GEORGETOWN, GUYANA, MARCH 03, 2023 – On March 3, a delegation from Korea Forestry Service (KFS) met with a high-level team from the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) during a scoping mission to explore areas of cooperation in relation to forest and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+).
The meeting was facilitated by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and hosted by the GFC. It was attended by representatives from the Department of Environment and Climate Change of the Office of the President and the National Agricultural and Research Extension Institute.
KFS Visit to GFC. Photo Credit: Guyana Forestry Commission
The Korea Forestry Service has been promoting REDD+ projects in parts of Asia since 2012 and is expanding its interest in REDD+ projects internationally, including the Latin America and Caribbean region. Guyana is a “High-Forest and Low-Deforestation” country and has been engaging in REDD+ practices since 2009. The discussion centered around the potential for developing a bilateral relationship that would lead to cooperation in REDD+, sustainable use of forests including reforestation, and sharing experiences, knowledge, and technologies.
The KFS presented their plans on expanding international forest corporation projects for securing overseas forest carbon credits such REDD+, and highlighted their experiences gained from working in other countries outside of Korea. Guyana presented on its Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030 which outlines Guyana’s green development pathway and the work the GFC is leading on Guyana’s REDD+ policies and Measuring Reporting and Verification (MRV) system. The GGGI presented a concept note on mangrove reforestation that was submitted to the KFS for financing. This project is intended to improve the resilience of vulnerable coastal communities and mangrove ecosystems to climate change related impacts in Guyana and, possibly, inform future corporation with the Korean government and the Government of Guyana.
Parallel to this meeting with the KFS and the GFC, another Korean delegation met with the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Guyana where additional areas of corporation were discussed.
Korean RDA visit to MoA. Photo Credit: Ministry of Agriculture
Meeting the Guyana Minister of Agriculture Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha, was the Director General of the Korean Rural Development Agency Dr. Take-Ryoun Kwon who led his team in discussions about fostering relations. The main areas discussed were the establishment of cooperation in agricultural technology, dissemination of Korea’s modern technology, exchange programs and introduction of hydroponic technology to Guyana.
The kickoff scoping meeting was successful and a follow-up meeting by another delegation from Korea Forestry Service is expected to visit in June 2023 to engage in detailed discussion about bilateral cooperation.
Guyana is a founding member of GGGI. GGGI has operations in Guyana since 2018. GGGI provides technical assistance to the Government of Guyana with a focus in energy and forest sectors.
Further information on GGGI’s events, projects and publications can be found on www.gggi.org.
Maria Paul, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer
+592 653 1562
maria.paul@gggi.org
(GGGI Seoul HQ)
Mona Laczo, Communications & Knowledge Sharing Unit Head
+82 10 9530 0358
mona.laczo@gggi.org