As Guyana celebrates thirty years of conservation under the Iwokrama Act, the government is signalling a deliberate shift toward a “forest economy’ with valued-added forestry, agroforestry, and ecotourism at its core.
This new concept is designed to sustain the tens of thousands of Guyanese whose livelihoods depend on the sector.
Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat, speaking on behalf of President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali at the Iwokrama 30th Anniversary ceremony at the Guyana Marriott Hotel Georgetown on Monday, made clear that logging is here to stay.
For context, approximately 25,000 families, the majority from indigenous and rural communities, depend on the forestry sector across the country.
According to Minister Bharrat, the oil and gas sector, regardless of how much Guyana produces, is simply not structured to absorb that workforce. Therefore, calling for an end to logging, he argued, ignores that economic reality.
“The answer to that is value added and that is the direction we will be heading as a country,” the minister underscored.
He noted that processing timber locally, expanding agroforestry models that allow communities to farm from the forest without large-scale tree removal and growing ecotourism can provide direct revenue for forest communities.
Agroforestry, he explained, “has proven to be a successful model across the world, among forested countries, to farm from the forest without plucking our trees.”
Guyana’s position, Minister Bharrat said, is one that few countries can claim.
Guyana is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and has maintained one of the lowest deforestation rates globally, even below its own targets under the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030.
The government sees that balance not as accidental but as the result of deliberate, responsible decision-making.
Minister Bharrat also reinforced the government’s commitment to expanding the country’s protected areas, with a target of bringing thirty percent of Guyana’s landmass under protection by 2030.
“You will know by now that when President Ali’s administration made the commitment, we keep our commitment. We are serious about our commitment. We are serious about our responsibilities, especially with regards to the environment,” he reaffirmed.