The Bali road map – some practical implications for Guyana

The Bali road map – some practical implications for Guyana
Guyana Chronicle, 8 January 2008
IN your news article, ‘Market-based reward mechanism for standing
forests – Guyana will advocate at Bali Climate Change Conference’
Guyana Chronicle, 8 December 2008, you reported the position that
Guyana intended to put forward at the UNFCC meeting for compensation
for its standing forests. More recently, SN’s editorial, ‘The Bali Road
Map and its implications for Guyana’ (SN January 4 2008), notes that
Guyana’s own road map should be integrated into the mandates of the
Coalition of Rainforest Nations (CRN), the Association of Small Island
Developing States (AOSIS), and the Centre for International Forestry
Research.

These two ad hoc associations and the international agricultural
research centre will provide inputs into the global effort to develop a
post-2012 successor to the Kyoto Protocol for actions to mitigate and
adapt to the adverse effects of climate change.

In the reports of the working groups which prepared for the Bali
conference the concerns of Guyana seem not to have been presented.

Perhaps Guyana did not send delegates, or its delegates were unable to
present a persuasive and rationalised case. Yet Guyana should have a
good case in relation to rising sea levels, and should be able to
present a comprehensive and costed action plan for re-engineering of
its sea defences and of its drainage and irrigation control systems in
the Water Conservancies. The relevant chapters in the National

Development Strategy 2001-2010 contain the bases for such an action
plan. Is the Ministry of Agriculture working in such an action plan as
its contribution as a member of AOSIS?

The Coalition of Rainforest Nations at Bali was mostly concerned about
extracting cash from major carbon-emitting countries for reduced
emissions from forest burning associated with land clearing for
subsistence and commercial agriculture. As predicted before the Bali
conference, the delegates were little concerned about
difficult-to-measure degradation of standing forest through
poorly-controlled harvesting of timber and other products. REDD –
reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation – is likely to
contract to RED – reducing emissions from deforestation alone. RED
itself would soak up easily the small budget of US$ 100 million for the
“readiness mechanism” in the World Bank-administered Forest Carbon
Partnership Facility. This fund is intended to assist 20 countries to
reduced emissions from deforestation. The Presidential expectation of
receiving REDD -related funding simply for having standing forest not
under threat of deforestation seems to be misplaced (‘Guyana still open
to carbon credits forest deal with UK – President’, SN January 07,
2008), although the Bali decisions included a reference to “enhancing
forest carbon stocks due to sustainable management of forests”.

Instead of looking towards REDD/RED for financial support, Guyana
should take note of a pre-Bali briefing provided by the Royal Institute
for International Affairs in London and the consultancy ProForest in
Oxford UK (ProForest was the consultant advising the Guyana Forestry
Commission (GFC) on a legality assurance scheme for timber exports).

This briefing (http://www.illegal-logging.info/item_single.php/
item=document&item id=560&approach_id=) pointed out that countries with
good forest governance would be well placed to take up post-Bali
funding while countries with a reputation for poor forest governance
would not. The briefing noted that technologies (of the kinds now being
promoted by the GFC – see “GFC integrating bar-coding with its
monitoring methods” SN December 31, 2007) are not a substitute for good
governance. In other words, to be credible and eligible for new donor
funding Guyana (as represented by the GFC) would itself need to engage
in real internal reform.

This reform is not evident. The GFC is ordering the forest product
processors to reform, even though it has not explained publicly the
rationale for such reforms, and is critical of the Press for not
correctly reproducing the instructions (“GFC responds to Kaieteur News
article in standards” Guyana Chronicle January 4, 2008, in response to
“Forestry sector still not fully compliant with new standards” Kaieteur
News January 03 2008).

In this GC article, the GFC reiterates its advice “that the GFC be
contacted for clarity and accuracy”. Here there is a problem, which
presumably potential donors will also note or have noted. The GFC is a
poor communicator (for example, “Timber shipment questions” Guyana
Chronicle letter to the Editor, December 25, 2006) and is not a
reliable source.

The Commissioner of the GFC issued an open letter almost a year ago, in
January 2007, unreservedly praising Barama just a week before Barama’s
certificate of good forest management was suspended by the auditor SGS
Qualifor. The Commissioner of the GFC continued to publicly defend
Barama as late as July 2007 (“Barama harvesting legally outside its
concession - Commissioner of Forests” Stabroek News, July 8, 2007),
less than 3 months before public announcement of major widespread
illegalities in the large-scale forestry concessions (‘False
declarations by logging companies under scrutiny’ Guyana Chronicle,
September 26, 2007). The GFC has not rescinded its approbation of
Barama even though on Presidential direction Barama has since been
levied with a nominal fine of US$ 470,000 for a variety of forest
crimes.

Meanwhile Barama is allowed to operate even though its own website
admits that the (legally prerequisite) forest management plan is still
“work in progress”; more than 16 years after it received its Timber
Sales Agreement. This illegally favourable treatment of Barama
contrasts with the Presidential claim reported on January 07 that “We
have a very strict system to effectively monitor what happens” (in
relation to stewardship of the forests).

Guyana ought to be able to draw on the new United Nations Climate
Change Adaptation Fund which had been agreed under the Marrakesh
Accords in 2001. The Bali conference finally agreed that the Global
Environmental Facility at the World Bank would act as the interim
secretariat for this Fund, and Guyana ought to be actively engaged to
make this Fund operationally effective.

In its brief analysis of the Bali meeting, the Earth Negotiations
Bulletin (ENB, volume 12 number 354, December 18, 2007) quotes the
Bhagavad Gita “You should not be impelled to act for selfish reasons,
nor should you be attached to inaction”. It should be a matter of
concern that Guyana is liable to serious damage from rising sea levels
caused by climate change but appears to have played no organisational
role at Bali. In contrast, the ENB records committee work by Bahamas,
Barbados, Belize, Grenada and St. Lucia. Guyana must take a more active
role if it wants to be taken seriously.
JANETTE BULKAN

US company granted state forest permit - US$26M investment ahead, modern sawmill for Linden

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article?id=56536578

US company granted state forest permit
- US$26M investment ahead, modern sawmill for Linden
SN, Tuesday, January 8th 2008


The government through the Guyana Forestry Commis-sion (GFC) has
granted a State Forest Exploratory Permit to American wood processing
outfit Simon and Shock Inc (SSI), after months of due diligence and
some tension between the company and the Guyana Office for Investment
(Go-Invest).

The company had indicated its earlier frustration with the lengthy
process, which had been stagnated for some months. To this, the
government said that the time was spent performing due diligence
background checks to ensure that the company had the capacity to
implement what it said it would.

The company, started by CEO Kelly Simon and Mike Shock, will set up a
sawmill in Linden with the aim of revitalising Guyana's lumber
industry. The two company executives are expected in Guyana next week
for further talks.

The company has been awarded concessions totalling 391,892 hectares in
Regions Six and Nine. SSI expects total employment to exceed 112 with
at least 85 per cent local hire ranging from senior management to
starting positions. The company plans to invest over US$26 million in
three years.

Simon said SSI has spent the last three years formulating and
implementing a new and practical approach to sawmilling in Guyana. He
said there are five other such mills: four in the US and one in Europe.
"We propose to build the sixth, and most advanced in Guyana."

President Bharrat Jagdeo announced the status of the company's permit
during his end-of-year press conference on Saturday.

Speaking from his Michigan office yesterday, Simon said there was a
breakthrough in talks with the government during the holidays. "We do
have our exploratory permit and we are setting up our mill… we want
to stress high recovery rates," he said.

The President had also mentioned at the press briefing that action had
to be taken against defaulting companies and staff attached to the GFC;
a direct reference to Barama Company Limited's situation which led to
it being fined. Jagdeo also mentioned the need for greater rigidity in
the forest sector and stressed high recovery rates. He said that there
should be standards in place to ensure higher recovery rates.

Simon said SSI hoped to achieve recovery rates upwards of 70 per cent,
twice as much as is being achieved in Guyana today. He said to achieve
such high utilisation of each log, the company is building from the
ground up, a brand new, modern sawmill, which, with the aid of computer
imagery, will be able to scan a log and calculate the number of boards
that it would yield. He said the little waste it produced would be used
to power its kiln-drying plant.

The company, which is primarily a lumber company, wants to buy timber
from other concession holders with a view to establishing long-term
supply contracts, which could be used to gain financing from foreign
banks to purchase equipment. Simon said the company would be buying
about half of its logs from other concessions.

Speaking to this newspaper yesterday, Minister of Agriculture Robert
Persaud said that after the due diligence and a comprehensive review of
the proposal, there was acceptance on the government's part. He said he
and the President met executives of the company over the Christmas
holidays to iron out the kinks.

Persaud said the company was now expected to complete an inventory and
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The company also has to complete
a business plan in about three years.

"We are very impressed by the technology and the plan. [This company]
will change the landscape of the timber sector in Guyana. [But] we're
asking the company to stick to its time frame," Persaud told this
newspaper.

As a direct result of the talks with the government, the company
offered three written guarantees. Firstly that SSI would not export
logs from Guyana, since it was a lumber company and not a logging
company; secondly that SSI would build an advanced milling complex in
Linden before any logging activity took place; and thirdly, that if SSI
did not build the advanced mill in Linden in a specific time period,
all logging concessions granted to SSI by the government would be
returned uncut.

Simon said that SSI has been working in the hardwood sector in Guyana
for about ten years and the company's primary business has been in the
export of sawn hardwood lumber manufactured by local producers, into
the US and international markets. He said that for a host of reasons,
it decided that the only way to fully satisfy its current and future
customer base was to construct its own manufacturing facility in
Guyana.

Some years ago, the company began an extensive review of the hardwood
saw milling industry in Guyana and other tropical hardwood producing
countries.

Some months ago, the company and Head of Go-Invest Geoff Da Silva had
an exchange of words over the company's ability to meet its financial
obligations to the project in Guyana. Da Silva had raised doubts about
the company's financial standing.

Capacity of Amerindian leaders enhanced in 07 - ministry

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article?id=56536369

Capacity of Amerindian leaders enhanced in 07 - ministry
SN news item, Monday, January 7th 2008

The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs said it made significant progress in
2007 through building the capacity of Amerindian leaders and further
developing their communities and it also cited the issuance of birth
certificates.

A Government Information Agency (GINA) press release quoted Minister of
Amerindian Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues, as saying that one of the most
important achievements was the nomination of three members to the
Indigenous People's Commission (IPC) at the National Toshaos'
Conference held from October 22 to 26. The IPC will address all aspects
of Amerindian development. "We are hoping that it will come into being
in the near future… the Parliamentary Committee of Appointments is
looking at it at the moment and it will be completed in the near
future," Rodrigues said.

To further develop the Amerindian communities, 20 Toshaos were
unanimously elected to the National Toshaos' Council (NTC) by their
fellow Toshaos. Rodrigues said this was another great achievement for
Amerindians and a historic moment in Guyana, since it is the first
Council to be elected. The NTC will serve in various capacities to
represent and ensure all Amerindian communities are further developed.
The Council has met once since its formation and has begun working on
its 2008 programme.

Further, Rodrigues said 111 Toshaos were sworn-in as Justices of the
Peace and Rural Constables. These Toshaos are mandated with the
responsibility of protecting the interest of Amerindians in the country
and will give support to the Council. "We have also had the formulation
of the draft rules at the meeting and the Toshaos have started to look
at the ones that are applicable to their community which are very, very
important," she added.

Additionally, Rodrigues said the ministry was able to make significant
progress in the issuance of birth certificates for the year, through
collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs. She said despite the
challenges, more than 13,000 birth certificates were issued over the
past two to three years. She also pointed out that that process has now
become much more important as house-to-house registration starts today.
However, there are some persons who did not register for birth
certificates in Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine and the Community
Development Officers are expected to host another registration exercise
soon.

Guyana still open to carbon credits forest deal with UK-President

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article?id=56536358

Guyana still open to carbon credits forest deal with UK
-President
SN, Monday, January 7th 2008

President Bharrat Jagdeo says it is important for Guyana to either
enter into a bilateral agreement or be a part of a market-based carbon
trading regime so that it could raise the resources necessary for the
fight against climate change.

He said that Guyana is still negotiating bilateral arrangements with
the United Kingdom and expressed the hope that the country is able to
benefit from this until a post-Kyoto arrangement is finalised.

Speaking at a press conference held at State House on Saturday, the
President re-emphasised Guyana's vulnerability to the challenges of
climate change and its need for assistance for the necessary mitigation
and adaptation efforts.

During the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting in October President
Bharrat Jagdeo said Guyana was willing to deploy almost its entire
forest in the service of the battle against climate change and this
drew the ire of some and caused anxiety to others. The Ministry of
Agriculture, in offering clarification, said that under this offer not
a single hectare of forest will be sold and forestry and mining
activities will continue in a sustainable manner.

"We have seen the impact of climate change in terms of adverse weather
patterns. We can't support mitigation and adaptation from our
treasury," the President said. He noted that the present process for
accessing funds for mitigation and adaptation is a laborious one. "We
have expectations that the 2012 post-Kyoto Protocol will provide an
established approach," he noted.

"We are saying that tropical deforestation is the major cause of
climate change. We hope for a market based mechanism [post-Kyoto]," he
said.

"I am not very happy with what came out of Bali…[the United States]
needed to make deeper cuts to greenhouse emissions," Jagdeo said. He
was alluding to the fact that the United States wasn't comfortable with
the level of cuts that the conference was recommending and had put
forward their own levels leading to a compromise being reached. The
contretemps between the US and other nations caused the conference to
drag on for at least one extra day.

Turning to the Government's stewardship of the forests, Jagdeo said:
"We have a very strict system to effectively monitor what happens. We
are also looking at higher recovery rates [from logs harvested]."
Jagdeo also stated that more will be done to monitor mining and ensure
that miners don't cause damage to the environment through their
activities.

Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud speaking in Bali in December,
said Guyana will continue to deal with climate change including its
forest management which is based on the principles of sustainable
development. He said that this takes into account sustainable use and
conservation which is evident in the work of the Iwokrama Rainforest
Conservation and Development Programme.

Guyana and other rainforest countries have been lobbying for adequate
compensation for standing forests and a market-based mechanism to be
put in place as discussions are ongoing on a post 2012 Kyoto Protocol.
The Adaptation Fund, Development and Transfer of Technologies and
Capacity Building were also discussed.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Guyana's primary positions
put forward at the Conference were incentives for standing forests, the
need for more support for adaptation measures and support with access
to technology.

During the Bali summit Guyana had expressed an interest in the Forest
Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) launched to combat tropical
deforestation and climate change. According to the World Bank, the FCPF
is expected to build the capacity of developing countries in the
tropical and sub-tropical regions to reduce emissions from
deforestation and degradation (REDD) and tap into a future system of
positive incentives for REDD. Additionally, the facility aims to
support countries and the REDD strategy with a commitment to ensure
consultations with indigenous people, forest dwellers and other
stakeholders at the national level. It is envisaged that FCPF's
resources can be used in a new climate change regime negotiated after
2012, when the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol ends.
(Johann Earle)

The Roop Column - Representation of all the people

The Roop Column - Representation of all the people
Kaieteur News, 6 January 2008
Over the recent months the debate has raged about which party best
represents the racial aspects of our society.

I have travelled the world and am always proud to say I am a Guyanese
but my culture is that of a West Indian. My heritage is of East Indian
descent and I keep up some of the traditions of their culture. As a
Guyanese though, one can be of any of the six major races.

We are all proud of our heritage and where our ancestors came from.
Many ancestors did not come of their own free will and the world has
yet to fully compensate the descendants for their wrongs to many of
those that came as slaves.

My great grandmother who came from India died in 1976 at the age of
102. She was getting a bucket of water at a well in India , when the
British soldiers asked her if she wanted to go across the water and
make some money and then they would bring her back.

Little did she know that it would take nine months to get to Guyana and
be almost impossible to return.

The big difference is that she came in search of a better life and had
the option. She settled in Unity on the East Coast and her property
there still exists. Most of my family are buried at Unity.

We must all respect our diverse cultures. Recent letters have all been
from one side of the race spectrum advocating for better
representation, for better understanding, for better inclusion, for
better acceptance.

The fact is that the constitution calls for equal representation and
the recognition of lands as stated in the Amerindian Act. Therefore,
one must ask why then do we find such a raging debate on representation
and misrepresentation of our people. We need to ensure as a people that
our government is for all the people as directed by the constitution
and not a government of few of the people and for few of the people.

We must accept that our country is made up of different races and
cultures and we act differently in many ways, even though we are all
one, Guyanese. Different programmes for different people and cultures
must be put in place by a new set of thinking, with a new set of hope
and vision for one people, one nation and one destiny.

The recent controversy played out in the letter columns and by
columnists states that:

· The PPP represents only the Indian population

· The PNC represents only the African people and

· The AFC that says it represents no one racial group meaning it
represents all Guyanese.

· None of these are the real answers

· The fact is that we need to represent all racial groups, we need to
represent all cultures, and we need to respect all traditions and the
key to the answer is to cater programmes specifically for each group as
needed to ensure harmony.

PROPOSALS

Mr. Clarence Ellis, a well known Guyanese has advocated his views
recently in many forums on this subject. He advocates that there are
three levels of representation which I have listed and my suggested
answers.

1.The representation of the people holding various views of
how the state should function —Should the state be free
market? Shouldthe statebesocialist? Or should the state
besomewhere in betweenthe two approaches of free market and
socialist?

- I advocate for a free market state with a very strong social
conscience.

2. The second level of representation relates to the various
communities in the country—the African villages, the East
Indian communities, the Mixed rural communities, the wards in
the cities, the Amerindian communities, and the Hinterland
communities which are now assuming enormous importance as the
garimpeiros dominate small mining activity and
aswood-cuttingactivitiesdenude the forests. This is the
issue of local government and how local communities are
represented at the Central Government level.

- I advocate that we must have constitutional reform prior to the next
elections where we can have constituent representation at all levels of
local government and in Parliament.

3. The third level of representation relates to the
institutions and how they support the state to achieve the
societal goals identified in No. 1 and how they achieve
fairness incommunity relations.

There are four major public service institutions and there is
great concern that the races are fairly represented in the
public service institutions. The four institutions are the
Judiciary, the Civil Service,the Police and the Teaching
Services. The debates relating to representation on these
institutions have focused on the Police and the Army (not
usually mentioned as a public service institutions but now
included as such because of its importance in the security
of the people).

- I agree that we must ensure a balanced approach to governance.

CONCLUSION

This is a very complex issue that cannot be solved in one column. Many
of us believe that the goal must be to create a Social Compact that
creates inclusion of all representative groups.

We must though, retool institutions from parliament to the private
sector to the trade unions.

The haemorrhaging from these groups has left us with skeletons to work
with.

We can do this with teamwork and commitment to a better Guyana where we
must first recognize our race, culture and traditional differences and
work within that framework for a better life for all of us. Let's “tek
a taste” of the Vision, and work towards improving our nation.

Five year ban for miners accused of wrecking Mahdia road

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article?id=56536233

Five year ban for miners accused of wrecking Mahdia road
SN, Friday, January 4th 2008

Thirteen miners who are currently facing charges for dredging and
destroying several stretches of road and a potable water supply system
in Region Eight will not be issued mining privileges, sold permits or
be registered to work in any mining district, the Guyana Geology and
Mines Commission (GGMC) says.

The Commission recently made public the order which became effective
from October 16 and which would last for a period of five years.

Trevor Calder, Richard Calder, Steve Caesar, Romel Hamilton, Denzil
Tappin, Paul Young, Molly Nieuenkerk, Margaret Nieuenkerk, Orin Wilson,
Prakash Singh, Stallin Halley, Bruan Angus and Linden Charles are the
delinquent miners listed in a GGMC advertisement which appeared in
yesterday's Stabroek News. GGMC Commissioner William Woolford confirmed
that they were the ones deemed responsible for the damage to the road
and pipelines.

The damaged pipelines constituted the distribution system of the $50M
Salbora Water Project. In addition to the pipelines which supplied
potable water to surrounding communities with about 1,200 people, the
gold and diamond miners also destroyed several stretches of the Mahdia
road.

Woolford, in an interview with Stabroek News yesterday, said the
miners' equipment was also seized and that they face a charge of damage
to public property. He said the Commission was also looking to recover
the cost of the road from the miners, who are to appear in court
mid-month. Woolford said too that the Commission intends to apply the
full force of the law against the errant miners, some of whom, he said,
were prominent businessmen and women in Mahdia. The GGMC has since
handed over an undisclosed sum of money to the Guyana Water
Incorporated to effect repairs to the ruptured Salbora water system.

Following a visit by a ministerial team to Region Eight
(Potaro/Siparuni) in August, Transport and Hydraulics Minister Robeson
Benn had expressed shock at mining damage in the area and miners were
given 48 hours to move out for an assessment of the situation.

Regional Information Officer Daniel Fraser, in a statement from the
Regional Administration had said that miners destroyed miles of roadway
and exposed and damaged pipelines in their quest for gold and diamonds.

The Region Eight administration had said that though the Tactical
Services Unit of the Guyana Police Force had reinforcements and worked
along with the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission's (GGMC)
Warden/Mines Officer there was no halt to the destruction.

GFC responds to Kaieteur News article on standards

GFC responds to Kaieteur News article on standards
Guyana Chronicle, 4 January 2007
http://www.guyanachronicle.com/news.html#Anchor----------58543

THE Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) says in 2007, the GFC held many
consultations countrywide with stakeholders to inform them of industry
regulations to be implemented in 2008, and to solicit their feedback on
these. Whilst the sector was in agreement with most of the
recommendations, concerns were voiced with respect to the
implementation of some standards commencing 2008.

The GFC then invited stakeholders to make written submissions on their
specific areas of concern. The GFC has since held discussions with the
Forest Products Association on these specific issues and it is expected
that a final position on these areas will be arrived at by January 15,
2008.

The article in the Kaieteur News on January 3 is therefore misleading
because in the paragraphs under the section: "Mandatory for 2008", it
is stated that the GFC will immediately begin enforcing the standards
pertaining to nominal sizes of lumber, moisture content, recovery
rates, allowable sizes for chainsaw milled lumber among others. These
aspects are some of the matters currently under discussion.

In addition, the GFC said it has never stated that drying will be
compulsory for all sawmills, be it automated or air drying, as is
incorrectly stated in the article.

The GFC added that it welcomes the interest of the media in
sensitising stakeholders on initiatives being taken in the forestry
sector, but it is cautioning that such information should be factual
and strongly advises that the GFC be contacted for clarity and
accuracy, especially on important issues such as industry standards.