Georgetown, Guyana ( July 14, 2016) 
– In an effort to better manage and implement the guidelines of the three Rio Conventions: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD), the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of the Presidency and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are embarking on a project. This US$1.1 million, four year project (2016-2020), funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), will provide support to the Ministries to increase the capacity of its agencies to meet the obligations of the conventions, and manage and implement the guidelines.
Minister of Natural Resources Honourable Raphael G.C. Trotman, Minister of State, Honourable Joseph Harmon and UNDP Resident Representative Khadija Musa, signed the project document on Friday, July 1, 2016 at Parliament Buildings.
Minister Trotman noted the need for collaboration stating that “The UNDP has been a long standing friend [of Guyana] and so this project when implemented will bring greater benefits to the implementation of the Rio Conventions”.
Ms. Khadija Musa, UNDP Resident Representative, acknowledged the interest of government noting that “I believe that this would not be possible without the interest of government in this important aspect of the Rio Conventions and climate change and the involvement of Guyana, and it speaks of Guyana and the importance you put on the environment and climate change.”
The Ministry of Natural Resources will be the executing entity of the project, while a multi stakeholder steering committee will oversee the implementation. A focus on capacity strengthening at the systematic, institutional and individual levels to improve collaboration among agencies will see activities being implemented through four interlinked components;
- Creating an integrated system to manage and monitor environmental information.
- Strengthening technical capacity of key stakeholders, technical staff and decision makers.
- Improving awareness of global environmental values to promote greater appreciation for addressing global environmental obligations.
- Updating National Capacity Self Assessment (NCSA) to reflect post 2015 sustainable development goals and the governments’ pursuit of green development in tandem with the fulfillment of Rio Conventions’ obligations.
