Work on LCDS projects to be accelerated

The Guyana government said on Tuesday, May 17 that, as its Low Carbon Development Strategy moves beyond the start-up phase, work on the six priority investments for this year is being advanced.

The six investments will accelerate Guyana’s transition to a low carbon economy by deploying the US$70 million earned by Guyana for the provision of forestry climate services under the Guyana/Norway Agreement, the Office of Climate Change said.

The six 2011 investments are:

(1) Amerindian land titling, which will cost US$3.9 million. The objective of this investment is to facilitate and accelerate the process of titling Amerindian land, upon request of the village. It involves demarcation and granting communal land tenure rights to Amerindian communities, a process that is already underway. It will include the issuance of grants, surveying of boundaries, and subsequent issuance of titles to communities and village extensions.

Additionally, under the Hinterland Electrification Project, US$4.25 million will be spent to install solar home systems in every Amerindian household that has not yet received one through a previous initiative. This involves approximately 10,500 households. The tendering process has begun, and it is anticipated that bids for the provision of the solar systems will be open shortly after the deadline of May 31st.

For the Amerindian Development Fund for village economic development, US$4 million has been set aside. The Amerindian Development Fund (ADF) has been established to support the socio-economic development of Amerindian communities and villages through the implementation of their community development plans (CDPs), the OCC said.

There will also be the setting up of a Small and Micro Enterprise Development scheme costing US$3 million. This project will aim to address two of the major bottlenecks that constrain the development of small and micro enterprises (SMEs) and the ability of vulnerable groups to build alternative livelihoods in Guyana, which are (i) limited access to finance; and (ii) limited technical and business skills. Access to finance will be addressed through a grants programme and a mutual guarantee fund that enables SMEs to obtain loans at affordable rates. Lack of skills will be addressed through a Training Voucher scheme which will enable SMEs to obtain the training they require at existing institutions.

Besides, US$45 million has been plugged into the Amaila Falls Hydroelectricity Project. The OCC said this is a top infrastructure priority of the government of Guyana (GoG) and will provide a majority of Guyana’s electricity power needs cleanly, efficiently, and economically, starting in 2014. It will involve constructing a hydropower plant with 165MW peak capacity, as well as a 270km high voltage transmission line.

Institutional strengthening will cost US$7 million. This investment will involve strengthening some of the key institutions involved in implementing the LCDS in order to ensure its smooth and timely implementation and related processes, and to ensure that Guyana is able to meet its commitments under the agreement with Norway.

The OCC said that implementation of each of the six priorities is being led by the relevant government agency, after multi- stakeholder consultations. Release of funds is also contingent on the approval of the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) Steering Committee, which consists of Guyana and Norway. The GRIF Steering Committee was established as part of the governments’ joint work to explore how a future UNFCCC REDD+ mechanism might combine nationally led investment plans with meeting globally accepted financial, social and environmental standards.

The Guyanese and Norwegian governments have recently taken significant action to accelerate disbursement of the funds from the GRIF after expressing their belief that the intermediation of GRIF funds is taking longer than it should. As stated in the Joint Concept Note which governs the Guyana-Norway forest partnership.