Feasibility study on biodiversity centre to be finalised in October

The feasibility study on the establishment of an International Centre for Biodiversity Research and Low Carbon Development at the University of Guyana is expected to be finalised by October. This is according to Acting Vice Chancellor, Dr Marlene Cox who revealed that the University of Guyana is expected to conduct the feasibility study in association with the World Bank.

A three-day consultation on the development of the research centre was conducted in June last year, with more than 60 stakeholders participating in the working sessions. Several stakeholders have also drafted a proposed conceptual framework for the establishment of the centre, which will assist the region in making informed decisions based on research findings.
Dr Cox explained that the draft document has since been circulated to stakeholders and will serve as a guide when the parties move to implement the next phase. Some of the participants included the World Wildlife Fund, the Environmental Protection Agency, United Nations Development Programme, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, the Clinton Foundation, the Organisation of Tropical Studies, the Private Sector Commission, the Guyana School of Agriculture, Alabama University, the World Bank, Office of Climate Change, Conservation International, Iwokrama, Inter-American Development Bank, and a multidisciplinary team from the University of Guyana.
The sessions were intent on garnering a diversity of opinions from the wide cross-section of interest groups to figure out common ground with the best possible alternatives. The conceptual framework will now be used to inform the terms of reference which the University of Guyana will use to guide a feasibility study for the centre.
Facilitator Nicole Swerhun disclosed that organisers were looking for input from international experts and local stakeholders to shape the framework. Guyana has been taking a leading role in the area of biodiversity, low-carbon development, and natural resource management.
The university said it recognises the importance of multiple angles of viewpoints in addressing scientific, philosophical, and social issues. “The stakeholder consultation was not intended to be a single conversation, but the beginning of a series of opportunities to create awareness and understanding about the centre among those it would affect or interest, and to learn how those stakeholders view the initiative and its attendant risks, impacts, opportunities, and mitigating measures,” the facilitator said.
The discussions were extremely insightful, and an expert group of persons from outside Guyana were in a position to link the comments to their own experiences of either managing or creating institutions of a similar nature. They were also able to give a number of important guidelines for dealing with some thorny issues which arose and reference points for making decisions premised on matrices that people have worked out before due to experience. Chief scientist and senior vice president of Conservation International, Dr Andrew Rosenberg, who oversees the development of tools and processes that empower decision-makers with information they need, feels that a centre of this kind should have direct input in the policymaking process. “While it’s doing research, it’s really also trying to make sure that the research is applied for the development planning in Guyana,” Dr Rosenberg said. He views the consultation process as essential, as a broad range of stakeholders need to feel that they are part of the process.
Dr Rosenberg added that the investment in the centre should be an investment in human resources more than buildings and facilities in order to build capacity locally to make the centre work.