“Checking deforestation requires respect for our basic rights, which are the rights of all peoples and all human beings. Deforestation is unleashed when our rights are not protected and our lands and forests are taken over by industrial interests without our consent.”
Guyana
There are 70 posts filed in Guyana (this is page 2 of 5).
Why the National Assembly should hold public hearings on the Guyana Forestry Commission
In November 2013, Guyanese government agencies released 41 reports to the National Assembly. Several of these were overdue, including a series of annual reports from the Guyana Forestry Commission from 2005 to 2012.
Almost half of Norway’s climate and forest aid remains unspent
In 2007, at the UN climate negotiations in Bali, Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg announced his ambitious plans to save tropical forests. Six years later, Norway has disbursed more than US$1.4 billion but almost half of that remains unspent.
Guyana’s Amaila Falls dam in doubt as Sithe Global pulls out
Earlier this month, newspapers in Guyana reported that Sithe Global had pulled out of the Amaila Falls hydropower dam. Sithe Global’s President Brian Kubeck told the Stabroek News that the project was too big to continue without the approval of all three parties in Guyana’s Parliament.
REDD+ safeguards: more than good intentions? Case studies from the Accra Caucus
The Accra Caucus recently release a report that looks at the development of safeguards in Guyana, Indonesia, Nepal, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The report finds that “there are continuing concerns about the current direction of REDD+, especially in some countries”.
EcoPush: “A leader within the environmental investment sector” or just another scam?
EcoPush is a company that offers expertise in environmental markets, including carbon trading, biofuels, agricultural commodities and sustainable timber. While the company’s website boasts a “proven track record”, the website provides little information about who is behind the company and what its track record actually is.
“Shrouded in secrecy”: Norway’s REDD funding for the Amaila Falls dam in Guyana
Unanswered questions about Bai Shan Lin’s big plans for Guyana
Bai Shan Lin, a Chinese logging company, has big plans for Guyana: forest concessions covering 960,000 hectares; a 20-kilometre river gold mining concession; a 500-hectare Guyana-China Timber Industry Economic and Trading Cooperation Park and a 160-hectare real estate development.
“Concerns grow over weak safeguard implementation,” Forest Peoples Programme on REDD and safeguards
Forest Peoples Programme’s April 2013 E-Newsletter focusses on safeguards. The E-Newsletter starts by looking at why safeguards matter. Other articles explain and comment on the World Bank’s safeguards review, forest policy and oil palm policy, the failure of safeguards in the Camisea gas project in Peru and examples from the Congo Basin and Cameroon.
Above the law: How Chinese logging firm Bai Shan Lin operates in Guyana, with the support of Bharrat Jagdeo
In November 2012, Chu Wenze, the chairman of Chinese logging company Bai Shan Lin, gave a presentation outlining his company’s plans for Guyana at the 2nd World Congress on Timber & Wood Products Trade in Taicang, China. The company’s plans expose Guyana’s proposals to reduce deforestation and forest degradation as a bunch of lies.
News from Guyana by Janette Bulkan: “Guyana has made no changes to either policies or practices to reduce deforestation”
In this recent article, Janette Bulkan raises questions about the REDD deal between Norway and Guyana, asking whether it is suitable as part of a global model of REDD, and whether it is likely to reduce deforestation in Guyana.
How long will Norway continue to ignore violations of Indigenous Peoples’ rights in Guyana?
Two weeks ago a High Court in Guyana ruled that miners are not bound by the country’s 2006 Amerindian Act if they obtained mining permits before the Act was passed. The court case was brought by a miner, against the village of Isseneru.
Why is Norway paying Guyana for REDD?
In December 2012, the Government of Norway approved a further US$45 million for Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy, bringing the total so far to US$115 million. This suggests that Guyana is meeting its obligations under Joint Concept Note that the two countries agreed. But is this really the case?
News from Guyana: Article by Janette Bulkan in the Commonwealth Forestry Association newsletter
A recent article from Janette Bulkan, published in the Commonwealth Forestry Association Newsletter looks at costs and profits of timber exports from Guyana.
Indigenous peoples insist on rights-based approaches and respect for traditional knowledge and practices in Rio+20 outcomes
Representatives of Forest Peoples Programme are in Rio for the Rio +20 meeting. FPP put out a press release highlighting Indigenous Peoples’ concerns about the negotiations.