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.
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.