Guyana to receive 30 million USD from Norway this week for forest Protection

Last week, President Jagdeo noted that the financial agreement between Norway and Guyana via the Forest Protection Memorandum will see Guyana with the first installment of 30 million USD this week.

The president noted “Since early 2009 we’ve been selling forest package services and though six months late the first payment of US$30 million is now being processed. It will be deposited in the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) in the next 10 days,” Jagdeo said. “This is the first payment of its kind anywhere in the world,” the President said adding that it represents the development of a new global carbon economy.

Under the agreement, Guyana agrees to cut limited amounts of rainforest in order to accommodate the recycling of rising levels atmospheric Carbon in order to reduce rising global temperatures.

Critics of the agreement noted many inconsistencies with the President Jagdeo’s low carbon strategy.

One critic in particular is Guyanese professor Janet Bulkan who holds a PHD from Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She has been outspoken on the subject and highly criticized for her point of view by the government of Guyana.

Then there is Chris Lang of REDD Monitor, a publication that analyzes the rapid developments in the world of “avoided deforestation”. Lang has also been outspoken on President Bharrat Jagdeo’s carbon initiative noting that Carbon stored in forests should not be traded.

Lang has also highlighted President Jagdeo’s failed interview on government corruption with BBC Hardtalk when the topic of forestry discussion was brought up.

I have also been a critic of the President’s strategy, noting that presidentJagdeo is blatantly lying to the Global community about Guyana’s current abilities to protect the rain forest and its current operations in place. I highlighted in 2009, the inconsistencies with the president’s forest pitch.

In April 2010, Germany and Guyana also came to agreement on the former making five million Euros for Guyana’s forest protection.