Prince Charles holds global meet on Iwokrama tomorrow
- Looks to secure funding
By Neil Marks
Guyana Chronicle, 21 June 2007
THE Prince of Wales is hosting a reception for Iwokrama tomorrow at his
London residence, Clarence House, and has invited some of the world’s
largest companies in efforts to secure new commitment in helping the
cause of the global forest conservation initiative.
Guyana is being represented at the meeting by Minister of Amerindian
Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues, Guyana’s High Commissioner to London
Laleshwar Singh and Sydney Allicock, representing local communities
tied to Iwokrama.
The leader of the House of Lords, Guyanese-born Baroness Amos, will
also be present.
Chairman of the Iwokrama Board of Trustees Mr. Edward Glover, told the
Guyana Chronicle the purpose of the event is to highlight Iwokrama and
the progress of its 2006-10 business plan and beyond, “to thank those
who have already given support and to encourage those yet to commit to
do so.”
One of the key challenges for Iwokrama, which is stepping up its role
in the global climate change debate through its experiment with the one
million hectare forest in Guyana in showing how forest resources can
bring benefits without destruction, is getting money to fund its
operations.
Prince Charles is the patron of Iwokrama, and for tomorrow’s gala at
his house, he has invited some of the world’s biggest companies who
show corporate responsibility with a particular focus on the
environment to his home.
Among those invited are senior representatives from: HSBC, one of the
largest banking and financial services organisations in the world,
which recently announced a US$100M programme to combat climate change
worldwide; KPMG International, a global network of professional firms
providing audit, tax, and advisory services; Shell International, a
worldwide group of oil, gas and petrochemical companies which claims to
help meet global energy demand in economically, environmentally and
socially responsible ways; and Environmental Resources Management (ERM)
one of the world's largest environmental management consultancies.
Others include: Carbon Capital, which has raised investments of more
than 300 million Pounds Sterling, and has established a series of
Carbon Trading Partnerships which fund reforestation and renewable
energy projects in the developing world; Climate Change Capital, a
leading investment banking group specialising in the commercial
opportunities created by a low carbon economy: Acclimatise UK, a
specialist risk management company providing expertise in dealing with
climate risks; Tate and Lyle, a world leader in renewable ingredients
and leader in cereal sweeteners and starches, sugar refining, value
added food and industrial ingredients and citric acid; Caribbean
Airlines, leading Caribbean airline connecting with Guyana; and Marks
and Spencer, a global retailer based in the UK which recently announced
it has developed a range of schoolwear made from recycled plastic
bottles.
Also in attendance will be senior representatives of the UK arm of the
World Wildlife Fund and Flora and Fauna International.
In a recent interview, Glover, a former United Kingdom High
Commissioner to Guyana, said Iwokrama has been hidden from the people
of Guyana and the rest of the world for too long.
Glover is in his last year as chairman of the international Board of
Trustees that manages the Iwokrama Centre, which aims to demonstrate
that money can be made from forests, without destroying them.
He noted that Iwokrama’s Trustees, particularly those in London, have
been working hard to secure sponsorship and support from major UK
companies which are committed to corporate social responsibility with
an emphasis on climate change.
By the end of the year, the establishment of a climate change
monitoring unit will commence at Iwokrama’s management centre at
Kurupukari, thanks to the good offices of University of New Castle.
The concept of Iwokrama was born in 1989, when Guyana said it wanted to
make available to the Commonwealth an area of land to carry out the
fundamental experiment to determine if tropical rainforests, vital to
life continuity on earth, can be conserved, but at the same time
utilised to the benefit of people. The timber harvesting project is one
of the means by which Iwokrama hopes to achieve financial
sustainability by 2010.
A five year business plan (2006-10) will hopefully see the centre being
able to chalk up the US$600,000 it needs to meet operational costs.
The Iwokrama Centre came into operation in 1996 on the basis of an
agreement between the Commonwealth and Government of Guyana, and after
it was included in the Laws of Guyana, the agreement paved the way for
the establishment of an international board of trustees to manage the
nearly one million acre (371,000 hectares) rainforest.
Glover said that in the past, Iwokrama lacked the expertise in
marketing, and remained “in the jungle”, hidden from Guyana and the
world over.
Now, however, through arrangements with UK companies Glover would only
at this time call “big”, that will hopefully change, and there will be
“well packaged” initiatives to sell Iwokrama.
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