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One small South American country is making some giant steps for conservation.<\/p>\n
At a recent Amazon summit, Guyana\u2019s President Dr. Irfaan Ali announced that his country would double its protected areas within the next 18 months, local news reported<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Some 85 percent<\/a> of Guyana is covered in forest, the second-highest percentage of forest cover of any country \u2014 with deforestation rates among the lowest in the world. In short, Guyana is a climate champion, storing nearly 20 billion tons of climate-warming carbon, according to government figures (the world emits about 50 billion tons of carbon a year).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At the same time, with the 2015 discovery and subsequent extraction of oil off its coast, Guyana is now the world\u2019s fastest-growing economy<\/a>. In an effort to avoid the \u201cresource curse<\/a>,\u201d the Guyanese government has vowed to protect its irrecoverable ecosystems and has signaled to the world the economic value of nature.<\/span><\/p>\n Guyana\u2019s transition will be closely watched as a model for other countries to follow, said Patricia Zurita, chief strategy officer at Conservation International, speaking to Guyana\u2019s president at the 2024 Concordia Amazonas Summit: \u201cYou have a huge opportunity now to rewrite the way development happens.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Guyana\u2019s announcement<\/a> at the summit is part of a \u201clongstanding commitment by the government\u201d to expand protected areas as part of its low-carbon development trajectory, according to Curtis Bernard, who leads Conservation International\u2019s work in Guyana.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The move is also a step toward Guyana achieving its \u201c30 by 30<\/a>\u201d goal \u2014 the protection of 30 percent of the country\u2019s lands and waters by 2030, which scientists say is imperative for addressing the dual crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.<\/span><\/p>\n To support this goal, a new research and education center was recently launched at Sophia Point to help protect the country\u2019s biodiversity and study the health of its ecosystems. The center aims to \u201cfocus research on answering the kinds of questions that are needed to support Guyana\u2019s sustainable economic transformation with nature,\u201d Bernard said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It’s a transformation that\u2019s been over a decade in the making.<\/span><\/p>\n Since 2010, Guyana has been pursuing a Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), which leverages the value of its forests \u2014 and their associated carbon \u2014 to finance climate-resilient development and conservation in the country, said Guyana\u2019s Senior Director for Climate and REDD+ Pradeepa Bholanath.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With a revised LCDS that now takes oil and gas into consideration, \u201cGuyana is pursuing development of the sector more as a transitional path, rather than one on which the future economy will be based,\u201d Bernard added.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe intention is that the financial resources from the oil and gas sector would be used by the government to build out essential infrastructure for all sectors, support the diversification of the non-oil economy and expand livelihood opportunities at the community level,\u201d Bholanath said. \u201cThese are all areas that are needed for Guyana\u2019s sustainable future to be assured, and that’s what Guyana has really been working toward.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The new science facility, The Sophia Point Rainforest Research Centre, was officially opened in May \u2014 but the idea was born several years ago from UK Foreign Minister David Lammy, who is of Guyanese descent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Lammy and British artist and co-founder of the center Nicola Green have long been interested in contributing to the country\u2019s science, education and biodiversity. With support from philanthropists and partners, including the University of Guyana and Conservation International, the Sophia Point center became a reality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Conservation International-Guyana and the Sophia Point center recently formalized their partnership to help build the capacity, research and knowledge to inform sound decisions for the conservation of Guyana\u2019s biodiversity, Bernard said. And the work undertaken there will go beyond new scientific findings \u2014 it will focus on \u201cdecolonizing research,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHistorically, too often we have seen research done in the country and the results never make their way back to Guyana or are used to benefit Guyana\u2019s development,\u201d Bernard said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Green added: \u201cWe at Sophia Point are delighted to partner with Conservation International-Guyana to collaborate on programs to conserve and better understand Guyana’s natural resources and unique biodiversity. Our partnership will work toward achieving our mission of transforming conservation and education in Guyana, and championing the Indigenous communities that have been guardians of the rainforest for generations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Bruno Vander Velde is the managing director of content at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? Sign up for email updates<\/a>. 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