Guyana’s rapid rise as an oil-producing nation has not come at the expense of its environmental credentials, Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat said on the sidelines of the Global Biodiversity Alliance Summit in Georgetown last week.
Speaking on the United for Biodiversity Alliance podcast on July 23, Bharrat said Guyana has achieved what many countries struggle to do – maintain the “perfect balance”.
“Guyana is seen now more as a model country,” Bharrat said. “Not only because we have safeguard 98% of our forests…not only because we have the lowest deforestation rate in the world…but because we have managed to strike that perfect balance of economic development and environmental sustainability.”
According to the minister, this is especially noteworthy given Guyana’s emergence as a new oil and gas producer. “Many countries…either go on the extreme, that is, for economic development at the expense of environmental degradation, while some go on the other extreme, safeguarding the environment while staying severely underdeveloped,” he explained. “We can still boast to be in the fastest growing economy in the world…[and] a carbon negative country.”
He said Guyana’s forest preservation efforts, with 98% of the country’s forest cover still intact, are complemented by a deep cultural commitment to conservation. “It comes naturally to us when it comes to environmental sustainability, conservation, maintaining our forests, keeping our country green,” Bharrat noted.
The Global Biodiversity Alliance Summit, launched in Guyana, drew dozens of international agencies and delegates. Bharrat said he was pleased that participants would get to experience Guyana’s rainforest first-hand. “Many leaders coming to Guyana…when they looked down, they thought it was a green carpet, not knowing that, that was forest,” he said.
The Minister credited President Irfaan Ali as the driving force behind the new Alliance, alongside leaders from Colombia, Barbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and other Amazonian and African nations. He stated that the Alliance aims to raise awareness of the economic and climate value of biodiversity, particularly in the Global South.
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Bharrat wrapped up with a call for greater international recognition of Guyana’s environmental efforts. “Sometimes I don’t believe the work that we are doing in Guyana is highlighted as much as it should on the international stage,” he said. “For a small country, we are contributing significantly.”
