Jagdeo deliberately misleading on forest giveaway

 -records indicate productive concessions all gone

In recent days, there has been growing anger in the political sphere over what is left of the country’s forests.

Former President, Bharrat Jagdeo

During the just concluded National Budget debate in the National Assembly, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, made some shocking pronouncements.
He said that upon taking up office in May last year, the David Granger administration met an alarming situation where it was discovered that 100 percent or all of the country’s productive forest was allocated by the past Government, mainly to foreign investors.
Minister Trotman questioned, “How could a responsible government preside over the allocation of all, not some, but all of its productive forest?”
He said that it was done without any regard for future generations.
Trotman said that in the context of the national patrimony, this can only be seen as a threat to the nation’s long term viability and security as a people.
However, Jagdeo disputed the statements of Minister Trotman, when he addressed Parliament.
Jagdeo, who served as President from 1999 to 2011, told the National Assembly on Friday that it was approximately 55 percent of state forest cover that was in fact allocated by his party.
“The fact is that about fifty-five per cent of the state forest has been given out so far in our history. It’s about seven million hectares out of 12.5 million hectares.”
So what is the truth?
According to historical documents, including reports that Kaieteur News managed to acquire, Minister

Minister Raphael Trotman

Trotman is on point with his report that all of the lands set aside for productive forest use have been given out.
Some of the resource materials used to investigate this matter were two books Vivian S. Vieira’s “Logging in Guyana and Considerations for Improvements” and “Profit Without Plunder”.
Published data, including some from Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) itself, the body that regulates the use of the forests, revealed that there are other forested areas outside of the land demarcated for timber production.
These areas include those parts of the forest for conservation and those that are not easily accessible or economically viable to sustainable logging or other operations.
Maps would show that progressively, how between 1953 and 1973, the productive forest lands were expanded.
In addition, maps of Guyana showing the areas where the productive forests are located indicate that they are all gone.
Since taking office in 1992, the PPP/C opened up new lands, including in Region Nine, in an area now controlled by BaiShanLin, a Chinese logging company. BaiShanLin is under investigation.
One particular area is below what is known as the 4th Parallel Line on maps of Guyana.
Former President, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, had ordered that no forest lands were to be allocated for logging in this area. This was a commitment he gave to the international community in the face of Suriname’s claim to Guyana.
Dr Jagan’s order was not taken seriously by his successors.
It appears that Jagdeo in quoting his 55 percent figure deliberately misled the National Assembly, by referring to all of Guyana’s forest cover. But all the forest could not be available for allocations to loggers and others.
Under the GFC’s planning, not all of the country’s forested areas are for production.
Rather, large chunks of it have been set aside for conservation purposes or have linkages to Amerindian communities for possible extensions, said one official of the GFC.
The issue of forest lands is part of a bigger concern over the giveaway of the country’s resources.
With the last two decades, especially under Jagdeo’s rule, state properties, and vast lands for gold mining and logging ended up through questionable circumstances in the hands of a few, many of them foreigners.
Some of the companies and individuals were mere speculators. They sold out their concessions for hundreds of millions of dollars to foreigners, another official pointed out.
Guyana, on the other hand, lost out on taxes and other obligatory revenues that would have been earned by the state.
Little monitoring and corruption have also helped some of the companies to operate in a seeming wild-west situation, with smuggling, under-declaration and environmental issues resulting.
The new administration has vowed to regulate the situation but few persons or companies have been brought to the court or penalized.
One government official in defending Trotman’s statements had two questions for Jagdeo.
Jagdeo claims 56%.  Within the logging boundaries (production forest) of Guyana let him show us where lands are available for investment.
Where are lands available to be designated as protected areas above the 4th parallel?
Maps are provided for easy understanding of how the forestry sector expanded over the last 80 years.