Climate change due to deforestation is one of the biggest threats facing our species today. President Bharrat Jagdeo of the Republic of Guyana thinks he knows how to solve it. Jagdeo gave a lecture at Hart House on Thursday, October 22 discussing sustainable forestry and climate change.

Jagdeo, who Time magazine and CNN named as one of the heroes of the environment in 2008, spoke about the failure of past international environmental initiatives. “I think we fail because the Kyoto model did not address the crude costs of deforestation. In Haiti and in the Dominican Republic, trees are being cut down because people need firewood to cook and eat. There is a rational incentive to deforest,” said Jagdeo.

He argues for a new global environmental model called Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, a strategy that merges a low-carbon economy with sustainable forestry. “In Guyana, we have decided to do a large-scale pilot [study] to encompass the whole country. We have 16 million hectares of forest. We are prepared to save the forest if the incentives are there.”

REDD is based on the idea that former international agreements, such as the Kyoto Protocol, left out an important detail in the battle against climate change: the protection of forests and their ability to preserve biodiversity, regulate rainfall, and act as carbon sinks. In order to generate revenue, countries such as Guyana that possess large areas of rainforest will charge developed nations for the service of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Jagdeo explained how the idea of REDD will work in Guyana: “What is the profit from timber, soybean production, and mining? Out of that sum, we subtract the loss of local ecosystem services.” He has come up with a cost effective model that works out to a profit of $580 million per year.

“We’ve had a consultation process, [we formed] a committee with indigenous people, loggers, miners, the private sector, every interest group. We are trying to develop a broad national consensus,” he explained.

He addressed where the revenue from the low carbon model will go. “Most of our people live below sea level, we want to spend some of the money on bettering our control of water management. We want to spend some resources on a whole series of low carbon investment opportunities, such as ecotourism and large-scale agriculture. To create alternative employment for people, we want to use some of the resources to transform the economies of indigenous villages, find sustainable activities for them to earn money,” he said.

In a Q&A session after the lecture, Jagdeo addressed the possibility of government corruption within his low-carbon model: “We need new government structures to deal with global climate change funds which should have separate procedures. A global governance structure for the government is a vital part of the discussion in Copenhagen.”

Jagdeo also spoke earlier in the day at York University and Trent University. When asked why he wanted to speak at universities, he responded, “It is important to raise awareness within academia and the public at large. Negotiations for a replacement to Kyoto have taken place at a technical level, but what is needed now is a political breakthrough to have a successful agreement. The political incentive will only come about if everyone gets involved in the debate.”

The Republic of Guyana plans to debut the model at the Climate Conference in Copenhagen later this year. “We want to prove before Copenhagen that we have a model that works,” said Jagdeo. “Encourage your government to get involved. Non-governmental organizations, the private sector, we all need to take positions. It will happen when we all become involved.”

I think we fail because the Kyoto model did not address the crude costs of deforestation. In Guyana, we have decided to do a large-scale pilot study to encompass the whole country. We have 16 million hectares of forest. We are prepared to save the forest if the incentives are there.