Barama donates to fire victims

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article?id=56532294
Barama donates to fire victims
Stabroek News, Thursday, November 1st 2007

Barama Chairman Girwar Lalaram (left) and the company's Community
Liaison Officer Mitzy Campbell (second from left) hand over the items
to the Council's representatives.

Barama Company Limited recently donated foodstuff and clothing for the
four infants affected in the Laing Avenue fire to the Guyana Relief
Council.

According to a press release Barama also pledged to make another
similar donation.

Additionally, it has pledged to provide a substantial amount of
plywood and sawn lumber to assist the victims to rebuild their homes.
Barama Chairman Girwar Lalaram and Community Liaison Officer Mitzy
Campbell handed over the items to the Council.

The company said it hopes its efforts will help to alleviate the
suffering of those affected.

New regulations could shut down timber industry

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New regulations could shut down timber industry
-FPA members tell forum
Stabroek New, Thursday, November 1st 2007

The lumber industry could be totally shut down come January 1 when new
regulations are implemented since many wood operators are simply not
ready for the major changes.

This was the feeling among the members of the Forest Products
Association (FPA) at a stakeholder forum for the wood sector held on
Tuesday at the King's Plaza Hotel on Main Street.

According to Kit Nascimento, Public Relations Consultant to the FPA, it
would be nigh impossible for the members to achieve the standards,
which he suggested seemed to be borrowed from some other part of the
world and forcibly superimposed on Guyana's industry.

With a view to moving the issue forward, the FPA has proposed its own
draft policies and procedures for the sawmilling sector and there
should be some form of engagement between the FPA and the Guyana
Forestry Commission (GFC). Companies not compliant with the regulations
face denial of licences.

Some of the new standards concern stacking and racking, end protection,
grading, cutting sizes for dressed lumber, moisture content, and
recovery rates. The standards also call for lumberyards to have hard
floors and for significant changes to be made to buildings housing
sawmills.

The FPA through its technical committee had approached the Government
with the hope of effecting some changes to the proposed standards. The
FPA said that for members to bring themselves in line with the new
standards, large sums of money will have to be invested in an industry
already facing burdens of VAT and high oil prices.

In a letter to Commissioner of Forests James Singh on October 6, 2007,
the FPA said that it realises that the GFC's intention is to move the
industry to a high level of quality consciousness "and we fully support
this thought."

The FPA called for further discussions to be held between itself and
the GFC on the best way of implementing the measures to achieve these
results.

The body said in its proposal to the Government that commercial market
forces, sustainable forest practices, maximum revenue earning
potential, environmental care and provision of employment must be the
criteria for dictating national policy and in driving the development
of the sector.

Log export ban

The FPA said that the imposition of restrictions and a ban on log
exports would be unproductive and unrewarding for Guyana. "It would
curtail timber production causing loss of employment, discourage
private sector investment in the industry, restrict export markets,
result in significant export revenue loss to the country, disable sound
environmental practices which are being developed and rupture the
confidence of present overseas customers and future investors," the FPA
said. At the moment the Government is considering various proposals for
the phased restriction of log exports.

According to the FPA, a balanced approach to sustain timber production
should be taken in order to enable the optimum production of primary
and processed products to respond directly to export and domestic
market demand and pricing.

The FPA said that the GFC has failed to make any assessment of labour
capacity to satisfy the increased demand which would result from
expanding sawmilling activities.

The FPA noted that both Demerara Timbers Limited and Barama Company
Limited are reporting shortages of skilled and unskilled labour.

Guyana should build diplomatic support for its rainforest proposal

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Guyana should build diplomatic support for its rainforest proposal
Stabroek News, Wednesday, October 31st 2007

Dear Editor,

I read with great interest the reports in the media on the very
eye-catching proposal concerning Guyana's rainforests made by President
Jagdeo at the opening of the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting.
While I was thinking about the President's proposal two issues came to
mind.

The first was my recollection that President Cheddi Jagan had in 1996
requested President Carter to assist Guyana in the establishment of a
Guyana Rainforest Foundation. I believe that agreement was reached for
the Carter Center to assist Guyana in developing the proposal. I
understand that one of the principles which inspired Dr. Jagan's
proposal was that in return for conserving some forest tracts to
prevent the build-up of greenhouse gases and help stabilise climate,
Guyana would be compensated by external donors.

What has been the fate of Dr. Jagan's proposal? How was it followed up
and with what results? President Jagdeo's proposal appears to go beyond
Dr. Jagan's in that while the latter spoke to foregoing the
exploitation of "tracts of forest" the former seems to refer to all the
forests.

But be that as it may. To the extent that President Jagdeo's proposal
is intended to address a clear deficiency in the Kyoto Protocol i.e the
granting of compensation to countries for keeping standing forests
intact, much action has to be taken by Guyana.

This brings me to the second issue which is the need to formulate a
strategy, essentially diplomatic, to achieve the President's objective.
I note from reports in the media that the matter will be raised at the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Con-ference in Uganda and that Guyana
will be represented at the Climate Change Con-ference in Bali,
Indonesia in December. These are good and necessary steps. But are they
sufficient to achieve success? I believe that Guyana should undertake a
carefully structured and sustained diplomatic effort to attract support
and to build solidarity alliances. I can think of approaches to
Caricom, the Association of Caribbean States, Amazonian countries
through ACTO, the RIO group, AOSIS, and the Group of 77, as well as
selected countries from these and other groupings and areas.

An indispensable requirement however would be a re-equipped and
re-energised Foreign Affairs Establish-ment. Guyana's interests
internationally cannot be properly secured so long as the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs remains hobbled.

Yours faithfully,

Rashleigh E Jackson

PM, Go-Invest to promote economic diversification in Region One

PM, Go-Invest to promote economic diversification in Region One
Kaieteur News, 31 October 2007
With the aim of encouraging economic diversification in the 10
Administrative Regions, a high-level team left for Region One
(Barima/Waini) this morning to visit projects and meet members of the
business community.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana
Office for Investment (Go-Invest) Geoffrey DaSilva heads the team which
include representatives of several Government agencies. The team which
departed for Mabaruma today will return on Sunday.

The Region presents many opportunities for investment in agriculture,
forestry, mining, handicraft and tourism and in this regard, the team
will be exploring opportunities and potential of these areas.

Later today, the team will be meeting with business persons at the
Kumaka Extension Centre and take a look at the development of the
Industrial zone export shipping facility at Kumaka.

The team will also make an assessment of the potential for organic
cocoa, coffee, citrus, avocado, and handicraft and will also assess the
potential for livestock production in the areas of poultry, cattle,
sheep and goat.

Later in the, the team will visit the Wauna oil palm plantation and
check on the status of the peanut project while looking at the
potential for the cultivation of other crops including ginger.

Tomorrow, the group will visit the Waini District, where they will have
a look at operations by Forest Enterprises Limited and Amazon Caribbean
Operations (AMCAR).

And on Friday, they are expected to meet business persons at the Kumaka
Extension Centre to discuss the development of industrial zone/export
shipping, alternative energy – solar and hydro, Information Technology
– television broadcasting, seafood, forestry and tourism. The Digicel
branch will also be commissioned.

The team will travel to Port Kaituma on Saturday, where they will meet
business persons at Matthews Ridge .

The development of a port at Port Kaituma for overseas shipping would
be discussed along with the prospects for aquaculture, forestry,
agriculture and tourism projects.

Rules for management of forest

Kaieteur News letter to Editor, 31 October 2007

Rules for management of forest
concessions not hidden
from public

Dear Editor,
An editorial appearing in one of the newspapers on October 25 suggested that
stipulations about the management of the [forest] concessions . . . have
been hidden from the public". No, sir, the rules are clearly laid out in the
Forests Act 1953 (Cap 67:01) and the associated Forest Regulations, plus the
licence conditions in the concession documents.
If the GFC report cited on 23 October is correct, Barama has been issued
with or has acquired handfuls of timber tags and has been using them
indiscriminately in the sub-let concessions over which it exercises forest
management control. This sub-letting, the "land-lording" by nominal Guyanese
concession holders, is illegal under Forest Regulations 1953, Article 12:-
"No transfer of any lease or timber sales agreement shall be made by any
forest officer without the prior approval of the President where such lease
or timber sales agreement grants exclusive rights to any person over an area
estimated to exceed three thousand acres or is for an unexpired period
exceeding three years".
Landlording is illegal under Condition 13 of Timber Sales Agreements: - "The
grantee shall not transfer, sublet, mortgage or otherwise dispose of any
interest arising under this agreement except in accordance with the Forest
Regulations, and any purported disposition made except in accordance with
such regulations shall be null and void."
Landlording can be permitted only with express Presidential authority (the
President being the Minister of Forestry, as opposed to the quotidian
control by the Minister for Forestry, who is usually also the Minister of
Agriculture).
Landlording is differentiated from "sprinting," which was a long-standing
practice by which concession holders would contract in labour for specific
tasks, but without in any way passing on managerial control. . "Sprinting"
is a way of keeping recurrent costs low but being able to respond to
specific orders for timber. Sprinting is useful to companies which do not
positively market Guyana 's wonderful timbers.
"Sprinting" in timber sales agreements is covered by Condition 14:- "The
grantee [that is, the holder of the TSA concession] shall inform the Grantor
[the Guyana Forestry Commission] in writing immediately upon engagement of
the names of the agents and contractors who are and the dates when they
cease, to carry out its operations in the area."
As the landlording was illegal, it follows that Barama's log harvesting in
these areas must have been illegal, and the GFC report cites the articles in
the forest law which were broken.
There is, at least on paper, an open and transparent process for applying
for a forest concession. Applicants should demonstrate technical competence
and financial sufficiency. If the concession holders are unable to work the
concessions in publicly owned forest, the GFC should have used the Article
11 provision for suspension or cancellation of wood cutting leases or timber
sales agreements in the Forest (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.
It is illogical to have a transparent, open bidding process for acquisition
of forest concessions over publicly-owned forest and then for government to
permit private trading of those concession licences. Such private trading
deprives the nation's Consolidated Fund of revenue from the price premium
bid for forest resource access.
At least these stipulations are in public view. Whether they have been
correctly, consistently, impartially, objectively and equitably applied is
another matter.
Janette Bulkan

FPA unhappy at no consultations on climate change forest offer

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FPA unhappy at no consultations on climate change forest offer
Stabroek News, Wednesday, October 31st 2007

The Forest Products Association of Guyana (FPA) is concerned that
President Bharrat Jagdeo didn't consult with members of the group
before unveiling his proposal on making Guyana's forest available
towards the fight against climate change.

The proposal will have grave implications for the members of the
Association and on the industry as a whole.

Speaking at a foresters' forum hosted by the Association at the King's
Plaza Hotel yesterday, Public Relations Consultant to the FPA, Kit
Nascimento lamented that the President didn't see it fit to discuss
with members of the association - the direct stakeholders - the
proposal to deploy the forest and its implications for the operators of
the forests.

The President had announced this offer during the opening ceremony of
the Commonwealth Finance Ministers' Meeting at the National Cultural
Centre. He disclosed that Guyana's offer of almost its entire
rainforest in the fight against climate change was still on the table.
During his speech, Jagdeo said that in a meeting last year with former
British Prime Minister Tony Blair he "outlined our offer to deploy
almost our entire rainforest - which is the size of England - in the
long term service of the world's battle against climate change. That
offer remains".

The form of the offer and the exact details of it in terms of how much
of the forest is being referred to are still unknown.

"That rainforest gives you and your family livelihood and he (the
President) hasn't discussed it with you," Nascimento told the gathering
of forest producers. He also referred to the slew of new regulations
and standards to come into place from January 1, 2008 on all lumber
dealers, traders and lumber yards and said too that there was no
consultation with the stakeholders when these were being crafted.

He said that it was obvious the President's actions come on the heels
of the developed world touting the protection of forests as a way of
buying off their carbon emissions. "The developed countries have
destroyed their forests and now they are telling us what to do with our
own," he said.

He said that the Government is reacting to an international position
with regard to climate change in which the international community is
in negotiations to pay a price for standing forests not to be touched.

He asked whether the forest producers were part of the seismic shift in
the Government's attitude towards the sector. Nascimento made the point
that the Association needs to be strengthened so it could properly and
in an organised manner represent the concerns of the forest producers
and get positive results through such representation.

None of the members of the FPA present at the meeting had any knowledge
of the forest offer prior to it being reported in the press after the
President had made his speech.

The members raised concerns that the new policy on Guyana's forests
will conflict with their business aims and they want clarity as to what
exactly the President's offer means for the industry.

A nexus has been drawn between the forest offer and the
administration's increasingly tough stance on forest practices, now on
the front burner with sanctions against Barama Company Limited, which
was last week fined $96.4M for a number of offences related to
under-declaration and false declaration of origin of produce. Barama's
relationship with a number of small timber operators has also been
suspended. So far, Barama is refusing to comment on whether the company
will pay the fine or file an appeal against it.

Strange support for Barama

Strange support for Barama
Guyana Chronicle, 30 October 2007

I find it very strange that some individuals, groups and political
parties are so supportive of Barama Company in light of the recent
investigation that found the company guilty of several forestry
breaches.

All of a sudden, this company has become ‘victim’ and it is the
forestry commission under scrutiny.
One may wonder why? If no action was being taken by government or the
forestry commission about the situation, it would have been another
scenario. The skeptics would have been screaming rape of our forests by
Asian companies.

So where are those persons who were campaigning in the newspapers
against unsustainable forestry practices especially by some of the
foreign companies?

Why are they not standing out in support of the GFC’s action to have
the companies found guilty of breaching the GFC’s guidelines, pay the
necessary compensation?

It therefore appears to me that these public campaigns are not exactly
focused on sustainable forestry, but rather these individuals or groups
are obsessed with the work of the Commission.

We must give recognition to the work of the GFC and the government of
Guyana for the many actions that have been taken especially in recent
years to protect, conserve and allow for sustainable development of our
forest resources.

Time and time again, Guyana has been lauded by various international
agencies for its good forestry practices and we must agree that while
there are few weaknesses, a lot of corrective remedies have been
applied.

So we all should be supportive of further actions to ensure that Guyana
maintain its forestry standards and pursue greater achievements.
A. WONG