By Sherrica Thompson

Staff Writer

#Guyana, December 20, 2022 – Guyana and the European Union signed a legally binding trade agreement to promote sustainable trade of legal timber to the EU.

The announcement of the agreement was made by the EU in a press release on December 15.

The European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Mr. Virginijus Sinkevičius and Guyanese Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat signed the agreement at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) in Canada.

The EU said that the agreement will give EU-based timber buyers assurance that timber products from Guyana are legal and help improve forest governance, tackle illegal logging and promote trade in verified legal timber products.

“Through the Voluntary Partnership Agreement, Guyana will tackle trade in timber that has been illegally harvested, transported or processed. The country will improve market access for law-abiding businesses, as well as modernise its forestry sector, create jobs, promote sustainable development and protect the rights of indigenous peoples,” the EU explained.

Adding that: “Under the VPA, Guyana commits to developing a timber legality assurance system to assess that timber products -for all stages of the supply chain- have been produced in accordance with national legislation. When this system is operational, Guyana can issue verified legal timber products with FLEGT licences. The licence certifies that the timber or timber products exported under that licence are legal.”

Guyana is the first country in the Amazon region to sign a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on forest law enforcement, governance and trade (FLEGT) with the European Union.