THE Kingdom of Norway has released $393.4M Norwegian Kroner or G$9.1B to the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund. The fund, administered by the World Bank, is used to finance developmental projects here in Guyana.

Head of Ministry of the Presidency’s Project Management Office, Dr. Marlon Bristol, on Monday, confirmed that the final disbursement by the Kingdom of Norway was made. According to him, the funds were released to the World Bank last Wednesday; however, it was only on Monday that the World Bank issued a confirmation, indicating that the funds had been received.

Dr. Bristol said the funds will be used for projects in areas such as renewable energy, ‘green’ tourism, biodiversity, strengthening of indigenous mechanisms, and the European Union- FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) Partnership, which is a legally-binding trade agreement between the European Union and a timber-producing country outside the EU.

Guyana, Dr. Bristol further disclosed, will also enter a new round of talks with the Norwegians to support President David Granger’s Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) and especially those environmental safeguards that can realise a ‘green’ economy.
“These fruitful developments are possible owing to the hard work of several ministers and especially the Minister of State under whose purview the Guyana REDD+ Investment (GRIF) falls under; other government agencies, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Indigenous Peoples’ representation among others. A special thank you as well to you to the Kingdom of Norway,” Dr. Bristol said.

He added: “Project development can now move ahead assiduously for the full realisation of long-awaited benefits to the Guyanese people. From a slow start and a past of penalty to the tune of USD$15M before this government took office, the Guyana Norway Agreement can now boast of satisfactory results.”

It was explained that the transfer was made possible following a meeting between Minister of State, Dawn Hastings-Williams, and Norway’s Minister for Climate and Environment, Ola Elvestuen, back in September on the margins of the United Nations Climate Summit in New York.

During that meeting, Norway had agreed to pay over the $393.4 Norwegian Kroner or approximately US$50M of climate funds to Guyana, which authorities said represents the remainder of the pledge made by that country back in 2009.

In accordance with the bilateral agreement between the two countries, the two ministers had agreed that Guyana stood by its commitments and as such, Norway should disburse all final payments. Minister Hastings-Williams acknowledged that at this juncture, both countries indeed would have met their responsibilities with the final release.

In signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Guyana on November 9, 2009, the Government of Norway committed to providing financial support of up to USD$250M until 2015 for results achieved by Guyana in limiting emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, which will support the implementation of the country’s then Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). As part of the agreement, the two countries agreed to establish the GRIF as the financial intermediary mechanism for the performance-based payments from contributors to Guyana.

The Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) represents an effort to create an innovative climate finance mechanism which balances national sovereignty over investment priorities, while ensuring that REDD+ funds adhere to the Partner Entities financial, environmental and social safeguards.

Impressed with the government’s 2025 energy-mix proposal, the country’s deforestation rate of 0.05 – one of the lowest and the role President David Granger has been playing in championing sustainable development – Norway unlocked billions of dollars under the Norway Forest Agreement.

The Granger Administration has long indicated that the funds would be directed towards intensified efforts to achieving 100 per cent renewable energy use, which includes the construction of solar farms totalling 100 megawatts. These farms will be located in Bartica, Lethem, Mabaruma, Mahdia and several interior locations.
In the past, the funds were used to finance projects such as the ICT Access and e-Services for Hinterland, Poor and Remote Communities Project. Guyana’s Green State Development Strategy underscores the importance of fostering sustainable development in the hinterland regions and a key component in achieving such outcome is the linking of public services and information flows to the deployment and use of new Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs).

It was against that backdrop that the ICT Access and e-Services project was initiated in December, 2017 to the tune of US$17M funded by the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF).