Institutional Strengthening

Institutional Strengthening Phase 1

Project Timeline

Quick Facts

Total Project Budget: US$ 5 Million

Partner Entity: 

Implementing Agencies: Office of Climate Change and the Guyana Forestry Commission

Project Background and Summary

The overall objective of the Institutional Strengthening in Support of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) project is to further enhance national institutional capacity in Guyana to address the impacts of climate change through the effective implementation of the LCDS, and to assist Guyana in meeting its commitments under interim Reducing Emissions from Deforestation, forest Degradation and sustainable forest management (REDD+) partnerships. These commitments include avoided deforestation measures that translate into the avoidance of CO2 emissions. The specific objectives of the project are: (i) to strengthen the technical and administrative capacity of the principal institutions responsible for implementing Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy, namely the Office of Climate Change (OCC), the Project Management Office (PMO) and the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC); and (ii) develop and implement a Monitoring Reporting and Verification System on a national level.

Status Update

The following has been achieved under the project thus far:

• 143 communication and outreach sessions conducted on climate change, LCDS and REDD+
• 5 GRIF funded projects in implementation worth approx. US$ 34.9 million; 3 GRIF projects completed/closed worth approx. US$ 3.4 million; 6 GRIF projects in the pipeline worth approx. US$ 64.2 million.
• Development and implementation of a mechanism for a national scale Monitoring, Reporting and Verification System
  • Methodologies for determining the extent and scale of forest degradation were developed and digital database of archived satellite data and national spatial data sets was established
  • Historical and current drivers and processes affecting forest carbon levels were assessed and implementation plans for long term measurements and monitoring of national forest carbon stocks were developed
• 8 Technical Staff within the REDD+ Secretariat trained in the area of forest carbon stocks and change assessments
• 14 field staff of the REDD+ Secretariat trained in forest carbon monitoring systems
• 6 staff within the REDD+ Secretariat trained in GIS and Remote Sensing
• Multiple reports completed by the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), including: Assessment Report in Current Drivers and Processes Affecting Forest Carbon, Report on Independent Forest Monitoring, MRVS Interim Measures Report for Year 3, Report on Identification of Non-Carbon Ecosystem Services for Integration into Guyana’s National MRVS Assessment, Report on Shifting Agriculture, Report on Assessment of Requirements of a Monitoring System for Carbon as well as Non-Carbon Variables
• Consultancy conducting institutional diagnostic of the Environmental Protection Agency ongoing
• Strategy for a national scale Opt-in Mechanism completed. The Opt-in Mechanism is an innovative approach intended to help Guyana’s indigenous people, the Amerindians, to “opt-in” to the national REDD+ mechanism and receive a pro rata share of Guyana’s REDD+ payments under the country’s partnership with Norway. Indigenous communities that choose to “opt-in” will essentially be committing their forests to a REDD+ Agreement with the Government of Guyana and, in return, will receive payments which will be allocated to further the development of indigenous communities through a sharing of the results based payments earned by Guyana).
• Contract signed with “Development Policy and Management Consultants” to develop a revised National Opt-In Mechanism and conduct a pilot process.

 

Documents/Attachments

• Institutional Strengthening Project Document
• IDB Request for approval
• Approval of Institutional Strengthening project concept note
• Approval of Institutional Strengthening Project Document

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Low Carbon Development Strategy