Guyana’s LCDS receives much praise from ACTO secretary general

Secretary General of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO), Alejandro Gordillo, on a familiarisation tour of member countries since his assumption of office on March 1, met with Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud on June 13 to discuss issues pertinent to the organisation and Guyana’s membership.

“We value the ACTO efforts, but also the need for coordination within the wider framework to a greater collaboration and cooperation among South American states; and ACTO is a crucial partner in this regard,” Minister Persaud said during the meeting.

With respect to Guyana, Persaud noted that focus is being placed on how ACTO can give support in the area of climate change, REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) and working with persons in the forestry sector.

“We believe that ACTO can play a greater part in supporting us, because I know some of the strategic focuses of ACTO include those two areas – climate change and looking at forest management,” Persaud added.

He underscored that coming out of the recent Congo forest meeting, emphasis will be placed on how the three rainforest basins can better coordinate activities and strategies.

The minister recognised the need for capacity building; sharing of satellite imagery; enhancement of areas of commonality; and ideas that can be put before the members of ACTO, thereby directing their focus on the more strategic issues, particularly at the Rio + 20 Conference, which will be held in Brazil in June 2012.

“We are preparing ourselves so that we have a uniform position,” he said.

With regards to the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), Persaud said the agreement with the Norwegians can get the wider ACTO members involved as well.

He emphasised that, so far, much progress has been made in the agreement with the Norwegians, as Guyana has gained international recognition and a significant amount of resources; but now there has to be the utilisation of arrangements for environmental services; hence the need to develop expertise.

“For us, it’s a service that we’re selling, and so we need to build that capacity – the (Guyana) Forestry Commission, working with the Office of Climate Change (OCC), has been doing some work in this regard, but we need to expand and improve,” Minister Persaud added.

Harmonious development of Amazon Basin

Meanwhile, Gordillo explained that ACTO has been involved in forestry for a number of years, but issues such as climate change, energy and regional development are new items on the organisation’s agenda.

ACTO is an international organisation responsible for enhancing and strengthening cooperation amongst member states in the Amazon region.

In its present form, the organisation was derived from the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT) which was signed on July 3, 1978 by Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela to promote joint actions towards the harmonious development of the Amazon Basin.

Some of the projects facilitated by ACTO in which Guyana is involved include the implementation of an environmental health surveillance system for the Amazon region; integrated and sustainable management of trans-boundary water resources in the Amazon River basin, considering climate variability and climate change; and monitoring of deforestation and changing land use in Amazonian forests.

Meanwhile, during an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA), Gordillo said that Guyana has been doing a great job in keeping its forest intact.

“I have been reading a report from the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) that said that Guyana is one of the countries with best forest practice management in the world,” Secretary General Gordillo said.