegal logging, making more resources available to the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC).
It added that the administration has also taken steps to curb illegal mining.
Meanwhile, the report said Cantó noted that the concerns raised about the forestry regulation are currently being discussed in Europe.
Cantó said that it is timely to have the FLEGT/ VPA to continue to preserve the forest. “The FLEGT/VPA is going to be a formidable tool for ultimately helping Guyana and helping all of you to preserve the forest, but also to use it for the benefit of your communities, for the benefit of Guyanese in a way that it is inclusive, that it is sustainable and in a way that the forest continues to be this treasure that you have, but also provides for the current and for the future generations,” he said.
During the meeting, the parties discussed the establishment of the Guyana-EU VPA Joint Monitoring and Review Committee (JMRC), which will oversee the implementation of the agreement and includes representatives of all stakeholder groups.
The report added that Guyana is committed to making funds available to support the implementation of the VPA. Additional financial support is provided by the EU, Norway, and the UK.
The next meeting of the parties is expected before the end of 2022.
The VPA negotiations began in December 2012. They involved the private sector, government ministries and agencies, and indigenous peoples.
