By Neil Marks
Fifteen years ago, a groundbreaking agreement was signed in the heart of Guyana at a village called Fairview, setting the stage for a global model of forest conservation – one that would see millions of US dollars being earned by the country simply for not cutting down the forest.
The 2009 deal between then President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo and Norway’s Minister of Environment Erik Solheim pledged US$250 million to Guyana in exchange for conserving its vast rainforest, marking one of the world’s first forest-saving initiatives.
This week, Solheim and Jagdeo reunited on stage in Georgetown to celebrate the success of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and discuss its global implications.
President Dr Irfaan Ali spoke glowingly of the original idea of Dr Jagdeo to deploy all of Guyana’s forests in the fight against climate change if the country could be compensated for doing so.
“It was ambitious, it was world-leading, it was imaginative, it was certain in the fact that Guyana can lead the world in finding solutions to global problems,” Dr Ali stated at a high-level discussion in Georgetown to reflect on the LCDS.
“We have really, in this journey, set the benchmark and set the best practices, when it comes to forest governance, forest management and the deployment of forests at the jurisdictional scale to meet this global challenge,” President Ali added.
This week Solheim returned to the heart of Guyana to check on how the funding from the 2009 forest-saving deal has benefitted indigenous communities.
“It was amazing. I was so happy. Because sometimes when money is spent, you see no results. But in Guyana, it was the opposite. You can see results everywhere,” Solheim said at the high-level discussion with Dr Jagdeo.
He highlighted the transformational impact on local communities, from improved infrastructure to sport facilities like football and cricket fields, from ICT centres to eco-tourism initiatives.
The funds from the Guyana-Norway agreement have gone into 19 projects utilising over US$ 222 million. These projects have been implemented under different thematic areas such as socio-economic development, climate resilience and adaptation, sustainable land and forest management, hinterland development, digital infrastructure, and renewable energy.
This success has been a testament to the vision that Guyana’s forests can provide both environmental and economic benefits.
The LCDS 2030 (the updated or second phase of the original LCDS) has positioned Guyana as a leader in forest finance and sustainable development.
Guyana’s forests cover 85% of the country’s total land area, storing nearly 20 gigatons of carbon dioxide, a gas which traps heat. The carbon dioxide, or carbon for short, along with other harmful gases are causing the earth’s temperature to rise, leading to climate change, leading to extreme weather events such as floods, wildfires and more frequent and intense hurricanes.
Guyana has avoided cutting down trees to clear land for big agriculture and mining projects like other countries have done to earn money for national development projects.
In return, the country has argued there must be value – it must earn – in keeping the forest standing.
President Irfaan Ali emphasised the pivotal role Guyana has played: “It was the idea of then President Bharrat Jagdeo that our forests were a natural and national asset playing a key global role.”
However, as Jagdeo pointed out, recognition of the role of forests in addressing climate change was slow.
“The world knew that forests played an important role, yet it was unprepared to provide the support for forested countries,” he said.
The Guyana-Norway partnership was therefore pioneering, creating a replicable model that demonstrates the financial and environmental value of conserving forests.
“We built the model according to its replicability, and we proved that this could be sustainable, this could be measured, that people were going to get what they paid for…,” Dr Jagdeo stated.
Solheim’s return to Fairview, 15 years after the initial agreement, was symbolic of the lasting impact of the deal.
Today, Guyana’s efforts at earning from standing forests has extended to the sale of carbon credits, with US$750 million recently earned from a deal with American firm Hess. A portion of these funds is earmarked for indigenous communities, including Fairview, to support long-term sustainable projects.
President Ali praised Solheim’s vision, calling his leadership “inspiring and invaluable” in helping to Guyana to set the stage.
“We have set the benchmark for forest governance and management, positioning Guyana at the forefront of global efforts to combat climate change.”
Through the LCDS, Guyana continues to shape international policies, providing a blueprint for how tropical rainforest conservation can drive sustainable development worldwide.
The success of the Guyana-Norway partnership underscores the power of collaboration in tackling global environmental challenges.
With the LCDS 2030 now in full effect, the future of forest finance and sustainable development looks brighter, thanks to the pioneering efforts of Guyana.
