Amerindian organisation gets European funding for forest management

Last Updated on Saturday, 26 December 2015, 20:59 by GxMedia

The European Union (EU) Delegation and the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) have signed a grant agreement for a total of 150,000 Euros (41.8 million GYD).

The mission here exoplained that this support forms part of the ongoing work programme being implemented by the EU and the Government of Guyana on the national Roadmap for the EU’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade  (EU FLEGT).

The aim of this project is to support the active participation of the Amerindian communities in the FLEGT  Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA) development process in a manner that supports the national Roadmap and builds synergies with the ongoing efforts of the National Technical Working Group, the coordinating body for EU FLEGT in Guyana. 

This highlights the continuous commitment of the EU and the Government of Guyana to assure, in partnership with the Guyana Forestry Commission, the active participation of all stakeholders in the VPA process.

The FLEGT VPA negotiations formally started with the first negotiation session held in Georgetown on 5 December 2012. The process is planned to culminate with an agreement by September 2015.

The VPA aims to promote sustainable forest management by further promoting forest legality and securing access to European markets for legally-harvested and sustainable Guyanese forest products.

This specific project will build the capacity of identified Amerindian Village Councils and villagers, indigenous peoples’ organisations and civil society to become actively engaged in the FLEGT VPA discussions at the local and national levels, as well as to enable their effective participation in the development and implementation of the FLEGT VPA in Guyana.

The project will focus on Regions 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 and will have duration of 24 months.