Norway releases G$9B in project funding to Guyana
The Kingdom of Norway has released G$9.1B to the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund, which represents the remainder of the pledge made by that country back in 2009.
The monies will be administered by the World Bank for disbursement to Guyana for approved projects.In September, Norway had agreed to release the monies as part of a bilateral agreement made between the two nations in 2009.
According to a release from the Ministry of the Presidency, the release of the funds was confirmed by the Head of the Project Management Office of the Ministry of the Presidency, Dr. Marlon Bristol.
Bristol noted that the release of funds was made last Wednesday to the World Bank; the agency issued a confirmation today that the funds have been received.
Dr. Bristol noted that the funds will be used for projects in areas such as renewable energy, ‘green’ tourism, biodiversity, strengthening of indigenous mechanisms, and the European Union- FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) Partnership, which is a legally binding trade agreement between the European Union and a timber-producing country outside the EU.
He further noted that Guyana will also enter a new round of talks with the Norwegians to support President David Granger’s Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) and especially those environmental safeguards that can realize a ‘green’ economy.
“These fruitful developments are possible owing to the hard work of several Ministers and especially the Minister of State under whose purview the Guyana REDD+ Investment (GRIF) falls under; other Government agencies, Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Indigenous Peoples’ representation among others. A special thank you as well to you to the Kingdom of Norway. Project development can now move ahead assiduously for the full realization of long-awaited benefits to the Guyanese people. From a slow start and a past of penalty to the tune of USD $15 million before this Government took office, the Guyana Norway Agreement can now boast of satisfactory results,” he said.
The transfer has been made possible following a meeting between Minister of State, Dawn Hastings-Williams and Norway’s Minister for Climate and Environment, Mr. Ola Elvestuen back in September on the margins of the United Nations Climate Summit in New York.
During that meeting, Norway had agreed to pay over the $393.4 Norwegian Kroner or approximately US$50M of climate funds to Guyana, which authorities said represents the remainder of the pledge made by that country back in 2009.
In accordance with the bilateral agreement between the two countries, the two ministers had agreed that Guyana has met its commitments and therefore Norway would disburse all final payments.
Minister Hastings-Williams acknowledged that at this juncture both countries indeed would have met their responsibilities with the final release.
With the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Guyana and Norway to protect Guyana’s tropical forests yesterday at the bucolic Fairview village, Region Nine, on the banks of the mighty Essequibo River, Guyana could receive as much as US$250M by 2015 to support the implementation of the Low-Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).The agreement was signed by Head of State Bharrat Jagdeo and the Norwegian Minister of International Development and the Environment, Erik Solheim. The MoU is a declaration of the two countries’ determination to work together to provide the world with a working example of how partnerships between developed and developing countries can save the world’s tropical forests
