In keeping with the Ministry of Natural Resources mandate to ensure robust monitoring of deforestation in Guyana, the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) has developed a multi-year project that allows for the continuous improvement of the Monitoring Reporting and Verification System (MRVS). This was confirmed with subject minister, Vickram Bharrat.
He explained that the MRVS aims to establish a comprehensive, national system to monitor, report, and verify forest carbon emissions resulting from deforestation and forest degradation in Guyana.
He said the data collected by the MRVS allows the ministry and GFC to report on the progress of the indicators under Sustainable Development Goal 15 which seeks to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems.
Bharrat said the GFC is expected to continue the implementation of MRVS Phase 3 in 2023. He said this will support Guyana in meeting the evolving international reporting requirements from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as well as the continuous fulfillment of additional reporting requirements, such as obligations under the bilateral cooperation agreement with the Government of Norway.
Guyana Standard understands that the MRVS will address the needs of the Paris Agreement to lower global temperature to or below 1.5 Degrees Celsius. It will also support Guyana in further developing forest monitoring as a tool for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+).
At the policy level, Bharrat explained to Guyana Standard that this phase of implementation will be guided by the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) as well as a potential Phase 2 of the Guyana-Norway Bilateral Agreement.
He said GFC, and the ministry by extension, recognize that the MRVS will have an important role to play in the implementation of the LCDS which outlines the pathway for the sale of the nation’s high-quality carbon credits.
