Stabroek News, April 23, 2008
http://www.stabroeknews.com/?p
The importance of energy conservation in the light of high oil prices
and an increased awareness of the realities of climate change were the
focus of a symposium organised by the University of Guyana (UG) on the
occasion of Earth Day, yesterday.
Science Advisor to the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre Dr
Ulric Trotz told the audience that several technical issues still need
to be worked out to successfully address the quantification of carbon
discharged from the atmosphere through forests like Guyana's. He said
that this was important since carbon sequestration could be a means
for countries like Guyana to benefit economically. He said such
countries have to rally for local action and these efforts have to be
more than just foreign companies buying themselves clean through cheap
credits.
Trotz said that people may be able to change their farming systems to
make them friendlier to the environment. He also pointed out that
non-till methods, crop rotation and mulching could all help in
sequestering carbon. "Building in timber is another way in
sequestering carbon," he said. He explained too that prudent forest
management is a way of coping with climate change. Trotz said that
this puts Guyana's standing forests as a tremendous resource, which
can bring money into the country. He noted that the commoditisation of
carbon has provided a commercial impetus for people to start storing
carbon.
In her presentation, Dr Raquel Thomas, Director of Resource Management
at the Iwokrama International Centre, said standing forests must be
valued. She said forests cover 30 per cent of the earth's land surface
and that only five per cent of the world's tropical forests remain and
those house almost 50 per cent of the world's biodiversity. She noted
that Guyana's emissions are among the lowest in the world.
Thomas slammed the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol
which gives countries incentives to replant after they would have
destroyed their forests. "The CDM does not benefit countries like
Guyana… we do hope that within a year or 18 months, changes to the
Kyoto Protocol would lead to something that could benefit Guyana," she
said. Thomas also said "We cannot avoid looking at the links to
poverty alleviation… we have to focus on the economics. We are talking
about livelihoods," adding that standing forests are not treated with
sufficient urgency.
"The issue of standing forests is treated like a poor cousin in global
political and public debates on climate change," she said. "Standing
forests must be valued," Thomas said, adding that it must be more than
just a conservation value. "Eco-system services must become
commercially saleable."
Thomas said business and livelihood drive deforestation and so
relevant and real opportunities have to be found to alleviate poverty.
The director said too that there is a lack of sufficient information
for trading in relation to valuing eco-system services and sustainable
forest management.
Meanwhile, Professor Suresh Narine, Head of the Institute for Applied
Science and Technology, noted that although biofuel might be a
solution for the energy woes of Guyana, it might not work on a world
scale. He said that even if all the available lands were cultivated
for biofuel production, this might not be sufficient for all of the
world's energy demands. Narine said in Guyana agricultural land did
not have to be displaced for ethanol production since there was land
aplenty.
Others who made presentations at the symposium were acting CEO of the
Guyana Energy Agency Mahender Sharma, Senior Lecturer, SEES Dr Patrick
Williams, Commissioner, Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission Andrew
Bishop and Manager Guyana Shield Eco-Region Project, United Nations
Development Programme Dr Patrick Chesney.
The seminar was hosted by UG's School of Earth and Environmental
Sciences and held at Hotel Tower.
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