miércoles, 10 de diciembre de 2008

¿Se evitaran las desforestaciones Guayana Esequiba?



http://www.guyanachronicle.com/features.html#Anchor-----------------57186
Tomado de http://www.guyanachronicle/. Del 10 de diciembre

Guyana and avoided deforestation
THE recent heightened awareness about the need to avoid deforestation places Guyana in the balance having to choose between preserving standing forest and forgoing forest related investments or engaging in development activities that involve deforestation.President Bharrat Jagdeo in addressing the issue of deforestation reiterated that a global agreement is needed to combat climate change.
Forest Importance
President Jagdeo on December 5th unveiled Guyana’s position on avoided deforestation where he presented a market model mechanism for the country. Cognizant of the importance and value of forests to the reduction of harmful gas emissions, Guyana through the Office of the President has secured data from an assessment conducted by McKinsey & Company - an international consultancy - in which an analysis was done on the premise that mechanisms can be developed which are economically rewarding for countries to participate in avoiding deforestation.
Solutions

President Jagdeo maintains that solutions to deforestation are possible despite a challenging background to forging a global deal to combat climate change. These solutions can be delivered quickly and cost effectively, and have the potential to transform the economic prospects of some of the poorest countries in the world.Deforestation accounts for 20 percent of global emissions and effective action is needed to ensure that within the next seven years, greenhouse gas emissions peak and begin to decline to achieve an 80 percent reduction by 2050.
Guyana faces many of the challenges associated with addressing deforestation though it has managed to preserve its entire rainforest.Some of the proposals advanced by President Bharrat Jagdeo have been unveiled and will be discussed at local consultations to be held with relevant stakeholders so that a united approach could be derived and presented to the developed world.
Individuals, communities and countries contribute to deforestation while pursuing legitimate economic activities such as selling timber and creating jobs in agriculture.
The world economy values deforestation activities and does not acknowledge the benefits that the forests provide when trees are kept alive, such as the avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions.
This, the President referred to as market failure which he said needs to be corrected to provide the only long-term solution to deforestation.
The Office of the President report on “Creating Incentives to Avoid Deforestation,” highlighted the Economic Value to the Nation (ENV) and Economic Value to the World (EVW) and an approach to calculate (ENV) using Guyana as a case study was also included.
The report states that Guyana stands to gain $5.8 billion from aggressively pursuing land use opportunities thus the need to create meaningful incentives for forest conservation.
If Guyana chooses to forego these land-based development opportunities the cost ranges from approximately $4.4 billion to $20.4 billion in favour of forest protection.
Government has recognized the need for long term measures to address deforestation which must have the support of those who live in, and depend on, the forest.
Towards this goal, consultations will be held throughout the first half of 2009 where the public will have the opportunity to participate in a nationwide conversation.Using Guyana as a case study, the report compared costs and benefits as it relates to land based development and forest preservation.Without a significant reduction in deforestation practices in tropical countries, stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations and reducing the risk of catastrophic climate change will be virtually impossible.
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and DegradationImportant progress has been made to consider including Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) under the UN Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCC) and in doing so, to provide incentives to slow emissions from destruction of tropical forests.
The report also includes an independent fact-based assessment which conducted an analysis of what will be needed to align the economic interests of tropical forest countries with those of the broader world community.This analysis starts with the premise that mechanisms can be designed to make participation economically rational for rainforest countries.It offers four contributions to a deeper understanding of how to make REDD effective and fair:
• The ‘economically rational' deforestation baseline
• Economic Value to the Nation
• Boundary conditions for a long-term deal
• Future outlook
Benefits to Guyana if compensated
At the unveiling of Guyana’s position President Jagdeo outlined that if compensated for preserving its rainforest, Guyana is poised to benefit in the following areas:** Guyana’s entire economy can be moved to clean energy through building the Amaila Falls Hydro plant which could supply low carbon electricity to the country for several decades. This will lead to a significant decrease in the cost of doing business for companies, cheaper living costs for consumers – and it will remove over 50% of Guyana’s already limited greenhouse gas emissions.** Guyana will also be able to provide unprecedented assistance to forest communities to develop village economies that simultaneously improve opportunities for citizens who live there and secure sustainable use of the forest for the very long term.** Support for the diversification of the wider economy into low carbon economic sectors through opening up the non-forested part of our country – such as the Intermediate Savannahs - to sectors like aquaculture, fruits and vegetables and bio-ethanol.
** Sea defenses and irrigation systems can also be upgraded to cope with the challenges that climate change has brought to our country.
President Jagdeo has been advocating for countries which have preserved their rainforest to be compensated by developed countries. (GINA

Nota del Editor del blog: Al referenciarse a la República Cooperativa de Guyana se deben de tener en cuenta los 159.500 Km2, de territorios ubicados al oeste del río Esequibo conocidos con el nombre de Guayana Esequiba o Zona en Reclamación sujetos al Acuerdo de Ginebra del 17 de febrero de 1966.

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