Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698071025691.pdf (Guyana)
STA.TE PA.PER ON POLICY OJ UTILISDIO rHE ., POLICY ON UTILISING !HE F0m;$T RT!SOURCES INTROOOCTION The forests of Guyana contain numerous sp�cies of timbers, the properties of which vary considerably.

The timber from these forests is, therefore, suitable for� wide range of end uses.

Some of these end uses are logs for piling ;;ind marine purposes, baulks for marine and industrial construction; lumber, scantlings and beams for house construction, and wood as a source of charcoal manufacture.
In addition to the uses to which the timber of these fo�ests can be put, the extractives derived from some species have the potential of being a base for a chemical.

industey-.

Depending upon the type and scale of production, wood using industries can vary from the relatively sirllple sawmill or veneer plant to the 111.ore complex and sophisticated industries such as plywood, particle board, · fibreboard, pulp and paper.
It is the view of the Government that the forests of Guyana need to be utilised in a manner which will lead to the developmen t of integrated forest industries and which will result in a significant contribution of the forestry �ector to the nRtional econo1D3.

2.

Up to the present time only a small proportion of our species has been exploited.
The most important timber felled and extracted has been GreenheB.rt (Ocotea rodiaei) and although its volume, in relation to the other species being cut has been decreasing over the ye�rs, it none­ theless still represents approxim�tely 50% of the total from the forest.

volume of removals 3.The rights to obtain fore�t produce from the State Forests have been obtained in two ways, namely, -by granting a State Forest Pennission or a State Forest Lease.
Pennissions are usually given to the small logger to enable him to cut and remove a quantity of logs (50 -100) over a given period of time (3 - 6 months).

4.The grant of a lease, however, confers upon the holder the exclusive rights to all the toreet piioduce o..-er a speoified area Within the State Forests for a period of time.

The extent of J oases have varied from 3,000 acres to over 700,(X)(} acree and their duration from 3 to 21 years.

2/ •••• 2.

S.Government.


has been considari.ng the present s�m of granting leases and feels that it does not cone ti tute the best w5.7 o£ a.\'.

'.hievi.ng the objectives of present day Fol"P,st M�na.gement.

This Paper examines the objectives of Forest Management and the present leasing system, and makes recommendations for changes in ordertD ensure better utilisati'On of the forest resources in Guyana.

6.
6.

In considerl.ng the aims of a Forest Management policy the forest itself should be looked at in relation to the nRtional requirement.

Forests can be created or exploited to meet the demands for certain goods and services by mankind.

Throughout the world forests perform many valuable and important roles.
Some of these are: (i) they are a renewable resource which can be maintained in perpetuity; (ii)they yield a wide range of valuable commodities which differ in their properties and the uses to which they may be put; ( iii)they provide raw materials for industries which can be very simple or complex demand and therefore various kinds of skills and different intensitie s of capital and labour; (iv)they provide more employment opportunitie s for each unit of capital employed when compared with many other sectors of an economy; (v) thEl,Y' help to r0gt1late and maintain wator supply and qu�ity; (vi) they provide food anc'l shelter for wildlife; ( vii) they protect crops and animals from the harmful effects of wind; (viii)they stabilise the soil and reduce erosion in areas; surrounding (ix) they ameliorate soil conditions; (x) they provide recreational facilities; 3/ •••• 3, (xi) they hel.p.to stabilise rural.
COl1lfflllllities and help to prevent the drift of population tram ru.raJ.

to urban areas J (xii) the forest ecosystem absorbs noise and heat.

It also acts as a climatic buffer in many areas of the world and generates oxygen essential to life itself'.

AIMS OF FOREST MANAGEHENT IN GUYANA 7.

In Guyana the aims of Forest Management should � as follows,­ (i)to determine those areas which need a p�t,ective .

cover of forests in order to prevent erosion or the .
destruction of a.gricu_l tural crops; (ii)to select areas of forests now which a.l'e of Scen �c value and are suitable for recreational v,irposes.

It is to be noted that the popul�tion of Guyana might more than double itself by the yeR.r 2000.

As 1,ndustrialisation proceeds a�ace, the demand t�� recreational forests will increase.

Oovermnent1e desire to mBke Guyanese aware of their environmen�, especially those areas away from the coast, will be .fulfilled.

In addition there will be a saving in .


:f'oreigrt exchange if travel to foreign lands for the purposes� holiday were to be reduced and persons were encouraged to spend part of their leisure time in forest are�s or nat�onal parics; (iii)to provide access to forest areas.
This will involve the establishment of a n�tional forest road system of primA.ry forest roads; (iv)to identify areas of natural forests which should be reserved and within which exploitation and removal of forest produce should be prohibited.

Such fore�ts are to be left for scientific enquiry and are to be used as a means of comparison with other areas in "Which conversion to other types of forests has ta.ken place; � .... 4.

( v)to provide a suitable hA.bi.


tat in which wildl.if� can exist; (vi)to provide the goods, from the forest areas set aside for production, which the community neede; (vii)to regulate the supply of wood raw material in order to sustain forest industries, to meet the d9'1\ands of society on a continuing basis and to mitintain · stability of employment for forest workers.
eatisfy- ing the needs of the community for forest products will lead to import savings and foreign excn,ange earnings; (viii)to utilise as many species as possible and thue in­ crease the yield per acre of wood removed from �e forest.

8.

When the areas for recreation, amenity, preservation of wild­ life protection have been identified then the remaining areas within the forest ostate �re those in which commercial exploitation will take place.
There will be need to forecast the futur., demand for different types of forest products, to assess the ability of the forest to provide the raw materials that are required, to safeguard future supplies and to ensure that exploitation does not impair the edte and thus render it incapable of producing agri.culturAJ.

or forest crops economicaJ.ly.

When these factors are known then the decisions can be taken on what volumes should be removed, from what areas and the manner in which they should be removed.
A well-thought out land use JX)licy should identify those areas suitable for agri.culture and those to be permanently dedicated to forestry.

The allocP.tion and the e.xploitA.tion of the resource can �hen be prescri.bed.

9.
9.

The disadvantages of the present lGase system are as follows:­ (i)forests have been creamed of the most valuable species leaving other less valuable though useful species behind; (ii)the pattern of �..xploitation has been erratic and has been carried out at the discretion of log�ers and lessees; 5/ •••• s. {iii) t.he grant or large tracts of land under woodcutting leas�s.

combined with the practice of sel..ective felling prohibits the complete utilisation of the resources.

For eJmlllple, from.


19$4 �nwards investors in consider,­ ing suitable areas for a pulp mill or an integrated .
wood utilisation complex excluded from their consider-, _ation timber lands in the BRrtica tr.tangl.� since these were already encumbered; (iv) whe't'eby the 'land share• system has been practised ;payment _has been made by a logger to a lessee fol' the right to obtain t1.mber from the lease even though 'Ml.e lessee might not have been exploiting that particul� species or even working the leaseJ (v)lands within a lease,suitable for agriculture, cannot be effectively utilised without undergoing the' laborious process of having such lands exci.sed and in some cises subject to the opposition of the lessee; (vi) suitalil.e plant sites required by other industrialist.a but w1 thin a lease 8rea, are not readily acquired even wben such sites are not beneficially occupied; (vii) in sone cases only the best logs of the most valuable species have been extracted R!ld areas of marketable timbers have been left betweeri and within leases and usable timber has been left standing in the fonn of partly defective trees.
Such timber becomes uneconomic to extract subsequently because of the high costs of extraction in its more isolated location; (viii)the most important decisions in Forest Management, namely what coupes �re to be logged; what species are to be logged and what volumes a.re to be removed are left to the lessees who, not unexpectedly, practise the method of exploitation which is the most profitable to themselves.

10.
10.

Since the forests should be avBil:,ible for the inh:1bitants to enjoy if they so desire, �nd since the resources should be exploited in 6/ •.•• in as :rational a manner as possible , there appea.rs to be no advantage in 6. granting exclusive rights to persons to obtain forest produce within the State Forests if the existing methods of expl.oitation continue.
What is required in the present state of development is .f1.exi.bility so that all those capable of utilising tho resource over a given area Will be allowed to do so under certain condition s. Further, with tho advance of technology, it is reasomible to expect that with increased utilisation sm,u.ler areas of forest will yield greater volumes of wood than obtains at th� moment.
The grant of a fixed area over a period of time does not take int.o account technologic�l ohanges and presumes th�t the p�tteni of exploitP..tion remains unaltered.

The lease system has, therefore, outlived its usefulness.

REC01MEND/\TIONS 11.It is proposed, therefore, that the system of granting leases should be abolished, Md should be replacea with a Timber SP..les �reem.ent between seller and purchaser govern­ setting out the tenns and conditions ing such a sale.
The following points should be embodied in the Ag:reement:- (i)an investor in the for2st industry must have �vailable supplies of wood for his operation at reasonable prices and for a period of time in order for him to amortize his investment and to obtain a re�sonable re�urn therefro m; (ii)a quota should be established for the withdrawal of by timber operators over a reasonable forest produce period of time a.nn the volume of wood to be removed annually should be netennined.
If this quota is not met, then it should be reduced subsequently; (iii)for each person an area should be set aside from which a supply of logs will be obtained; (iv) the size of B.rea and period of supply will depend on scale of inve�tment, quantity and capacity of equip­ ment and machinery nnd the n�tu� of the forest, that is, the �r,acking, sizes of trees, quality of logs, volumes anti distribution of merchantable trees; type of terrain and accessibility; 7/ •••• 1.

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the State should have the rlgbt to pemi t other parties · , - �.

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te> obtain forest pl'Oduce w1 thin the �-e general .�a .. .

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pl'Qvided they do not intert�re with each other•�· ii _'1[) r · .. ope��ions or damage each other's installations et��· 1 · .,�·1,·.··· ' �.--- .

'J .. · , For example, a pulpwood opera.tor should be allowed to ,·.

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,r'j"•" • .. ·:,, � !l,· •""t ··_, .. [, ' .i.. f remove pulpwood in advance ot or subsequent to a n.v,,.

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log operator or a logger should be al.lowed to cut and 1'8lll0Ve species not being utilised by' the presf'n�tffl.

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f • · .. • ' ,: ': �) ,1" r , (�) ,it ip<llatrj.al sites an required with in the State· '-- S·�.,} ,..-� ·.

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t::, ": .. Fo.reata, then � rental sh:>uld be paid thereto;J �.

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�: :�·::: °i' ( vii)•stumpage" rates for the raw material should be J, ., ,, .... .. :· 3. :- r,·.

· established and provision should be 11\8.de tor re'n.elr · 1 of such rates.

STtJ,lPA.OE 12.
STtJ,lPA.OE 12.

Stumpage is the price at which the forest owner sells the re.v f'•' ·� • • ;-' l ., • � material -to the .�r,_ ..

It i� important that stumi,age re.tea should be .,· ' .

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.. ,: .. realisti� :tn that tpe o,�er should �ceive a .tair reward for his produce, .l ', • I ' and tb:J.·b ·::here should be.

no disincentive to investment to forest indust.

'17 developmnnt .. 130 lbreover, it is proposed that the State shall establish and rr.alnta:1..n a"l acsquate nei.t,ionaJ.
forest road system.

If, however, roads are ·bullt hy ::.ms party then arry other person should be allowed to use such •, road llilrtAr cei-rtain tezt;1i:; and conditions laid down by the State.
Whether prl.riar,y forest roads are built by timber operatora or by contra.ctora, suoh roads should be lo:la-ted on the ground and they should be buil t in .crocorda..>1ca td th minimutr1 standards and specifications laid down by' the Stateo r;e a forest road ia built by the State, then a timber opa'ator will pay a fee for the use of' that part of the road which is situate within the area he exploits.

Such a fee will cover part ot the conatruction and tn.

?.in-�;e..ance costs.


Ii'.� however, a toreat road is constructed and ma.j_n·cined by a tiaber operator, then reasonable aoete therefor will be taken into comlideretion �- �' dete--tion ot atuapage tor that particular operator.

a.

14.

The fee for the use of a primary forest road will be determined according to:-(a.)

the �u�tity of wood that it is estimated will be transported over .such· road and · (b) the cost of construction and maintenan� of :shch road amortized over a reasonable p er.Lo d of time.
CONCWSION 15, The new policy on utilising the.Forest resources, as out- lined above, in order to ensur� greater development and make a more significant contribution to the national economy is based on the following1- i) General aims of Forest Management PolicyJ ii)Aims of Forest Management in Guy anaJ · iii)Establishment of a Timber Sales Agreement between Seller and Purchaser setting out · tenns and conditions of saleJ and :hr) Establishment of a national forest road system and a fee for use of roads on clearly defined terms and conditions.