GUYANAGUYANA
Clathrotropis brachypetala (aromata). Seasonal
forests have a lower canopy and include deciduoustrees; they are found in the North Rupununi andupper Berbice areas. Dry evergreen forests occupy
belts of leached white sands and are also foundthroughout the Pakaraima mountains (ITTO2006).

Forest resources
In 2010 the estimated population of Guyana
was 761 000 people (United Nations Population
Division 2010) and the country is ranked 114th outof 182 countries in UNDP’s Human Development
Index (UNDP 2009). It has a very humid climate
and can be divided into four biogeographical zones:
the narrow coastal plain; the ‘rolling hills’ – anextensive, forested area with sandy acid infertile
soils reaching 90 m above sea level; a Precambrianlowland region of tropical rainforest; and, bordering
Venezuela and Brazil, the Pakaraima mountains, aforested sandstone plateau 1000 m or more above
sea level. FAO (2010) estimated that Guyana had
15.2 million hectares of natural forest in 2010,
which is 71% of the total land area (21.5 million
hectares). Guyana has an estimated 39 600 hectaresof mangroves, the largest tracts of which are in thenorthern half of the country (Spalding et al. 2010).
Forest types. The Government of Guyana
recognizes the following forest types: dry evergreen
forest, marsh forest; montane forest; swamp
forest mangrove forest; and mixed forest.a The
composition of the forest changes considerablyfrom north to south and reflects varied topographic
and geological conditions. Mixed forest is the mostcommon type and the most important source oftimber; common species include Mora gonggrijpii(morabukea), Chlorocardium rodiei (greenheart),
Vouacapoua macropetala (sarabebeballi) andPermanent forest estate. About 13.6 million
hectares have been classified as state foresta,
although FAO (2010) estimated that the actualarea of this estate is 12.2 million hectares. About
6.85 million hectares of state forest is allocatedto commercial use and 1.11 million hectares toresearch and protection.b The remaining state
forest land, mainly in the south of the country,
is unallocated; a lack of ready access and long
distances to market make the commercial
harvesting of these forests economically infeasible
at present. Gazetted state forest is strictly allocatedfor production, harvesting, biodiversity and research
and will not or is not converted in anyway to
non-forested uses.a Therefore, all state forest may be
regarded as part of the PFE (Table 1).
Agricultural leases may be issued by the Guyana
Lands and Surveys Commission for areas outsidestate forest. If an agricultural lease overlaps withareas within state forest the lessee must apply to the
Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) prior to any
removal of timber.b

Forest ecosystem healthDeforestation and forest degradation. Most of
Guyana’s forests are still intact, unexploited andnot threatened by the expansion of agriculture,
although more than half of the forest estate has
been categorized as ‘naturally regenerating’ (Table2). In its submission for this report the Governmentof Guyana did not report the area of forest affectedby mining, slash-and-burn agriculture or fire.a
The total area of forest formally converted toagriculture to 2009 was 25 121 hectares. FAO(2010) estimated the deforestation rate in Guyana
in the period 2005–10 at 0%. According to a recent
study (GFC & Pöyry Forest Industry 2010), thedeforestation rate for the period 1990–2009 was
0.02% per year, increasing to 0.06% in 2010.

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STATUS OF TROPICAL FOREST MANAGEMENT 2011

Table 1 Permanent forest estate
Reportingyear

Estimatedtotal forest
area, range(million ha)

Total closed
natural forest(’000 ha)

2005*
2010

16.9
15.2–20.5

16 916
13 600*****‡†

PFE (’000 hectares)
Production
Protection
NaturalPlanted

Total

5450
11 090‡6442
12 212†

12
12a

980
1110

As reported in ITTO (2006).
Calculated using the ratio of forest with greater than 60% forest cover estimated by UNEP-WCMC (2010) (89.2%) and the total
natural forest area estimated by FAO (2010).
Includes that part of the Iwokrama forest allocated for production. Also includes 4.24 million hectares of state forest currently
unallocated to either production or protection.
Includes forest on Amerindian lands within the state forest estate but excludes forest on private property.

Table 2 Forest condition
PFE

Non-PFE

Total’000 haArea of primary forest
Area of degraded primary forest
Area of secondary forest
Area of degraded forest land

-

-

6790
0
8415*
0

*
‘Other naturally regenerating forest’.
Source: FAO (2010).

Vulnerability of forests to climate change.
The mean annual temperature is projected toincrease by 0.9–3.3 °C by the 2060s (McSweeney
et al. undated). All climate-change projections
indicate substantial increases in the frequency ofdays and nights that are considered hot in thecurrent climate. This will affect forest growth andincrease the vulnerability of forest ecosystems.
Guyana’s low-lying coastal plains are vulnerable
to sea-level rises that may occur due to the effects
of global warming (ibid.). In its submission to the
UNFCCC, Guyana completed a vulnerability andadaptation assessment, the first step towards theformulation of a climate-change adaptation strategy
for Guyana. The first draft of the Low Carbon
Development Strategy was published in June2009 and the third draft in May 2010, outlining
a comprehensive approach to fostering Guyana’s
development while combating climate change(Office of the President 2010).

SFM policy framework
Forest tenure. The bulk of Guyana’s forests isowned by the state (Table 3). Under the Forest
Law and national forest policy, the ownership of allforest resources, except those on private property
and Amerindian (Indigenous) Lands, are vested

320

in the state. About 1.31 million hectares of forest
has been formally gazetted as Amerindian lands.
State Lands, formerly called Crown Lands, arecontrolled by the Commissioner of Lands andSurveys. The GFC, the Guyana Geology and Mines
Commission (GGMC) and the Lands and Surveys
Department administer, respectively, land that isused for forestry, mining and agriculture. Each ofthese three government agencies may issue titles
for different purposes over the same land (National
Development Strategy Secretariat 2000).
Criteria and indicators. Guyana was a participant
in the development of the Tarapoto C&I, which
was coordinated by the Amazon Cooperation Treaty
Organization. In 2001 the GFC reviewed both theTarapoto and ITTO C&I in the development of
a new national forest plan. The submission of theGovernment of Guyana to ITTO for this report
was in the ITTO C&I reporting format.a
Forest policy and legislation. The overall objectiveof Guyana’s national forest policy, as set out inits 1997 National Forest Policy Statement, is“the conservation, protection, management andutilisation of the nation’s forest resources, while
ensuring that the productive capacity of the forests
for both goods and services is maintained orenhanced”.a

GUYANA

Table 3 Forest area, by tenure
Ownership category
State ownership (national, state orprovincial government)
Other public entities (e.g.
municipalities, villages)
Total public
Owned by local communities and/orIndigenous groups
Privately owned by individuals, firms,
other  corporate
Total

Total area Of which PFE Notes’000 ha12 200

12 2000-

12 200
1307

-

1676

-

2983

-

Managed by the GFC.

Gazetted Amerindian lands.
Amerindian areas that have not been gazetted; agriculturalleases; transported properties*; etc.

*

Privately owned. The owner of a transported property theoretically owns the land from the centre of the earth to the sky above
subject to government interests (e.g. airplanes flying overhead, minerals, etc).
Source: ITTO estimate based on data in Government of Guyana (2009) and FAO (2010).

The specific objectives are to:•Promote sustainable and efficient forest
activities which utilize the broad range of forest
resources and contribute to national
development while allowing fair returns to local
and foreign entrepreneurs and investors.

•

Achieve improved sustainable forest resourceyields while ensuring the conservation of
ecosystems, biodiversity and the environment.

•

Ensure watershed protection and rehabilitationby preventing and arresting the erosion of soils
and the degradation of forests, grazing lands,
soil and water; promoting natural regeneration,afforestation and reforestation; and protecting
the forest against fire, pests and other hazards.

The policy was prepared over two years through aprocess of broad consultation with sector interest
groups and was formally approved by Cabinet in
October 1997. It recognizes that there have beenchanges in Guyana’s economic, social and politicalenvironment over the nearly 50 years since theprevious forest policy was published. It marks asignificant shift in emphasis from the developmentof the timber resources to a broader approach to
management for multiple goods and services for thenational benefit.
The Forest Act – Chapter 67.01 of the Laws ofGuyana – governed the administration of Guyana’s
forests from 1953 to January 2009, when the
Parliament passed the Forest Bill (2009). As of
October 2009, however, this Bill was still awaiting
assent by the President of Guyana. When it comes
into effect it will repeal Law 67.01 (and others)
and is designed to “consolidate and amend the law

relating to forests”. Specifically, it sets out to providefor:•

The sustainable forest management of state
forests.

•

The protection and conservation of forests(excluding the Iwokrama forest, Kaieteur
National Park, and any other area designated asa conservation area, all of which are dealt with
under other laws).

•

The regulation of forest operations and activities
relating to forest produce and quality control forvalue-added forest produce, having regard to
Guyana’s international legal obligations.

Features of the Forest Bill (2009) include thefollowing:•

Before granting or renewing any concession overan area of state forest 8097 hectares or smaller,
the GFC shall– by public notice invite applications for aconcession over the area and notify thelocations where the relevant documents
may be inspected or bought–•

provide any other publicity that the GFC
considers necessary to bring the invitation
to the attention of persons likely to beinterested in obtaining a concession over
the area.

The GFC shall make available for inspection atits offices and for sale at a reasonable pricecopies of all documents in its possession
concerning the forest produce and other featuresof the area that the GFC considers relevant to
the preparation of applications.

321

STATUS OF TROPICAL FOREST MANAGEMENT 2011•

A consolidated effort towards maintaining
environmental integrity and social development
in communities by using relevant sections ofboth the Amerindian Act (2006) and theEnvironmental Protection Act (1996). Specificprovisions are made for community forest
management and extractive and primaryprocessing forest operations.

•

Recognition of the importance of ensuring
sustainability in forest resource use. Part 2 of
the Bill deals with SFM, recognizing that theminister has overall directive input on all
activities.

•

Forest concession agreements are streamlinedwith specific size classes. More importantly, thesystem for granting and renewing these
agreements is systematic and transparent inkeeping with international best practices.

•

A proposal to make mandatory the submissionof annual and management plans by larger
concessions, and a further stipulation that all
harvesting activities are to be carried out incompliance with approved plans.

•

Allowance for competitive bidding in forest area
allocation in the event of multiple applications,
thereby improving transparency in the process.

•

It provides communities with a clear means ofacquiring and securing rights to manage forest
areas and of benefiting from their local forest
while ensuring sustainability, stimulating
income generation and fostering environmental
stability.

•

•

•

•

It addresses areas such as afforestation,
occupational health and safety, forest
conservation, the maintenance of soil and water
quality, and the preservation of biologicaldiversity.
It guards against pricing below the true market
value. The GFC and the Forest Products andMarketing Council of Guyana (FPDMC) advise
stakeholders on prevailing market prices.
The clauses on forest offences and the appeals
which may be made are also strengthened toreflect more severe penalties for abuse of power,
negligence and misconduct.
It allows for the more efficient and optimal useof Guyana’s state forest resources bystrengthening the revenue system. This is done322

by creating a more efficient revenue structure
which seeks to capture area management fees,
fees for the standing stock of timber, an
incentive to encourage SFM, and other related
charges. The Bill provides for these monies to be
paid over to the Consolidated andContingencies Fund.
•

It provides a robust mechanism for theauthorization of state forest leases in cases of achange in ownership and effective control.

Institutions involved in forests. The GFC
was created in 1979 under the GFC Act 67:02.
In 2008 a new law, the GFC Act 2007, waspassed by Parliament to “repeal and replace
the Guyana Forestry Commission Act 1979,
re-establish the Guyana Forestry Commission,and provide for incidental matters”. The GFC isa semi-autonomous public agency with the aimof encouraging the development and growth offorestry in Guyana on a sustainable basis. Amongother things it advises the Minister of Agriculture
on and carries out forest policy, and administers
the Forests Act, including by carrying out theCommission’s functions under that Act andcollecting and recovering all fees, charges, levies,
premiums, fines, penalties, costs, expenses, andother monies payable under the Act.
The GFC is also mandated to:•

Prepare plans, codes of practice and guidelines
for the conservation and management of forests.

•

Research, collate, analyse, prepare anddisseminate data, statistics and otherinformation about forests and all aspects offorestry, including forest ecology and the use offorest produce.

•

Make forest inventories.

•

Provide or facilitate education and training inforestry and forestry-related jobs.

•

Provide forestry extension services and give
advice to persons and communities interested or
involved in forestry.

•

Provide an inspection, certification andaccreditation service for quality control of forest
produce.

•

Represent the Government in regional andinternational forestry meetings and negotiations,and in relation to Guyana’s international
obligations concerning forestry.

GUYANAThe GFC is a member of the Cabinet
Sub-Committee on Natural Resources andEnvironment. This body, comprising policy andtechnical representatives, provides guidance andtechnical support to Cabinet. Its work is supportedby the Natural Resources and Environment
Advisory Committee, which is chaired by thePrime Minister and coordinated by the Adviser
to the President on Sustainable Development.
In 2010, 260 people were employed in publicforest institutions, including 60 with university
degrees or an equivalent qualification. Total public
expenditure in the forest sector in 2010 was 500
million Guyanese dollars.b
At the operational level, the GFC works in close
collaboration with the FPDMC and the Forestry
Training Centre. The Minister of Agriculture has
established a Technical Committee comprising
the GFC and the Forest Producers Association(FPA) and a Ministerial Committee comprising
the GFC, the FPA and the Guyana Manufacturing
and Services Association as part of efforts to fostera closer working relationship with the private sector
and industry stakeholders. These fora allow open
dialogue and act as problem-solving mechanisms
for issues related to natural resource management,
including in areas of harvesting, forest industry andexport regulations.
One forest producers’ association and a numberof smaller, community-based loggers’ associations
represent loggers and sawmillers in the forest sector
and endeavour to ensure collaboration in activities
such as training, information, public awareness andinstitutional development. National environmental
NGOs are weak, but international environmentalorganizations are assuming independent roles inforest control and information-sharing, partly incollaboration with the forest administration.

exploratory permits (see below) or if they are for‘forest conservation operations’, which are definedby the Bill as the preservation of forests for the
purpose of carbon sequestration or any otherform of environmental service1; the conservationof biological diversity; or ecotourism. Forest
operations under these larger concessions can only
be carried out after the GFC has approved a forest
management plan of at least five years’ duration andan annual operations plan for the concession area.
Exploratory permits may be granted under theBill for exploratory operations within a specified
area of state forest with a view to later applying fora concession in the area. The Bill does not statea limit on the size of the forest area that may beallocated under such permits. The Bill also specifies
the parameters of community forest managementagreements.
In its submission to ITTO, the Government of
Guyana reported forest use on the basis of theForest Act (1953), since the Forest Bill (2009) was
yet to come into effect.a Under the Forest Act,
forest harvesting permits are allocated according to
the following three categories:•

Timber sales agreements (TSAs): concessions are
granted on a lease of 20 years or more over an
area of 24 000 hectares or more. As of June
2010, 25 TSAs had been allocated to local andinternational companies covering an area of
4.53 million hectares ( 47.7% of all state
forest).a The average size of a TSA is 75 000
hectares (ranging from 50 000 to 100 000
hectares), and companies may hold more than
one TSA at a time.

•

Wood cutting leases (WCLs): licences are granted
on 3–10-year leases for areas of 8000–24 281
hectares. As of June 2010, there were twolicences covering a total area of about 30 500
hectares.a•State forest permits (SFPs): cutting permits are
granted on an annual basis for areas of state
forest up to 8094 hectares in size. SFPs are
generally issued to small-scale operators; 386
permits covering a total area of 1.35 million
hectares were allocated as of June 2010 (14.2%

Status of forest management
Forest for production
The Forest Bill (2009) makes significant changes tothe allocation of state forest for harvesting. Under
the Bill, the GFC may grant forest concessions
up to 8097 hectares in size for the harvesting offorest produce, including timber. Concessions
may be larger on application by holders of

1 This provision is designed to allow conservation organizations to pay anamount equivalent to that which would have been paid for commercial
harvesting rights for the exclusion of timber harvesting from particularforest areas.

323

STATUS OF TROPICAL FOREST MANAGEMENT 2011of all commercial allocations).a,b There are also
permits called 'SFPs in conversion'.2•

State forest exploratory permits: before a WCL ora TSA is issued, a three-year exploratory permit
may be granted to allow the collection of
information for the preparation of aninvestment proposal, an environmental andsocial impact assessment, and a forest
management plan. In June 2010, six
exploratory permits covering an area of
797 000 hectares were in effect.a

In 1998 the GFC introduced the Code ofPractice for Timber Harvesting based on FAO’s
Model Code of Forest Practice. The Code, which
was revised in 2002 (GFC 2002), prescribesinternationally accepted standards for exclusionareas and buffer zones, 100% pre-harvest inventory,road construction, felling, skidding, trucking,operational and camp hygiene, and occupational
health and safety. Besides exclusion areas andbuffer zones, the Code restricts logging on slopes
greater than 40% and sets a minimum distance of
10 m between harvest trees to minimize the size of
canopy openings.
The Code of Practice for Timber Harvesting
is not prescribed under the Forest Bill (2009).
Instead, the Bill specifies that the GFC “may at
any time submit to the Minister a proposed codeof practice to regulate any class or description offorest operations”. Such a code, if adopted by theminister, must then be adhered to during forest
operations.
Guyana’s forests are characterized by a
predominance of relatively slow-growing,high-density timber species and smaller trees
compared with most other tropical regions due tothe inherently low fertility of soils derived from theancient Guiana Shield. Commercial timber occurs
in spatially segregated ‘reefs’ or stands in which one
or two commercial species dominate. Nevertheless,a large proportion of the commercial stock in thesestands is defective (hollow or crooked), possibly
due to the poor nutrient status of the soils anda very low rate of natural disturbance (which
2 These are areas exceeding 24 000 hectares that were previously issued
as SFPs. These concessions are being regularized and some are being
converted to the larger-sized category (TSAs) while others are being
reduced to the smaller category (SFPs). The use of these areas is forsustainable production.  The word ‘conversion’ therefore does not referto land use but to a process of recategorization. These areas were notincluded in the figures provided for TSAs or SFPs.

324

seems to have resulted in overmature stands), andcommercially viable stands are usually separated bystands that are nearly devoid of commercial species.
Forest harvesting is, therefore, highly selective; on
average, 2–3 trees are felled per hectare, with anaverage yield of about 7 m3. The national forest
plan guidelines prescribe a cut of up to 20 m3 perhectare on a 60-year cycle. Owing to the limited
range of commonly used species, however, theextraction rate is only about half this maximum
allowable cut.
Guyana has developed principles, policies andguidelines for improved forest management andtimber harvesting practices. This is reflected in
the 1997 national forest policy as well as in forest
legislation, forest management guidelines and codesof practice. Among these guidelines are:•Code of Practice for Timber Harvesting•

Guidelines for Conducting Management-level
Inventory and 100%-level Inventory•

Guidelines for the Preparation of Forest
Management Plans and Annual Operational
Plans.

Prior to the approval of operations, large
concessions (TSAs) are required to submit to the
GFC a detailed management plan and annual
operations plan. The latter specifies, among otherthings, the forest blocks to be harvested thatyear and the volume to be extracted. Volume iscalculated based on area and felling cycle and tags
are issued accordingly. Prior to the renewal of
operations for the following year, harvested blocks
are inspected by GFC field staff to ensure adherence
to the annual operations plan.
Also stipulated in the management guidelines is therequirement that all large concessions allocate 4.5%of the total area to biodiversity conservation for thelife of the concession. A number of criteria are set
out for the selection and identification of this area:•

The area identified must be representative of thevarious vegetation types found in thatconcession and the area identified must
represent all flora and fauna found in theconcession.

•

No harvesting may take place within this area
once approved for biodiversity conservation.

•

The GFC must conduct a reconnaissance survey
to verify that the area selected is indeed

GUYANA

representative of the vegetation type(s) found in
the concession.
•

The GFC must give official approval for thisarea to be allocated to biodiversity conservation.

A national log-tracking system was established in
1999 and is based on international best practiceto ensure transparency.a It works on the groundthrough the GFC’s 26 forest stations, enablinga forest officer to track timber from the stump.
Harvesting can therefore be monitored to ensurethat the requirements established in the approvalof management plans and annual operation plans
are met. The system, further developed in recent
years with ITTO assistance, reduces the risk ofover-harvesting within a concession and helps
ensure that harvesting is carried out only in thoseareas identified and approved by the GFC for
harvesting.
The log-tracking system functions via the use of log
tags which are assigned (free of charge) to operators
at the annual renewal of their licences. Each
operator is given a unique set of tags, which arevalid only for a period determined by the GFC (twoyears for SFPs and one year for large concessions).
Half of the tag is affixed to the stump at the timeof felling and the other half, which bears the same
sequence of numbers, is affixed to the produce
being conveyed. All timber is tagged, including
logs, lumber, piles, poles and posts.
The system is currently applied to all forestry
operations in state forests and on Amerindian
reservations and private properties. All timber
legally originating in Guyana can therefore be
traced back to the stump. A bar-code system isunder development. This system of log-tagging
appears to have been accepted by the industry andhas increased the capability of the GFC to monitor
timber transactions.
Reduced impact logging techniques are promotedby the ITTO-funded Forestry Training Centre, Inc,a subsidiary of the GFC, through demonstration
forests and hands-on training. To October 2009
the Forestry Training Centre had provided training
for 1036 persons from academic institutions, forest
administration, NGOs, logging enterprises andcommunities. This figure includes 345 persons
from community-level operations, largely in
Indigenous communities, who received training in2010.bThe Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest
Conservation and Development (known as
the Iwokrama forest) is responsible for the
management, conservation and sustainable
development of almost 372 000 hectares of tropicalrainforest, which the government of Guyana
allocated as a way of demonstrating that tropicalforests can provide economic benefits while also
conserving biodiversity. Its operation has been
supported by a range of donors, including ITTO.
The GFC is coordinating a program of workon forest law enforcement and legality with thesupport of the Forest Products Development andMarketing Council, the Forestry Training Centre
Inc., and private-sector counterparts. One of theoutputs of this process has been the developmentof the Guyana Legality Assurance System (LAS)
through a process of stakeholder consultationand participation. In June 2006, Proforest (aninternational firm specializing in forest legality
systems) was contracted to assist in the development
and field-testing of an independent, transparent
and suitable timber legality verification system
for Guyana’s forest sector. The LAS complements
other efforts towards ensuring legality, suchas ongoing concession-level monitoring, thenational log-tagging and tracking system, and theimplementation of the Code of Practice for Timber
Harvesting.
A memorandum of understanding between the
Government of Guyana and the Governmentof Norway outlines a number of activities
to be undertaken in 2009–10, including theestablishment of a system for independent forest
monitoring (IFM). This will build on work alreadyunder way in Guyana and will allow for thedevelopment of a mechanism for assessing illegality
in the forest sector. It will cover all significant
drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in
Guyana and thus has direct links to a REDD+
monitoring program. The IFM is not intended
to replace the LAS, ongoing dialogue with theEuropean Union’s Forest Law Enforcement,
Governance and Trade initiative, or existing legality
procedures/systems. Instead, it will serve as anational system of legality assessment at the broader
country level, addressing relevant drivers of forestchange that are linked to forest legality/illegality
and providing a system that can be recognizedglobally. The IFM will be implemented in state
forests and Amerindian villages that opt into the325

STATUS OF TROPICAL FOREST MANAGEMENT 2011

country’s Low Carbon Development Strategy. It
will be applied to logs (roundwood, piles, poles
and posts) and lumber. It will cover all stages of
the chain of custody – harvesting, transportation,
processing and export. The initial activity in late2010 was to be a scoping mission. The GFC will
implement recommendations over a one-year
period. Thereafter, monitoring assessments will be
conducted at two-year intervals (or less).
Silviculture and species selection. The default
silvicultural system in use in Guyana is naturalregeneration with polycyclic cuts, without
post-harvest silvicultural interventions. Under theForest Act (1953), yield is regulated by a minimum
diameter limit of 34 cm, while forest management
plans for WCLs and TSAs must specify the cutting
cycle and yield per cutting cycle; they must also
indicate species for harvesting and harvesting rules.
The Forest Bill (2009) does not specify a minimum
diameter limit.
There are more than 1000 tree species in Guyanese
forests, more than 30 of which are marketed andexported to destinations in Asia, Europe, North
America and the Caribbean (Table 4 shows five of
these). Chlorocardium rodiei (greenheart), Peltogyne
venosa (purpleheart), Eperua spp (wallaba) andHymenaea courbaril (locust) are some of the species
most favoured by international markets. In the
Iwokrama forest, the second most abundant species
after greenheart is Dicorynia guianensis (wamaradan,also known as Angelique in French Guiana) (K.
Rodney, pers. comm., 2011).
Greenheart is resistant to attack by marine borers
and is highly valued, especially as piling for wharvesand for other marine applications. The ‘special’
category of timber, which includes greenheart,
purpleheart, bulletwood, red cedar, brown silverballi
and letterwood, accounted for about 35% of totallog production in 2009.b The production of piles
and chainsaw lumber is not included in thesefigures. Other important species are Goupia glabra(kabukalli), Trattinickia spp (ulu), Pouteria speciosa(suya), Aspidosperma spp (shibadan), Simarouba
amara (marupa), Carapa guianensis (crabwood) andCatostemma commune (baromalli).
Planted forest and trees outside the forest. About
12 000 hectares of planted forest, mainly Pinus
caribaea, were established in the 1960s. They wereoriginally intended to supply a pulp industry but
are now maintained as permanent sample plots326

under the management of the GFC.b No newplanted forests are being established.b FAO (2010)
reported that there were no planted forests inGuyana.
Forest certification. ITTO (2006) reported that
two concessionaires were engaged in the processof obtaining forest-management and chainof-custody certification under the FSC, while
two more had shown an interest in pursuingcertification. Currently, however, there is only one
certified forest area – the Iwokrama forest (372 000
hectares, including 184 500 of production forestsin the ‘sustainable utilization area’, FSC 2010).3
The estimated sustainable yield in Iwokrama's
sustainable utilization area is about 22 000 m3
per year (Iwokrama International Centre for Rain
Forest Research and Development 2009).
Estimate of the area of forest sustainably
managed for production. Table 5 shows thatthe total size of the production PFE and the area
allocated to concessions or otherwise under licencehave both increased compared with 2005. Guyana
is making good progress towards SFM and thelog-tracking system has added transparency to thesystem. The Government of Guyanab reported that“all concession harvesting activities are managed
in keeping with sustainable forest management
principles … There is overall compliance with
GFC principles and management practices acrossissued concessions. GFC has 26 field stations
as well as mobile stations that monitor forest
operations. Additionally, routine monitoringand environmental audits are conducted to testcompliance with set principles and practices.
These have overall indicated positive results
and compliance.” On the basis of an estimate
provided by the Government of Guyana, FAO(2010) reported that the entire state forest estate(12.2 million hectares) was under sustainable
management.
In 2005, two concessionaires were working towards
the certification of their forests under the FSC
scheme. Several companies have since had someexperience with certification (K. Rodney, pers.
comm., July 2010):•

Barama Co. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiaryof Samling Global Limited with concessions

3 The Iwokrama forest was the second Guyanese forest to be certified.
The Barama concession was the first, but lost its certificate following an
FSC audit (K. Rodney, pers. comm., 2011).

GUYANA

Table 4 Commonly harvested species for industrial roundwood
Species

Notes

Peltogyne venosa (purpleheart)

Used mainly in high-end internal construction applications and for
furniture and components.
Used mainly for outdoor structural applications and marine works.
Used mainly for furniture, and components.
Used mainly for building construction, especially flooring.
Used mainly for heavy construction, house framing, flooring anddecking.

Chlorocardium rodiei (greenheart)*
Swartzia leiocalycina (wamara)Mora excelsa (mora)*
Goupia glabra (kabukalli)*
Also listed in ITTO (2006).
Source: Government of Guyana (2009).

Table 5 Management of the production PFE (’000 hectares)
Reporting
year

Total

Available for
harvesting

2005*
2010

5450
11 0903800
6710**,a***NaturalWith
Certifiedmanagement
plans
3730
0
4053a
184.5

Total

520

12

520

12

PlantedWith
Certifiedmanagement
plans
0
0
0

0

As reported in ITTO (2006).
Existing TSAs, WCLs and SFPs.

covering about 1.6 million hectares of forest(Barama 2010), had certification, but this has
lapsed.
•Sustainably
managedDemerara Timbers Ltd (DTL) has a chain-ofcustody certificate in compliance with a UK
government standard.

•

Variety Woods & Greenheart Limited hassought FSC certification but it is unclear how
far it has progressed.

•

Toolsie Persaud Ltd underwent a pre-assessment
audit with The Forest Trust.

•

Iwokrama’s joint venture partner (Tigerwood
Guyana Inc) has an FSC chain-of-custodycertificate.

Although Iwokrama is the only operation in
Guyana with an FSC forest-management certificate,
the strong field presence of the GFC, moves by
several companies towards certification, and thedevelopment of a trained cadre of forest operators
suggests that a significant area of the Guyana’s forest
is being managed in a way that is consistent withsustainability. At the very least it seems unlikely thatthe area under such management has declined since
the previous report.
Timber production and trade. Total industrial
log production was 299 000 m3 in 2009, downfrom 474 000 m3 in 2006 and 366 000 in 2004
(ITTO 2011). About 64 000 m3 of sawnwood were

produced in 2009, an increase over the 56 000 m3
produced in 2004 and the 50 000 m3 produced
in 1999. Plywood production, on the other hand,declined from 87 000 m3 in 1999 to 54 000 m3 in2004 and to 21 000 m3 in 2009 (ibid.).
The total export value of logs, sawnwood andplywood in 2009 was US$48.1 million, comparedwith US$38.3 million in 2004 and US$31.3
million in 1999 (ibid.). In 2009, Guyana exported
91 000 m3 of logs, 49 000 m3 of sawnwood and
17 000 m3 of plywood (ibid.).
In January 2009 the Government of Guyana
introduced a national log export policy that
increased the export commission rate on key
species used locally in value-added production.
The policy was in response to the perceived needamong various stakeholders to stimulate morevalue-added activities in Guyana, to increase the useof lesser-used species, and to ensure that domestic
downstream processors of logs receive adequate
supplies of materials. The policy has three elements:•

Raise the export commission rate from 2% to7% from January 2009, to 10% from January
2010, and to 12% in the period January–
December 2011, for logs of the following
species: purpleheart, Cedrela fissilis, C. odorata(red cedar), Piratinera guianensis (letterwood),
Manilkara bidentata (bulletwood), Bagassa
guianensis (cow wood), Diplotropis purpurea

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STATUS OF TROPICAL FOREST MANAGEMENT 2011

(tatabu), kabukalli, shibadan,
Humiria balsamifera (tauroniro), Tabebuia
serratifolia (washiba), Loxopterygium sagotii(hububalli), Dipteryx odorata (tonka bean),Hymenolobium flavum (darina), greenheart andLicaria canella (brown silverballi).
•

Raise the export commission rate from 2% to
7% in January 2009 and to 10% in the period
January 2010 to December 2011 for logs of thefollowing species: Swartzia benthamiana(itikiboroballi), Ocotea rubra (determa),
wamara, Tabebuia capitata or insignis (hakia),
mora, Parahancornia fasciculata (dukali), Ocotea
puberula (keriti silverballi), wallaba, Terminalia
amazonica (fukadi) and Jacaranda copaia (futui).

•

Impose the same export commission rates as
specified in the first part of the policy to theexport of squares with dimensions of 20.3 cm x
20.3 cm and greater (or 8” x 8” and greater) to
the following species: purpleheart, red cedar,
letterwood, kabukalli, shibadan, washiba,
hububalli and tonka bean.a

Only companies holding forest concessions are
permitted to export logs. The log export policy is
expected to induce a reduction in the volume ofwood exported in log form and as squares.
Non-timber forest products. Many NTFPs are
harvested from natural forests but only a few are
extracted commercially. Significant volumes of
Euterpe oleracea (palm heart, manicole) are exported
in canned form; in 2008 about 2.7 million palm
hearts were harvested in Guyanan forests, up from
2.48 million in 2007.b Nibi and kufa (rattan-like
Heteropsis flexuosa and Clusia spp) are used for
furniture-making and exported to the Caribbean
islands, the United Kingdom and North America.
Fibres of Mauritia flexuosa (ité palm) are used tomake baskets, mats and other items for export.
Other products include latex from Manilkara
bidentata (balata), Bixa orellana (annatto dye) andCarapa guianensis (crabwood oil). Mangrove bark isexported for tanning leather. There is a legal tradein wildlife, especially birds, reptiles and amphibians.
Forest carbon. Gibbs et al. (2007) estimatedGuyana’s forest carbon at 2490–3740 MtC andFAO (2010) estimated it at 1629 MtC. Since 2000,
GHG emissions from deforestation are estimatedto have averaged about 22.6 million tonnes ofCO2e per year (Government of Guyana 2008). In
preparing its REDD+ strategy the Governmentof Guyana engaged with the Forest Carbon
Partnership Facility and UN-REDD, and it is anactive member of the REDD+ Partnership. On 9
November 2009 the governments of Guyana and
Norway signed a memorandum of understandingthat sets out how the two countries will “worktogether to provide the world with a relevant,replicable model for how REDD+ can align thedevelopment objectives of forest countries with theworld’s need to combat climate change”. Norway
committed to providing financial support of up to
US$250 million by 2015 for results achieved by
Guyana in limiting emissions from deforestationand forest degradation under its Low Carbon
Development Strategy (Office of the President
2010). This strategy sets out Guyana’s approach totransition to a green economy, with the stated aimof combating climate change while simultaneously
promoting economic growth and development. It
sets out how Guyana’s economy can be realigned
along a low-carbon development path by investing
payments received for avoided deforestation
into strategic low-carbon sectors (Governmentof Guyana 2011). The increase in deforestation
reported in 2010 may be due partly to an
expectation of tighter controls under this strategy.
Guyana has also established a National Climate
Committee comprising representatives of a numberof government agencies, NGOs and the private
sector. This committee has a reporting responsibility
to the Government and the Parliament of Guyana.
The National Climate Unit within the Ministryof Agriculture is the implementing entity for the

Table 6 Forest carbon potential
Biomass
forestcarbon(MtC)% forestwithcanopycover >60%

Deforestation/
degradation
potential to2030

2490–3740

89.2+

Enhancement Forest areaof carbonchangesink capacity monitoring
to 2030
capacity++++++

Forest/GHG
inventory
capacity++

Importance Engagementof forestin
fire/international
biomassREDD+
burning
processes+++++++ high; ++ medium; + low; estimate of national forest carbon based on Gibbs et al. (2007); estimate of % total forest with canopy cover>60% based on UNEP-WCMC (2010).

328

GUYANA

Table 7 Management of the protection PFE (’000 hectares)***

Reportingyear

Protection PFE

Attributed to IUCN
categories I–IV

Allocated for soil
and waterWith management
plans

Sustainably
managed

2005*
2010

980
1110

980
1040

-

243
332**

243
332**

As reported in ITTO (2006).
Comprises Conservation International’s conservation concession (which, strictly speaking, is part of the production PFE but is notcounted there), the protected portion of the Iwokrama forest, and Kaieteur National Park.

committee and manages and coordinates day-to-day
climate-change procedures. Guyana has alsoestablished an Office for Climate Change and a
REDD+ Secretariat to execute aspects of climaterelated activities and REDD+. Table 6 summarizes
Guyana’s carbon potential.

Forest for protection
Soil and water. Forests are still intact over large
areas. There are, however, threats to biodiversity andto soil and water, of which mining – particularly forgold – may be the greatest. Small-scale gold-mining
takes place over a wide area; impacts include
localized deforestation, the removal of topsoil andthe pollution of watercourses with sediment andmercury. Trees felled by gold-miners cause blockages
to rivers, sometimes resulting in downstream
flooding. Guyanese soils are essentially alluvial; they
are acidic, with a pH as low as 3.6, and quickly
degenerate once trees are removed (Clarke 2006).
Biological diversity. Guyana’s large areas of intact
forest ecosystems have a very high conservationand ecological value. More than 1200 vertebrate
species were counted in a 1997 inventory, including
198 mammals, 728 birds, 137 reptiles and 105
amphibians, and more than 6000 flowering plant
species, of which about one hundred are forest treesof commercial interest. It is almost certain thatmany more species remain to be discovered. No
species found in Guyana’s forests are listed on the
IUCN red list of threatened species (IUCN 2011).
Guyana has two plant species listed in CITES
Appendix I, 42 in Appendix II and one in Appendix
III (UNEP-WCMC 2011). Bulletwood is protectedunder the Forest Act for its value to Indigenous
communities and because of the limited occurrenceof this species in Guyanan forests.
Protective measures in production forests. The
Code of Practice for Timber Harvesting includes
provisions for protecting watercourses, reducing theimpact of logging on residual stands and conserving
protected wildlife. Forest management plans must

identify representative biodiversity reserves covering
at least 4.5% of the productive forest area thatare then excluded from harvesting. The GFC’s
monitoring division monitors TSAs against thestandards prescribed by the Code.
Extent of protected areas. Guyana has two
formally established protected areas in forests (bothof which are established under separate laws): theKaieteur National Park, which is 63 000 hectares
in size, and the Iwokrama forest, of which 187 500
hectares are set aside for forest conservation
purposes. Under the proposed National Protected
Areas System, more areas could be allocatedfor protection, including Shell Beach (which
includes mangrove forests), Kanuku Mountains,
Mount Roraima, and Orinduik Falls.4 In 2002
Conservation International was awarded a 30-year
conservation concession of 81 000 hectares to thesouth of Iwokrama called the Upper EssequiboConservation Concession.5 There are also eleven‘GFC reserves’ covering a total area of 17 800
hectares. UNEP-WCMC (2010) estimated that
there were 1.04 million hectares of forest in IUCN
protected-area categories I–IV.
Estimate of the area of forest sustainably
managed for protection. The estimated area ofprotection PFE under sustainable management
is at least 331 500 hectares (Table 7). This area
comprises the Kaieteur National Park, Conservation
International’s conservation concession, and theconservation area set aside in the Iwokrama forest. The
area under sustainable management has increased since2005, due mainly to the addition of CI’s conservation
concession but also to a slight amendment in the sizeof Iwokrama’s conservation area.

4 www.guianashield.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_
content&view=article&id=173:wwf-grant-agreements&catid=1:latestnews&Itemid=50〈=en, accessed 9/9/09.
5 www.conservation.org/FMG/Articles/Pages/guyana_conservation_
concession.aspx, accessed 9/9/09; the Upper Essequibo Conservation
Concession Guyana fact sheet; seen at http://www.conservation.org/
Documents/guyanaconcession_factsheet.pdf.

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STATUS OF TROPICAL FOREST MANAGEMENT 2011

Socioeconomic aspects
Economic aspects. An estimated 24 100 people
are employed in forest operations in Guyana and19 800 people in the forest products industry.b
There is also considerable – but un-estimated– informal and unrecorded employment andeconomic activity. The total value of wood exports
in 2008 was US$56.7 millionb; the country also
exported fuelwood valued at about US$151 000
and NTFPs (not including canned palm hearts)
valued at about US$96 000.a
Livelihood values. Forests are an integral partof Amerindian culture and are important for the
supply of building materials, fibres for textiles
and weaving, and tannins and dyes, as well as forwildlife, fruit, seeds and nuts that are hunted orgathered for food. Medicines are obtained from
more than 130 plant species (van Andel et al.
2003). Some communities have undertaken thecommercial harvesting of these resources.
Social relations. Amerindians comprise 9.1% of
the Guyanese population and own 13.9% of theland. Amerindian communities are generally locatedin areas remote from urban centres and rely on
subsistence fishing, shifting cultivation and hunting.
The creation of a Ministry of Amerindian Affairs
in 1992 has facilitated a more participatory role
for these communities in national development.
The Amerindian Act (2006), too, gives Amerindian
communities legal powers to manage and conserve
their lands. Ninety-six communities have titles, butanother ten communities do not have formal legal
title to the lands they occupy. Guyana’s Low Carbon
Development Strategy identified, as a priority
activity, the titling of these areas.b The Amerindian
Act empowers Amerindian communities to create
and enforce protected areas on their lands. A
community can, for example, prohibit or control
entry and access to its territory and traditional
knowledge, prohibit or control mining, zone its
lands, protect sacred sites, and regulate hunting,fishing, tourism and research. All Amerindian lands
are owned collectively by communities (called‘villages’) and administered through village councils(Anon. 2008).
Amerindian communities are afflicted by severesocial and health problems, particularly incommunities adjacent to gold-mining and timber
concessions. The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs
and the GGMC have collaborated to train a

330

A greenheart tree in a logging concession, Guyana.

number of rural residents as rangers to complement
GGMC’s monitoring efforts in mining districts.
The Iwokrama forest initiative has had significant
success in involving local Amerindian communities
in forest management (Bakken Jensen 2005).
The GFC has managed a number of outreach,
communications and extension programs with
communities and Amerindian groups. It hasestablished a community forestry program which
entails the formation of community forestry
organizations, which are provided with accessto state forest lands and, in some cases, withequipment. Several Amerindian communities havealso been provided with extension services andtraining in reduced impact logging. In the North
Rupununi area, a community forestry project has
been implemented, reduced impact logging skills
transferred and other forest management services
extended (Government of Guyana (2008).
When it comes into force the Forest Bill (2009) will
provide communities (including but not restricted
to Amerindian communities) with a means ofacquiring clear and secure rights to manage andbenefit from their local forests on a sustainablebasis in order to help meet local needs, stimulate

GUYANA

income generation and economic development, andenhance environmental stability. Under the Bill,
properly established community groups can apply
to the GFC for community forest use agreementsthat would authorize the group to occupy a
specified area of state forest and to manage it inaccordance with the agreement.
The GFC’s Community Development Unit,
which sits within its Planning and Development
Division, has a mandate to build capacity in forestbased communities. Community forestry is being
formally undertaken on an area of about 114 000
hectares under SFPs.a

Summary
Most of Guyana’s forests are still intact, unexploitedand not threatened by the expansion of agriculture.
Guyana is pursuing a well-designed forest
management and control system in its timber
production forests. A new law, the Forest Bill, isawaiting assent by the President of Guyana. Thislaw will provide for the sustainable management,
protection and conservation of state forests and theregulation of forest operations, and it will also makeconsiderable changes to the allocation of state forest
for harvesting. The Guyana Forestry Commission
appears to be well-organized and responsive andhas a substantial field presence. Guyana has madeprogress in a number of areas, including thedevelopment of a legality assurance system andindependent forest monitoring, which will not only
provide a basis for international scrutiny and accessto REDD+ initiatives but also enable the validationand improvement of existing forest management
systems. At the forest industry level, however,significant progress is required to fully realize theSFM goal.

Key points••

Guyana has an estimated PFE of 12.2 million
hectares (compared with 6.44 million hectares
in 2005), comprising 11.1 million hectares ofnatural production forest (compared with 5.45
million hectares 2005), 1.11 million hectares ofprotection forest (compared with 980 000
hectares in 2005) and 12 000 hectares ofplanted forest (the same as reported in 2005).
A new forest law is due to come into effect.

•

Gold-mining is a significant cause of forest
degradation and environmental pollution.

•

At least 520 000 hectares of production PFE isbeing managed sustainably. Given the generallack of threats to the forest, the high-quality
training available to forest operators, andpositive moves by the Guyana Forestry
Commission to institute improved tracking andmonitoring systems, this is likely anunderestimate.

•

At least 332 000 hectares of protection PFE isbeing managed sustainably. Given the generallack of threats to Guyana’s forests, this is also
likely to be an underestimate.

•

Wood exports make a significant contribution
to Guyana’s foreign-exchange earnings. A newnational log export policy has been introducedwith the aim of encouraging local woodprocessing.

•

Guyana has considerable potential forparticipation in a global REDD+ scheme foravoided deforestation and forest degradation.

EndnotesaGovernment of Guyana (2009).

b

Personal communications with officials of the Governmentof Guyana, 2009, 2010.

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