Georgetown : Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh disclosed that Government, having qualified and received three tranches of disbursement under the Norwegian agreement, has spent $1.67 Billion of the Guyana REDD + Investment Fund (GRIF),committed to Guyana as compensation for forest services.
The expenditure in 2013 from the GRIF was $833 million, and in 2012, it was $839, bringing the cumulative expenditure on GRIF projects to a total of $1.67Billion to date.
Minister Singh, speaking at a press conference at the Finance Ministry’s boardroom, Main Street, explained that there is an instructional mechanism that is in place for the administering of the funds.
“Currently we are doing institutional strengthening, and capacity building with climate change agencies…with the IDB,” Dr. Singh said.
In November 2009, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Guyana and Norway for the provision of up to US$250M by 2015 for avoided deforestation, once certain performance indicators are met.
Minister Singh further stated that once the country is qualified, the funds are disbursed into a trust fund at the World Bank, and then, once specific projects in line with the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) are approved, funds are transferred into the GRIF to the donor partner. The United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) are the partners.
Some of the projects currently in execution are Strengthening and Capacity Building for agencies which are involved in climate change matters which include the Guyana Forestry Commission, the Environmental and Protection Agency, and the Office of Climate Change. Other projects include the Small and Medium Size Enterprise and the Amerindian Development Fund.
This agreement represents the first international commitment of financial support to the LCDS, and was the first partnership of its kind between a developed and developing country. The payments are made based on performance reported by Guyana in the Annual Progress Reports.
You must be logged in to post a comment.