Community forestry building local economies

DPI, GUYANA, Tuesday, May 29, 2018

The opportunities offered through ‘community forestry’ is helping to push local economies and are allowing the “rural poor” a chance to improve their lives.

This is according to Kerdar Persaud, a community leader from Capoey village, Essequibo Coast.

He was addressing the Guyana Forestry Commission’s Community Forestry Organisations programme held on Monday at the GFC’s headquarters, Kingston.

According to Persaud, community forestry has been supporting local management in “equitable distribution, providing income and sustainable livelihood. Because of community groups and involvement with forestry, we are a better community. It brings us joy.”

Persaud said the idea has evolved into ensuring that the rural poor are recognised in all aspect of forestry related opportunities. He added, “It allows forest communities to have a voice in sustainable development goals and the implementation of forest policy guidelines.” Additionally, he stated, emphasis has been placed on gender mainstreaming and ensuring the involvement of the youth in forest management and development initiatives.

Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman emphasised that the “vast resource” must be used for the equitable sustainable development of the stewards and users of the forest, especially at the community level.

“This therefore requires forest resources especially at the level of communities, to be utilised in keeping with environmentally sound practices, for the provision of food, employment and income generation that would be necessary to support community livelihoods,” he added.

In Guyana, 133 forest concessions, totalling over 1.2 million acres or 500,000 hectares of forest lands, have been allocated to 69 community forestry groups. Minister Trotman said the small and medium scale community operators contribute over 60 percent of the total production in the forest sector.

Additionally, he said, community stakeholders employ over 2,000 persons and are exporting forest produce to many markets. Minister Trotman noted value-added manufacturers and exporters rely largely on community level production to sustain their operations, “As an enabling and responsible Government, we believe that benefits need to flow directly and quickly to forest users and communities, and access must not be restricted to just large operators.”

 

By: Alexis Rodney

Images by Keno George.