|
|
|
Guyana's forests offered as massive carbon offset mongabay.com November 26, 2007
Guyana's President, Bharrat Jagdeo, has offered to place the country's extensive rainforests under the control of an international body in exchange for "development aid" and "technical assistance needed to make the change to a green economy." "We can deploy the forest against global warming and, through the UK's help, it wouldn't have to stymie development in Guyana," President Jagdeo told The Independent. "We are a country with the political will and a large tract of standing forest. I'm not a mercenary, this is not blackmail and I realize there's no such thing as a free lunch. I'm not just doing this just because I'm a good man and want to save the world, I need the assistance."
President Jagdeo says that Guyana already has a model for the proposal: in 1989 the country deeded 1 million acres of forest to the Commonwealth of Nations as a "sustainable-use" reserve called Iwokrama. Scientists estimate that Iwokrama locks up around 120 million tons of carbon, an amount roughly equivalent to the annual emissions of the United Kingdom. While President Jagdeo is hopeful that Guyana can be rewarded for conserving its forests, he says that the country is poor and will do what it is necessary to improve living conditions for its people. Climbing prices for gold and timber, coupled with surging demand for biofuels derived from sugar cane are increasingly attractive options relative to forest preservation. A proposed Brazilian would build a paved highway that would connect X to Georgetown, transforming Guyana's capital into a major port for commodities from the Amazon region. "Maybe we should just cut down the trees. Then someone would recognize the problem," said President Jagdeo. "But I want to think we can fulfil our people's aspirations without cutting down the trees." Globally, deforestation and land use change accounts for 15-20 percent of total emissions, a larger source of greenhouse gases than the entire transportation sector. CITATION: Daniel Howden. "Take over our rainforest" in the The Independent, 24 November 2007 Related articles Rainforest tribe establishes massive sustainable-use reserve (10/4/2007) An indigenous group in Guyana has established one of the world's largest sustainable forest reserves, reports Conservation International. Low deforestation countries to see least benefit from carbon trading (8/13/2007) Countries that have done the best job protecting their tropical forests stand to gain the least from proposed incentives to combat global warming through carbon offsets, warns a new study published in Tuesday in the journal Public Library of Science Biology (PLoS). The authors say that "high forest cover with low rates of deforestation" (HFLD) nations "could become the most vulnerable targets for deforestation if the Kyoto Protocol and upcoming negotiations on carbon trading fail to include intact standing forest."
(3/6/2007) Informal gold mining is causing environmental harm and human rights abuses in Guyana says a new report from the International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) of Harvard Law School's Human Rights Program. Wildcat gold mining has been a serious problem in the Guiana shield countries of Brazil, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. Rising gold prices in recent years have only worsened the problem, as illegal miners have flooded the region clearing forest, polluting rivers, and making threats against indigenous people.
(2/15/2007) Growing timber exports and rising interest in biofuels are raising concerns that deforestation could accelerate in the South American country of Guyana. Guyana is a small, lightly populated country on the north coast of South America. About three-quarters of Guyana is forested, roughly 60 percent of which is classified as primary forest. Guyana's forests are highly diverse: the country has some 1,263 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles, and 6,409 species of plants. News index | RSS | Add to MyYahoo! Advertisements: Organic Apparel from Patagonia | Insect-repelling clothing |
MONGABAY.COM
T-SHIRTS 
CALENDARS 
CANVAS BAGS 
|
|
|
