FMP 2019-2024
Variety Woods and Greenheart Ltd
FOREST MANAGEMENT PLAN 2020-2024
PUBLIC SUMMARY
Variety Woods and Greenheart Ltd. TSA 02/17 for 132,863.21 hectares within the Upper Essequibo Berbice – Corentyne Water end. This concession was issued as a TSA 02/17 on December 08, 2017 Hence a management plan was submitted for the period 2015 – 2019.
This Forest Management Plan 2020 – 2024 continues from and builds on the developments associated with The Forest Management 2015-2019. Variety Woods and Greenheart Ltd builds on its traditional corporate discipline that ensures compliance with the applicable policies and standards by the Guyana Forestry Commission and other sectored agencies such as the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Similarly, Variety Woods and Greenheart Ltd will continue to pay related taxes, licences, permits for logging and other administrative requirements in a timely manner. The Forest Management Plan itself follows the guidelines prescribed by The Guyana Forestry Commission to ensure consistency with all the requirements set out.
The concession area continues to be managed on a 40-year cutting cycle. For the period 2020 -2024, based on the annual allowable cut – the forest concession would remain 13.33 m3 per hectare on an area of 2175.25 hectares which works out to 22 blocks per year. For the period 2020 to 2024 Variety Woods and Greenheart Ltd will be undertaking extensive assessments of identifying areas of potential blocks where harvesting activities can be carried out.
Variety Woods and Greenheart Ltd will continue its investment in its workforce. These investments relate inter alia to the quality of camp facilities, the use of the company’s SOP and occupational safety and Heath Practices, including the regular use of personal safety gear and training. Additional training will be promoted to support wiser forest conservation and environmental management goals. Variety Woods and Greenheart Ltd will continue its well tested practices for ensuring the timely supply of rations and vegetables to all field operators.
Partnerships to be developed with certification bodies, the Environmental Protection Agency, Protected Areas Commission with Variety Woods and Greenheart Ltd.’s passion for responsible use of forest resources. For 2020 – 2024 Variety Woods and Greenheart Ltd. Plans to conserve its role as a developer of socio-economic development in Upper Regions – 6, 9 & 10.
In 2012, the GFC granted the company a State Forest Exploratory Permit designated SFEP 01/2012 in accordance with “Regulation 7B” of the “Forest Act Cap. 67:01” for an approximate area of 132,863.21 hectares within the upper Essequibo – Berbice – Corentyne Watershed, in Administrative Region 6. The UTM coordinates for the North western and South eastern points are 21N 03 38 559 E, 04 63 336 N and 21N 03 64 279 E, 04 64 191 N respectively. No recent land use activity of any kind has been detected in within the concession area. SFEP 01/2012 was issued on May 08, 2012 and had an expiry date of May 07, 2015 however, the company was granted an extension of the expiry date to May 07, 2016 by the GFC.
VWGL objective is to engage in commercial harvesting of timber from the concession at a rate of about 30,905.49 m3 of timber annually, subject to the provisions of the forest concession “Timber Sales Agreement” (TSA) to be granted to the company. The “Forests Act” and its revisions, other sectored policies and guidelines, the EPA Act 11 of 1996 and compatibility with relevant regional developmental initiatives. Consistent with timber harvesting practices based on the principles of reduced impact logging, VWGL will engage in roads, skid trails and log markets construction works. The establishment of one or more fully functional base camps, the felling of trees, skidding and hauling logs to prescribed locations, these works in turn require the regular use of a variety of heavy-duty equipment and the corresponding need for fuel, lubricants and ancillary servicing facilities and fuel storage.
In summary, the Company intends to harvest timber from approximately 11,500 hectares of forested area over the next five (5) years with an approximate volume 154,527.45 m3 of logs. To attain this production goal the company plans to maintain 65 KM of roads in which 50 km of Main Road and 17 km of Secondary & Feeder Roads respectively at a road density of 6 meters per hectare. An approximately 5,462.41 hectares which represents 4.5% of the concessions productive area will be set aside as Biodiversity Reserves. Steep slopes and high hills where it is not accessible will also be restricted for harvesting and classified as Non-Productive Forest.
Alternatively, the company will be looking into accessing its concession from a Western vantage point using the Unamco road alignment and the road alignment along the right bank Berbice River thru Kwakwani – referred to as the Baishanlin M-1 Road situated on the main watershed between Berbice and Corentyne Rivers. These access roads alignment will traverse extensive parcels of currently intact forests and possibly in the long term, drive the development of (new) forestry and agricultural enterprises respectively. The company also believes that access road (when linked to concession) will offer options for a major road link between the Upper Berbice and the Essequibo/Rupununi Rivers and between the Corentyne and the Essequibo (Region 9). VWL is currently working closely with the EPA and GFC on the preparation of its Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Report for TSA 02/17.