Guyana highlights importance of REDD+ at Rio discussions

A local delegation, headed by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud has engaged in intense discussions at the 18th meeting of Latin America and Caribbean Environmental Ministers held in Quito, Ecuador from January 31 to February 3, 2012.

Representatives and environmental ministers from over 30 countries from Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) participated in the forum.

Discussions have been primarily focused on the exchange of information and experiences of the LAC countries since the 1992 conference on sustainable development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the intention of crafting a joint Latin American and Caribbean vision for the upcoming Rio+ 20 follow-up conference scheduled for June 2012.

One of the major outputs of the meeting has been the adoption of a number of decisions related to important environmental issues facing the region, including atmospheric pollution, environmental education for sustainable development, sustainable consumption and production, and environmental indicators to name a few.

The Guyana delegation, which included Damian Fernandes from the Natural resources and Environment Ministry, was among a number of Caribbean states which crafted two decisions on the particular vulnerabilities of Central American and Caribbean countries, and small island developing states.

The decision on small island developing states in particular, calls for new and emerging issues to be taken into account in the Rio+ 20 discussions, especially those pertaining to Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+).

This key decision was also crafted to reiterate previous calls on the international community to support the implementation of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy.

Minister Persaud also engaged in multilateral talks with member countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO), and bi-lateral talks with the environment ministers of Brazil, Ecuador and Suriname.

The bi-lateral talks focused on options for increasing regional cooperation and integration on issues related to the natural resources and environmental sector.

Delegations from the various countries met with the hope to reach a declaration which will set out a joint position and vision for sustainable development that will serve as the basis for negations on LAC priorities at the Rio+ 20 conference slated for June in Brazil.