Guyana, Belize ink five-year forestry cooperation pact

Last Updated on Sunday, 29 March 2026, 23:58 by Writer

Guyana and Belize will over the next five years embark on several initiatives to conserve, jointly, their forests and explore ways of selling carbon credits, according to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by top officials of both countries.

Guyana’s Ambassador to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) George Talbot said Belize and Guyana agreed to establish a framework for technical cooperation, information sharing and joint initiatives focussed on sustainable forest management, biodiversity protection and climate change resilience and adaptation.

“Implementation will be carried out in accordance with each country’s national laws with designated points of contact and the potential establishment of a technical working group,” he said after Belize’s Minister of Sustainable Development and Climate Change, Orlando Habet and Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Hugh Todd signed the MoU at Ramphal House, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He said the areas of collaboration include the development of joint conservation projects, sharing of technology and expertise support for the measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) initiatives and carbon market opportunities.

Guyana is one of the few countries that has sold more than US$1 million in jurisdictional carbon credits.

Mr Talbot also said Guyana and Belize would strengthen monitoring, surveillance, disaster preparedness and research efforts.

He said the MOU further promotes inclusive and sustainable approaches by supporting community engagement, educational outreach and sustainable livelihoods while respecting traditional knowledge and cultural practices.

The Guyana Ambassador to CARICOM said the agreement would remain in force for an initial period of five years.

In his remarks, minister Todd noted that Belize’s forest cover is about 70 to 75 percent and Guyana’s is about 85 percent. “We’re bringing two sections of the Western Hemisphere together. We’re bringing Central America and the continent of South America together,” he said.

Though Guyana is an emerging oil and gas producer, Mr Todd reiterated that his country would ensure that it remains a leader in environmental preservation.

He said the Guyana-Belize forest cooperation accord is in keeping with the Global Biodiversity Alliance, a Guyana-led initiative, that seeks to find money and expertise to preserve the environment.

The Belize Minister of Sustainable Development and Climate Change, Orlando Habet traced the origin of the MoU to a meeting between a Belizean official and a Guyanese during a fellowship by the University of the West Indies on climate change and health.

“It shows that a single fellowship can spark collaboration that a conversation can evolve into cooperation and that cooperation when nurtured can become a partnership that benefits entire nations,” he said.

Mr Habet said he told a CARICOM meeting on Thursday that member states, especially those countries with rich biodiversity in terrestrial and marine areas “have to really look at the value of our assets, our natural assets because those can be leveraged to get funding to do more work for our countries.”

The Guyana government allocates a portion of the carbon credit earnings to Amerindian communities for them to spend on projects that they had devised.