TERI specialists conclude study on LCDS priorities - to present report to Office of Climate Change
Georgetown, GINA, May 8, 2012
President Donald Ramotar and Head of the Climate Change Unit Shyam Nokta speaking with officials from the Energy and Research Institute (TERI) of India
Specialists from the Energy and Research Institute (TERI) in India have completed the technical studies on priority projects under the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and will compile and present a report to the Office of Climate Change (OCC), complete with recommendations and interventions where necessary to guide the government’s plan of action.
The two-month endeavour which is in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Guyana and TERI has its origins in a visit to India earlier this year by former President Bharrat Jagdeo and Head of the Climate Change Unit, Shyam Nokta.
The MoU catered for support to Guyana in the implementation of its climate initiatives and the LCDS, from TERI which is headed by Dr. R K Pachauri, Nobel Prize Laureate and Chairman of the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
TERI had promised to send a team to work with counterparts in Guyana on the priority areas identified by the Guyana Government.
Today the specialists, Fellow Forestry and Biodiversity in the Earth Science and Climate Change Division Syed Arif Wali, and Rudra Narsimha Rao, Senior Fellow and Area Convener of Industrial Energy, delivered a report to President Donald Ramotar in the company of Nokta.
Forestry was an area under examination and there were recommendations for tissue culture technology, DNA fingerprinting, International Property Rights (IPR) and Information Technology (IT) under the International Centre for Biodiversity Research.
The advice on tissue culture technology was based on the notion that the technique can form a barrier to some important plant species that become vulnerable as a result of over exploitation.
DNA fingerprint profiling, the consultants recommended, can serve as a purveyor of services to drug companies for identification of medicinal plants collected from forests.
FLASHBACK: Former President Bharrat Jagdeo and Head, Office of Climate Change Shyam Nokta meeting with Nobel Prize Laureate, and Head of the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, in India
While IT infrastructure will provide benefits in terms of access to information and dissemination of services on climate change, the consultants suggested the need for an IPR law in light of the high risk of bio - piracy and exploitation of traditional knowledge.
During the working visit to India, of the former President and Nokta, discussions were held with Pachauri and TERI officials identifying long-term strategy development in the energy sector with focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency. The establishment of a partnership for the setting up of a biodiversity centre was also discussed.
The former President had noted last September that financing was realised for the centre at the University of Guyana to catapult the country as a global centre for studies in biodiversity, attracting some of the largest companies, particularly those involved in pharmaceuticals to conduct research.
A framework for sustainable Non Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) was proposed including a management body in Amerindian villages to promote integrative marketing of NTFP.
The energy and mining sectors also fell within the ambit of the technical study where a strong regulatory policy and capacity building were recommended, especially in the mining sector where there was call for a stronger link between the Environmental Protection Agency and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).