Guyanese natural resources minister Robert Persaud says that his country is moving ahead with “formal dialogue” with the EU to establish a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) under its Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade initiative (FLEGT).
Countries which sign up to a VPA undertake to ensure the legality of their timber supplies and improve forest management, progressing towards environmental certification.
In return, timber backed with a VPA licence will get preferential access to the EU, and a green lane through the upcoming anti-illegal wood EU Timber Regulation.
Mr Persaud said that the Guyanese timber industry had an output of around 400,000m³ a year, with annual earnings of US$40-50m. The sector supports around 20,000 jobs.
The EU FLEGT process will initially involve monitoring of 55 forest areas in the country.
