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BRIEF: Guyana receives first rainforest payment of US$30m from NorwayDec 18, 2010 (Caribbean News Now - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- GEORGETOWN, Guyana -- Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo has announced that his government has received the first payment of US$30 million from Norway to keep its standing tropical rainforest intact. Jagdeo made the announcement at a press conference on Wednesday at his office. Most of the money will be spent on Amerindian communities and Jagdeo rebuffed critics who have been arguing that funds coming from Norway would be used to enhance the political fortunes among Amerindians by pumping money into solar panels, surveyors for land demarcation and the transformation of village economies through development plans. The president said that it is difficult to prevent criticism because, if Amerindians were excluded, critics would have accused the administration of ignoring the stewards or owners of the rainforest. Guyana is to receive a total of US$250 million to preserve its rainforest, which sum will be paid over a period of ten years. To see more of Caribbean News Now, go to http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com Copyright (c) 2010, Caribbean News Now, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |