Trust fund for protected areas will help in ongoing efforts towards sustainable development

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor,
I wish to applaud the governments of Guyana and Germany and Conservation International (CI) for launching a multimillion dollar trust fund, the first of its kind for Guyana, which would see the whole notion of protecting and preserving our environment and wildlife become a reality.
The Conservation Trust Fund (CTF), valued at US$ 8.5 million will provide long-term financing for the management of Guyana’s protected areas system (PAS) and will support efforts by the government, along with local communities, to manage such areas.
Protected areas are seen as important tools not only for the conservation of biodiversity, but also as a key piece of the sustainable development puzzle. I understand that some time later this year, the trust fund will be rolled into the statutory National Protected Areas Trust Fund under the Guyana Protected Areas Act.
The Protected Areas Act, which came into force in November 2011, provides a framework for the establishment and management of a national system of protected areas, and for the development of a National Protected Areas Trust Fund (NPATF), which will serve as a permanent mechanism for sustainable long-term financing of protected areas, into which the CTF will transition.
Recently, the Natural Resources Ministry collaborated with the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) for the execution of a Gy$ 33 million project that will see the development of a comprehensive strategy that will be adopted as a policy for sustainable management of Guyana’s natural resources.
Editor, this is important as it will allow protected areas to take its place alongside sustainable forestry, mining, oil and gas, alternative energy development and other important natural resource based industries, as they collectively contribute to Guyana’s sustainable development.

Yours truly,
M Singh

Related posts

Comments are closed.