No compromise with requirements for forestry operations

-         Minister Persaud

Georgetown, GINA, January 19, 2008.

Forestry operators are being encouraged to ensure that they are in full compliance with the necessary requirements set by the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) for permission to continue their operations in the new year.

            GFC has placed significant emphasis on enforcement of necessary regulations through which all forest concessions in excess of 20,000 acres are required to have an approved five-year Forest Management Plan (FMP) while concessionaires must submit by November 30 an Annual Operational Plan (AOP) for the following year of activities.

The information is verified by the GFC before permission is granted and the November 30 deadline caters for this process so that approval could be granted, once there is full compliance, by January 1.

            At a press conference today at the Agriculture Ministry, Minister with responsibility for Forestry, Robert Persaud reported limited adherence to the deadline which is now resulting in a delay in granting permissions.

            However, the Minister noted that there will be no compromise since stakeholders were given enough time to meet the requirements. Meetings were held with concessionaires since 2006 reminding them that submission of the AOP with the associated 100 percent inventory information was compulsory.

This was re-emphasized in individual letters to the concessionaires and through public notices while technical inventory assistance on a cost recovery basis was offered by GFC to concessionaires based on their request.

An Audit in 2007 revealed that almost all holders of the Timber Sales Agreements (TSAs) and Wood Cutting Leases (WCLs) had harvested in blocks that were not approved by GFC either because they were not listed in the AOP or because of non submission of  the 100 percent inventory information. All of the defaulting companies were penalized in accordance with GFC’s approved procedures.

By September 2007, notices were re-sent to concessionaires advising them of their obligation to submit the AOP for 2008 by November 30, 2007. The companies were also requested to ensure that they had valid approved FMPs.

            However, there are currently 24 active TSAs and WCLs of which 17 have submitted the AOP for 2008 while only five companies submitted the 100 percent inventory.

            During a meeting with Minister Persaud earlier this month, the Forest Producers Association (FPA) acknowledged the fact that stakeholders were delinquent in the submission of the required hundred 100 percent inventory information.

They requested additional time to submit the information and it was agreed that this will be facilitated on the condition that no harvesting would occur unless the inventory information for the specific block was submitted and verified by GFC.

Minister Persaud said “in an effort to facilitate the companies, GFC will try to complete the field verification of the additional blocks as soon as is possible, without comprising our field procedures.”

            The GFC now awaits the submission of the necessary information by the concessionaires and had committed to fast track the field verification exercises without compromising its field procedures.

            The FMP outlines the broad business projections over a five-year period while the AOP gives details of all the activities to be carried out in the calendar year inclusive of the specific 100 hectare blocks to be harvested during that period with the associated 100 percent inventory information of the commercial species present in each block listed in the AOP.

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