LCDS projects presented to steering committee

– verification of second tranche of US$40M starts 

Guyana has presented the LCDS Steering Committee with the first wave of priority projects to be implemented under the Guyana Readiness Investment Fund (GRIF), with the hope that these could be quickly approved. 

According to the Office of Climate Change, the five projects which were identified during the national consultations on the Low Carbon Development Strategy were presented at the first steering committee meeting on November 24. 

These projects include the Amerindian land titling and demarcation; the hinterland electrification programme, and the Amerindian Development Fund, for which US$8 million has been earmarked. The US$30 million will also be used for institutional strengthening of key agencies involved in the LCDS and Guyana’s REDD+ initiatives, and also in regard to the Amaila Falls Hydro Project. 

According to the project outline that was presented to the steering committee, the hinterland electrification project will involve installing solar home systems in every Amerindian household that has not yet received one. This amounts to approximately 10,500 households. 

This initiative is to be implemented by the Amerindian Affairs Ministry, with support from the Office of the Prime Minister. 

As it relates to the village economic development project, there is expected to be investment in every Amerindian community in priority areas (as identified in their community development plans) with the aim of creating opportunities for economic and social upliftment and employment. The project will be executed through a grant agreement between the Amerindian Affairs Ministry and each village council. 

The Amaila Falls hydropower project, which is a private sector project, will involve constructing a hydropower plant with 165MWpeak capacity; clearing an area of 27km2, as well as erecting a 278km transmission line linking the plant to hubs in Linden and Georgetown. The Environmental Impact Assessment has already been completed, and will be made public in early January 2011. A four-month public consultation period is required, by the end of which it is hoped that the project will be nearing financial closure. 

The projects will be coordinated by the Project Management Office, situated in the Office of the President. It will lend support to the planning, execution and implementation of the projects. 

Though the next steering committee meeting is set for mid-January, some of the smaller projects could be approved via email. 

The LCDS Steering Committee is chaired by Guyana, and its members comprise representatives of Norway, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and other possible contributors and observers from the Multi-Stakeholder Steering Committee (MSSC) of Guyana, and observers appointed by Norway. 

It will serve to approve the allocation of the funds provided to the GRIF for specific projects, and authorize requests for the release of the funds to partner entities drawn from multilateral donor agencies, including the IDB and UNDP. 

A statement from the OCC said: “Each partner entity will provide operational services and oversight, and ensure sound fiduciary management and environmental and social safeguards, in partnership with the relevant government ministry or agency executing the project.” The partner entities for the first projects to be approved will be the IDB and UNDP. The World Bank, the IDB and the UNDP are currently working to establish “transfer agreements” for funds to be transferred to the partner entities. 

Guyana has long fulfilled its commitment for the release of the first tranche of funds under the Guyana-Norway Agreement. The first installment from the US$250 million pledged under the agreement was also deposited at the World Bank, which serves as trustee for the transfer of funds provided under the agreement. 

Meanwhile, the independent verifications are currently being done in order that the second tranche of funds could be released. This money is expected to be approximately US$40 million. The independent verifications are being done by Rainforest Guyana, which will assess Guyana’s fulfillment of its obligation under the five-year deal signed in 2009. 

The Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) was established on October 9, 2010 under an Administration Agreement between the Government of Norway and the World Bank. It serves as the mechanism for managing the payments pledged by Norway for the projects and activities to be implemented under the LCDS.