Ituni loggers get 2,005 tracking tags

Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat (third from right) at the Anna Regina meeting
Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat (third from right) at the Anna Regina meeting

As part of government’s plan to revive the forest sector, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) yesterday announced the issuance of 2005 Log Tracking tags to the Ituni Small Loggers Association.

A release yesterday from the Ministry said that this was as a result of the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat’s recent visit to that community.  During his visit, the Minister met with several members of the association and residents who voiced their concerns about the economic difficulties faced within that community. 

It was pointed out to the minister that Ituni depended solely on logging for its economic livelihood.  As such, the availability of an approved harvestable logging quota managed through the GFC’s issuance of Log Tracking Tags was vital for the sustainability of that community.

Collaboration between the Guyana Forestry Commission and the Association   saw the resolution of the matter. On October 8th, the Chairman of the  Association, Richard James uplifted the 2005 Log Tracking Tags, the release said.

The release said that Bharrat also held a follow-up meeting with Region Two loggers and miners with regulatory agencies. The release said that the GFC and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) engaged stakeholders on providing efficient service within the sectors. Several initiatives were adopted which were welcomed by stakeholders, the release added. The meeting was held at State House, Anna Regina on October 16 and was attended by Vilma Da Silva – Regional Chairperson; Humace Oodit -Regional Vice Chairman;  Gavin Agard -Commissioner (ag) GFC; Tasreef Khan – Deputy Commissioner, GFC and Krishna Ramdass – Manager of Mines Division GGMC.