The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and other partners hosted the fifth national learning event titled ‘Forest Regulator Workshop: Changing Roles in a Changing Climate’ at the Guyana Marriott Hotel on December 05-06, 2022. The main event was followed by a field trip on December 07, 2022.
Increased focus on the multiple uses of forests, including its role in climate change and importance to forest-dependent communities, will place greater demand on the GFC, additional to its regulatory function. For example, the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and climate financing identify forests as a key element to Guyana’s global climate-related commitments. The GFC will play a lead role in these processes and non-timber forest economics.
It is also recognised that the oil and gas industry’s impact and opportunities, while boosting the government’s reserves, allow Guyana to engage in forest conservation while strengthening the livelihood prospects of forest-dependent communities, including the Indigenous peoples.
The GFC has increasingly utilised stakeholder engagement approaches consistent with the Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) principle and good development practices.
Also, the GFC is continuously improving its governance systems to ensure compliance with national laws and international market trends. An important vehicle for achieving improved forest governance is the Guyana-EU Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) which was initialled in 2018. The VPA aims to improve Forest Law enforcement, Governance, and Trade (FLEGT).
In 2014 Guyana hosted its first VPA experiences and lessons learned event, ‘Sharing Experiences on the FLEGT VPA Process’, with representatives from several countries. Similar events were hosted in 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2021, providing a forum for alliance-building and partnerships, knowledge-sharing, and research in the timber-producing countries.
Building on the foundation of the four earlier events, this, learning event provided a forum for forest regulators and those within the forestry sector to re-examine their roles and responsibilities and discuss the challenges they experience in delivering on a broader mandate that extends beyond timber extraction and includes forest regulation, forest economics and livelihoods and forests and climate. The event also brought national and international stakeholders together to learn from each other’s experiences and lessons, encourage idea-sharing and build collaborative networks. Furthermore, the event facilitated dialogue between the government and forest sector stakeholders to review the forest regulatory sector.
The event was co-organised by the MNR, the GFC, the European Forest Institute (EFI), the Palladium Group, the United Kingdom’s Forest Governance, Markets and Climate (FGMC) Programme, the Forest Products Association of Guyana, the National Steering Committee for Community Forestry Associations (NSCCFO), the Guyana Manufacturers and Services Association, and the National Toshaos’ Council (NTC). Funding for the event is provided by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
Event Presentations
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Videos
Learning Event 2021 Recap
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FAO: State of the World’s Forests 2022
Event Galleries
Day 1 – December 05, 2022
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Day 2 – December 06, 2022
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Field Trip – December 07, 2022
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Facebook Event Livestream
Day 1 – December 05, 2022
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Day 2 – December 06, 2022
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