I wish to shed some light on the recent report by Rainforest Alliance which was critical of Guyana’s LCDS and the Joint Concept Note between the Governments of Guyana and Norway and which has received attention by some sections of the media. It is my strong belief that the report by Rainforest Alliance has been blown out of proportion and misinterpreted by sections of the media with the usual agenda to bring disrepute to the Guyana Low Carbon Development Strategy. The Multi-Stakeholders Steering Committee(MSSC) was merely supporting sustainable development and a better way of living for all Guyanese when it spoke out against budgetary cuts imposed by the parliamentary opposition on the Guyana Low Carbon Development Strategy.
Additionally, the report flagged the  MSSC for speaking against the Opposition’s budgetary cuts. However, the negative comments by Rainforest Alliance may have also stemmed from a lack of communication since it is believed that the MSSC statement was supported only by GoG representatives, but on the contrary non-government members of the MSSC also challenged the budgetary cuts.
Further, some sections of the media chose not to report that Rainforest Alliance commended the Guyana Forestry Commission for being diligent and creative in making arrangements to undertake the development of a robust forest monitoring mechanism as quickly as possible; a task which has been completed. Despite this, some sections of the media tend to see only the negatives.
Guyana was also credited with accessing support from the Global Environmental Facility, Germany’s Kfw and Conservation International to map priority areas for biodiversity in Guyana’s forests. This is highly commendable.
Notwithstanding the ongoing reviews and the attempts by sections of the media, the Guyana Low Carbon Development Strategy is an all-inclusive strategy that will benefit all the people of Guyana and the enhancement of the lives of future generations to come.