Guyana
All about the Guyana-EU Voluntary Partnership Agreement
Forests cover 87% of Guyana’s total land area of 21.1 million hectares and they make an important contribution to the economy, providing jobs and livelihoods. The Government own 86% of the forests, while indigenous peoples own 14% of the land. In 2014, the annual deforestation rate was estimated to be 0.065%. Most deforestation is attributed to mining for gold and bauxite, which represents 60% of Guyana’s exports. Mining accounted for 87% of deforestation in 2014.
Javier Bernal Revert, EFI
The EU and Guyana sign an agreement on sustainable trade of legal timber
On 15 December, the EU and the Government of Guyana signed a trade agreement to promote sustainable trade of legal timber to the EU. The signing of this deal, known as a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT), took place at the 15 Biodiversity COP in Montreal.