First VPA Lessons Shared event in Guyana welcomed by stakeholders

First VPA Lessons Shared event in Guyana welcomed by stakeholders

Guyana - 19 December, 2014

On 18-19th November 2014, Tropenbos International organised the first VPA Lessons Shared event in Guyana, in cooperation with the Guyana Forestry Commission, EU FAO FLEGT Programme, EFI FLEGT Facility, IUCN, The Forestry Training Centre of Guyana, Iwokrama Foundation and the IDLgroup. This event was welcomed by stakeholders as a great opportunity for open and engaged discussions.

In 2009 Guyana embarked on a national development plan that outlines how the country could use its vast forests to forge an economy based on low deforestation, low carbon emissions and climate resilience: the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). Funding for this plan comes from payments for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+).

In the context of its LCDS and REDD+ activities the government of Guyana has started formal negotiations with the EU in March 2012, with the aim of signing a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA). A VPA is a mutual commitment between the EU and a producing country to reduce the issues presented by illegal logging through facilitating trade in legal timber and improving forest governance.

This seminar was convened to allow for discussion between actors in the Guyanese forest sector and the open exchange of ideas, experiences and research on the VPA and regional forest governance. Hosting 100 contributors from Guyana, Suriname, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, Ghana and the EU, the event addressed a broad range of topics encompassing the VPA, its relation to the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and the REDD+ mechanism, the international timber market and the role of domestic forest sector actors.

Programme of the Seminar “Sharing Experiences on the FLEGT VPA process” (Georgetown, 18-19 November 2014)
Short Communiqué of the Seminar “Sharing Experiences on the FLEGT VPA process” (Georgetown, 18-19 November 2014)

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