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GREEN ECONOMY
already has a good story to tell, and perhaps we don’t tell it often
enough. Guyana’s leadership on green growth and low carbon,
sustainable development has been visible and expanding for
many years,” he explained at the opening of the Business Forum.

Driving home his point in this respect, Mr Nokta referenced
Guyana’s offer of the Iwokrama Rainforest to the Commonwealth
as a laboratory for sustainable forest management and its
crafting and implementing one of the developing world’s first
Low Carbon Development Strategies as examples of how it
has led the way already in the area of green policy creation,
environmental sustainability and the fight against climate
change.

He also referenced the move with the Kingdom of Norway, which
saw the setting up of the world’s second largest international
partnership on climate change and sustainable forests
management, and more recently, Government’s commitment
to a green development path through the Green State
Development Strategy as other examples of how Guyana has
made a reputation for itself across the world as green leaders.
Guyana Manufacturing & Services
Stating that further potential remains to be grasped from these Association’s President addressing
the Green Business forum
initiatives – for business, for Government, and for communities
across Guyana, the GMSA President offered three broad
suggestions of how this could be done. should – make progress on its own initiative, its ability to deliver
sustainable development outcomes could be elevated through
“First of all, the private sector must act. We do not need to wait for the right kind of enabling environment, and crucially – through
others to show initiative. Greening of businesses is an opportunity public-private partnerships.
for us to play our part in securing our environment. But it also
makes good business and economic sense,” he remarked before They were told that many of our country’s most exciting
telling the audience that we were already seeing good examples economic development sectors were outlined originally in
emerge. the National Development Strategy, and subsequently in the
National Competitiveness Strategy.
“In the rice sector, one rice miller has invested in a 400-kilowatt
gasifier (one of the largest in the Caribbean) to utilise rice husk “The Low Carbon Development Strategy drew on the National
and through which that entity is receiving up to 50 percent Competitiveness Strategy to set out several low-carbon growth
savings in energy; in the forestry sector where Reduced areas, one of them being business process outsourcing. Through
Impact Logging techniques have not only improved efficiency a combination of policy and public-private partnerships,
of forestry operations but have also contributed to minimal we have seen tremendous growth in the business process
damage to forests and contributing in a significant way to outsourcing sector with international operators investing and
our low deforestation rate – one of the lowest in the world; in creating thousands of jobs – earlier this week, one of the pioneer
the mining sector where progressive reclamation, mine site investors in the sector expanded its operation to create more
rehabilitation and replanting, and biodiversity enhancement jobs,” Mr Nokta related.
measures are helping to reduce the environmental footprint,”
the GMSA President explained during his presentation. This, he said, shows that it is possible for key sectors that we
recognise today as green growth sectors to be transformed in a
He also alluded to the fact that in the manufacturing sector relatively short period of time if the enabling environment is in
energy efficiency measures and behavioural change were place to encourage investment.
leading to reduced energy costs and many businesses were now He reminded the audience that Government has expressed its
moving towards hybrid systems utilising solar technology. intention to continue this theme of developing green economic
sectors and to support initiatives in this regard. The GMSA and
Participants at the Business Forum were also told that the GMSA the PSC look forward to this and stand ready to play our part,
wanted to emphasise that while the private sector could – and he said.

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