Guyana has received the first tranche of a US$6.34 million grant from the Kingdom of Norway as it enters into the second phase of the forest monitoring mechanism known as Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV). This second phase of the MRV programme will no longer be seen as a means of satisfying a conditionality for funding, but also, as a tool for measuring Guyana’s forest cover to assist in decision-making for a range of activities. The funds will be dispersed in tranches through Conservation International in a multi-year arrangement.
The announcement was made at a meeting on Monday August 7, 2017 held at the Ministry of Natural Resources’ Boardroom in the presence of Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman; Chairman of the Guyana Forestry Commission Board, Ms. Jocelyn Dow; Ms. Pradeepa Bhlonauth, Head of Planning – GFC, and Executive Director of Conservation International – Guyana Dr. David Singh among other officials.
Fittingly, it was in Norway during the attendance of Guyana’s delegation at the Oslo-Redd Conference in 2016 June that the persons gathered and began the process of accessing the funds and this was additional reason for celebration.
With funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), the project entitled, ‘Transforming forest management in Guyana through an effective and sustained monitoring reporting and verification system’, will support the sustaining of a world-class MRV system, as a key component of Guyana’s national REDD+ programme. This programme has received international recognition for its successes.
The system will provide the basis for verifiably measuring changes in Guyana’s forest cover and resultant carbon emissions from Guyana’s forests. Critically, the MRVS will also inform improved policies and practices for forest management, including for the operation of the logging and mining industries, to proactively address their impacts on forests. The phase two implementation period is 2017 to 2021.
The project is aimed also at securing Guyana’s green development path by improving management of its forests, a significant part of its natural patrimony.