Iwokrama under canopy of Guianas sustainable management project

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article?id=56530601


Iwokrama under canopy of Guianas sustainable management project
Stabroek News, Tuesday, October 9th 2007

The European Union has partnered with the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and the Government of the Netherlands to implement a
sustainable management of the Guiana Shield Eco-region and Guyana's
Iwokrama forest is included.

The launching of the project took place at Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel
yesterday and saw the presence of Prime Minister Sam Hinds together
with top Government officials and members of the Diplomatic Corps.

The project, phase two, is funded in the amount of 2.243M Euros and the
sponsors are the European Union, the Dutch Government, the UNDP and the
IUCN National Committee of the Netherlands. In Guyana, the Iwokrama
forest has been selected for the pilot study. Other countries in the
project are Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Suriname and French Guiana.

The project, which the UNDP is executing in 42 months, aims to promote
the sustainable development of the Guiana Shield by means of an
integrated eco-region management framework and to enable the six
countries and their associated local communities to benefit from their
natural resources. Project activities focus on pilot projects for
testing of mechanisms for compensation for the provision of
environmental services, as well as culturally appropriate management
contracts, benefit sharing and monitoring schemes.

It hopes to establish a regional balance of payment system for
environmental goods and services, build on regional capacity to deliver
and maintain environmental goods and services, provide a tool for
poverty alleviation by protecting the ecosystems of the region and
contribute to the creation of a collaborative eco-regional management
framework.

The project also seeks to increase public awareness on the importance
of maintaining ecological and cultural integrity of the Guiana Shield
eco-region.

Preserving eco-system functions (climate, water, and biodiversity) will
benefit stakeholders at the local, national and global levels, it says.
"By preserving nature and therefore natural living resources, a
significant contribution will be made towards poverty alleviation and
resource management by the local inhabitants," a brief on the project
said.

The project is meant to help members of the local communities, national
governments through revenues generated from sustainable development
activities and will also benefit the Guiana Shield eco-region with a
focus on trans-boundary issues and building of regional alliances.

The Guiana Shield Initiative (GSI) has its origins in 1989, with the
establishment of the European Working Group on Amazonia. The GSI was
launched in 1993 by the European Parliament and the IUCN National
Committee of the Netherlands was named as partner to maintain the
ecological and associated cultural integrity of the Guiana Shield
eco-region by means of compensation for ecosystem services.

Presidential Advisor on the Environment Navin Chandarpal said that it
is important for the country to be embarking on the project. He said
that the Government of Guyana is looking toward the Conference of
Parties meeting of the Kyoto Protocol in Bali, Indonesia in December
where he said compensation for standing forests will be lobbied for. He
said too that in addition to the Iwokrama forest, other areas in the
country should be considered as pilot sites.

Just price

Chairman of the GSI Project phase two planning committee retired Major
General Joe Singh said that it was important for Govern-ments to be
onboard with the project. He said that it was crucial for the project
to be integrated with national policy in the project countries. He
hopes to see the involvement of the regulatory bodies like the Guyana
Forestry Commission (GFC) and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission
(GGMC). The University of Guyana will be involved in the necessary
research for the success of the project.

Speaking at the launching UNDP Resident Representa-tive Aboubacry Tall
emphasised that since human activity is seen as the main cause of
climate change, conservation plays a part in helping to reverse the
effects of global warming. But he said that a global effort is needed
if countries are to achieve adaptation and mitigation targets.

Director General of Iwokrama Dr David Singh at the launching said that
although ecosystem services are becoming of greater value, "we are
still far away from receiving a just price for these services."

He said that countries like Guyana are net providers of both ecosystem
goods and services.

But he pointed out that reimbursement is based on the value associated
with the goods and very little on the services provided. "When we
market a forest product from a certified sustainably managed forest,
under principles of fair trade, we are not only providing a product of
intrinsic value, but we are also contributing to a guarantee of a
future for generations of the world to come," Dr Singh said.

He explained that within the context of the emerging global marketplace
for ecosystem services, now is the time to influence the trade in such
services and to make it more attractive for the resource owner.

Dr Singh and Tall signed a UNDP-Iwokrama Cooperation Agreement for the
project yesterday.