People need nature to thrive. Nature needs sound government, private sector and other policies.
By 2025, we envision a Guyana in which the protection of nature is fully integrated into all development policies and institutional arrangements. CI-Guyana seeks to ensure that the conservation and long-term management of Guyana’s rich natural heritage take centre stage in national development plans by:
- Mainstreaming Natural Capital in Guyana’s National Development Strategies and Plans
- Developing Sustainable Landscape Models for Local and Regional Development
- Building a Sustainable National REDD+ System
- Building Effective Management for Key Ecosystems
Mainstreaming Natural Capital in Guyana’s National Development Strategies and Plans
The fertile soil, fresh air, clean water, lush rainforest and diverse animal life all belong to what we call our “natural capital.” Our natural capital enables us to eat, live and be healthy and prosperous. We must make sure we don’t go into debt by using more capital that we can maintain or grow – or else face bankruptcy.
CI-Guyana works with the government towards integrating the value of natural capital in national development strategies and programs, including promoting participation from all sectors, improving natural resource management knowledge and skills and mainstreaming natural capital into the national accounts. This way we’ll ensure that we always have good credit!
Developing Sustainable Landscape Models for Local and Regional Development
Who knows what’s best for a community than its members? CI-Guyana believes in community-based conservation. That’s why we’re working with the government and indigenous communities to strengthen local land management and conservation. Communities bring their time-tested wisdom and we bring evidence based best practice landscape models. Together we can transform regional development planning for the better!
Building a Sustainable National REDD+ System
When a forest is lost anywhere, people feel it everywhere. If Guyana’s forests were cleared, hundreds of millions of tons of carbon would enter the atmosphere, creating a climate catastrophe. Through the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) System, Guyana gets financial support to preserve her pristine rainforest which is good for Guyana – and good for the world.
CI-Guyana helps Guyana maintain REDD+ by creating benefit-sharing arrangements for local and indigenous communities, strengthening local sustainable forest management capacity, supporting the institutionalization of an effective Monitoring, Reporting and Verification System and piloting a natural capital accounting project.
Building Effective Management for Key Ecosystems
CI’s relationship with Guyana began back in 1989 and part of our core mandate back then was to help Guyana establish a national system of protected areas. Protected areas have legal and other support to help conserve the areas’ natural environments. This can mean the difference between species surviving or not.
We are working towards increasing the number of protected areas in Guyana as well as supporting management systems for protected areas, including the Protected Area Trust. Through this new expansion, we will be helping to preserve Guyana’s coast and freshwater sources by providing support to regional coastal planning and development agencies.