A revision of the National Forest Plan will tomorrow be launched by Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman.
Guyana’s National Forest Policy Statement (NFPS) was first drafted in 1997 and subsequently revised in 2011 after an extensive consultative process. The Policy is accompanied by a framework document, namely the National Forest Plan (NFP) which was originally drafted in 2001 and revised in 2011.
The National Forest Policy Statement outlined the national goals and ideals for the use and development of the forest resources while the draft National Forest Plan provided the methods by which these broad objectives would be pursued and achieved.
Significant advances within the forestry sector have prompted the urgent need for the revision of the NFPS and the NFP. Advances within the sector which need articulation range from institutional changes such as the establishment of the Ministry of Natural Resources; advancements in forest legality including the engagement with the European Union Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (EU FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) as well as progress in Monitoring, Reporting and Verification System, considerations for payment for ecosystem services, and the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility Project.
The launch of the revision is slated to take place at the Umana Yana.