‘Green superpower’ Guyana seeking payments to protect its plants, animals

By Vishani Ragobeer 

vishani@newsroom.gy 

Describing Guyana as a “green superpower,” former Colombian President Ivan Duque outlined plans the tiny South American country will be pursuing to get payments to conserve its biodiversity.

These plans are expected to unfold in July when the country hosts a summit for a new global biodiversity alliance it is leading, Duque said at the 2025 Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo in Georgetown.

A key component of Guyana’s efforts is the creation of biodiversity credits which are a type of payment that can be earned in exchange for continued protection of the abundant plant and animal species in the country.

Duque believes Guyana has enough biodiversity, many endemic, to make this venture worthwhile for the country and any potential investors. His statement is backed by the findings of an expedition in the Acarai-Corentyne Corridor, located in southern Guyana; it is also believed that there are many known and unknown species in Guyana’s rainforest.

New species of plants, animals found in Guyana after largest- ever local expedition 

The Colombian leader also noted that Guyana is protecting the forests that cover about 90% of its landmass. Already, the country is involved in a carbon credits scheme where it is getting payments to continue protecting the forests.

“I consider Guyana a green superpower,” the former Colombian President said.

In July, at the summit, stakeholders will determine how to develop biodiversity finance be it bonds, guarantees, debt swaps, impact investments, or credits.

Guyana leading new global alliance to get payments for protecting plants, animals & forests

Duque also said the stakeholders part of the alliance want to figure out how to measure a country’s competitiveness based on the biodiversity concentrated there.

“… a dollar invested in Guyana is a much greener dollar invested somewhere else and that is competitiveness, ladies and gentlemen,” he said.

Like carbon credits, biodiversity credits are the subject of much discussion internationally- at least in the climate and environmental protection space.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in the “Living Planet Report 2022” noted that human-induced climate change and the loss of biodiversity are interlinked. This, the WWF said, threatens the well-being of earth’s inhabitants.

Furthermore, the report noted that between 1970 and 2018, there was an average decline of about 67% in the relative abundance of monitored wildlife populations around the world. Amazon basin, where Guyana is situated, is among the areas deemed “high-priority” for risk mitigation; deforestation is among the risks stakeholders should tackle.

So there is recognition of the importance of conserving biodiversity and Guyana’s leaders have amplified the discussions on getting funds to support conservation.

“… we know that there must be a value attached to biodiversity,” Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali said in Dubai at this year’s United Nations (UN) climate talks, COP28.

A year later, at a Caribbean Investment Forum in Guyana, the President announced the creation of the global biodiversity alliance and the plans to push for payments.

COP28: Guyana argues that payments to save animals, plants in its forests are also needed

Guyana’s Indigenous leaders are also on board with the plan.

“All Indigenous Peoples depend on the forest, we depend on the plants, on the animals, on the waterways, (and) on the trees because this is where we get our livelihood,” Toshao of Rivers’ View Village Melena Pollard told the News Room at COP28.

Toshao Pollard is the Indigenous leader of her community and she explained that the value her people attach to forests and biodiversity helped them embrace the establishment of Guyana’s newest rainforest research centre there.

Back at the Energy Conference, Duque urged the investors flocking to Guyana to consider the plans unfolding. He noted that the funds invested in Guyana’s biodiversity conservation plans redound to funds invested in the conservation of a “multiplicity of species.”