13 October 2009: Government, civil society and donor representatives met with 16 Amerindian communities in Guyana on a multi-stakeholder visit requested by the Global Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) Participants Committee, to approve a preparation grant for Guyana aimed at financing the REDD design phase.

Guyana is a lead participant in the FCPF, an initiative administered by the World Bank, involving 50 donor and forest countries to help countries develop REDD strategies. Guyana is currently refining its Low Carbon Development Strategy, which provides an overarching development framework, which would be mainly financed by REDD.
A US$200,000 seed grant will be provided to support further REDD formulation efforts. The grant will fund technical studies coordinated by the Forestry Commission and information efforts and community awareness activities coordinated by the National Toshao’s Council. [ World Bank press release ]