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Guyana
Voluntary National Review 2019

A PEOPLE-FOCUSSED AND DRIVEN AGENDA FOR IMPLEMENTING THE SDGs
The  Co-operative  Republic  of  Guyana  has  consistently  prioritised  sustainable  and inclusive  development  over  recent  decades.  Institutionalising  the  2030  Agenda  for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) forms key  components  of  development  planning  cycles.  Guyana’s  long-term  development strategy,  titled  the  Green  State  Development  Strategy:  Vision  2040  (GSDS),  reflects principles of a ‘green agenda’ within safe and secure borders and highlights the need for resilient development for all its citizens. It is based on the delivery of quality education and  health  care,  social  protection,  new  economic  opportunities,  justice  and  political empowerment while protecting the natural environment.

Guyana has undertaken a suite of reforms designed to achieve this vision across the whole-of-government, and is committed to continuing along this trajectory. All stakeholders – private sector; civil society; communities, especially indigenous communities and people in vulnerable situations; and development partners - are involved so as to ensure that no Guyanese is left behind. This principle of inclusivity was demonstrated in extensive stakeholder consultations to ensure national ownership and a participatory approach to policymaking within the context of the GSDS, thus reinforcing commitment to participation and empowerment.

PROGRESS TOWARDS ACHIEVING THE SDGs

While economic growth has remained positive over the last decade, its impact on poverty reduction is uncertain since the last national poverty assessment was done over 12 years ago.  Notwithstanding,  a  raft  of  interventions,  including  those  targeting  single  women, youth, the disabled and indigenous communities in remote areas, has been implemented to reduce poverty levels across both coastal and hinterland regions.
Programmatic interventions towards advancing the SDGs include: climate adaptation and mitigation efforts, through multi-sectoral approaches such as smart-health facilities; environmental education awareness and resilient agriculture; education curriculum reform, reviewing teacher quality and performance and expanding the use of information technology in classrooms; expanding access to a wider range of health services to hinterland communities; promoting community participation through local government elections and greater decentralisation of central government service delivery; economic diversification through expansion of service sectors and non-traditional agriculture lines of production, tourism and construction industries; and adapting cleaner energy and resilient infrastructure for expanded connectivity and trade facilitation.

CONSTRAINTS TO DEVELOPMENT

Guyana’s geography creates a range of geopolitical and other challenges for all sectors. Guyana’s border controversies continue to put the country at risk for security issues and increased  migration.  Additionally,  the  751,000  residents  of  Guyana  are  distributed unevenly over 214,970km2. This impedes greater inclusivity and equitable distribution of social benefits, given the marginal costs of delivery in rural, hinterland and remote areas. Climate change has brought increased rainfall, leading to intense flooding in many areas, on the one hand; and drought, on the other. The pace of education reform is hindered by lack of human capacity, a factor which was inimical to the achievement of Goal 5 of the MDGs; yet it remains critical to realising all of the SDGs.

Guyana requires significant human capital development and institutional strengthening in all sectors, particularly in light of the anticipated economic, environmental and social changes that the country is expected to undergo with an emerging oil and gas sector.

PARTNERSHIPS FOR IMPLEMENTATION

Financing the SDGs will remain a challenge, especially given major gaps in structural resilience and an already expanded domestic resource mobilisation effort that has proven insufficient to date. The involvement of the local private sector and civil society organisations, as development partners, though meaningful, requires further strengthening taking into account that the scale of the local private sector is limited.

The United Nations Country Team, complemented by support of traditional donors and other development partners, has been collaborating with Guyana in the implementation of the SDGs. Increased South-South co-operation has also enabled access to new sources of finance and technical cooperation.

MONITORING PROGRESS ON THE SDGs

Guyana will  continue to monitor progress  on SDGs within the context  of the GSDS  to assess   progress   on   its   achievement   of   the   2030   Agenda.   National   data   systems’ strengthening, including frequent national surveys, is needed to inform evidence-based policy, planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting. This means, among other things, that the country will need to reform its National Statistical System, including building the relevant capacities for data collection, analysis and reporting.

Focal point
Mr. Clement Rohee
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Georgetown

Charlene Phoenix
charlene@embguyana.org.br
Guyana Embassy, Brazil
Partnerships & Commitments
The below is a listing of all partnership initiatives and voluntary commitments where Guyana is listed as a partner or lead entity in the Partnerships for SDGs online platform
Barbados Declaration - Voluntary Commitment by Guyana

Will ensure that reliable energy is provided to all in Guyana within an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable framework; with increasing consideration of renewable energy sources. Recognizing the need for urgent action in addressing climate change has crafted a Low Carbon Development Strategy to protect and maintain Guyana's forests to reduce global carbon emissions and at the same time attract resources for the country to grow and develop. Will develop and harness hydropower which will transform the electricity sector by providing about 90% of Guyana's electricity from re...[more]

Partners
Guyana, in partnership with the Governments of Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom, and UNDP.
Action Network
Sustainable Development Goals
Fisheries Conservation in the Wider Caribbean Region through FAO's Western Central Atlantic Fisheries Commission (WECAFC)

The general objective of the Commission is to promote the effective conservation, management and development of the living marine resources of the area of competence of the Commission, in accordance with the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, and address common problems of fisheries management and development faced by members of the Commission. 16 of WECAFC's 35 members are considered small island developing States.

Partners
Member governments: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, France, European Community, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan, Korea (Rep. of), Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Spain, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, United S...[more]
Action Network
Sustainable Development Goals
Guyana's Low Carbon Development Strategy

Guyana is reaching a new stage in its national development. As the country's first generation of reforms and infrastructural development nears completion, the Government is embarking on a new wave of reforms, coupled with further expansion of the country's strategic economic infrastructure. Over the past two decades, Guyana has transitioned to a multi-party democracy and market-based economy. Source: This version of Guyana's Low Carbon Development Strategy builds on both the insights gained during the national consultation on the first and second drafts of the strategy, and on the progress ma...[more]

Partners
Action Network
Sustainable Development Goals
Japan-Caribbean Climate Change Partnership

The Japan-Caribbean Climate Change Partnership (J-CCCP) is designed to strengthen the capacity of countries in the Caribbean to invest in climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies, as prioritised in their Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). These technologies will help reduce the dependence on fossil fuel imports, setting the region on a low-emission development path; as well as improve the region’s ability to respond to climate risks and opportunities in the long-run, through resilient development approaches that go beyond disa...[more]

Partners
Government of Japan, United Nations Development Programme, Governments of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Republic of Guyana, Jamaica, Belize and the Republic of Suriname, Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, University of West Indies, and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Action Network
Sustainable Development Goals
Lighthouses Initiative

IRENA has developed the SIDS Lighthouses Initiative to support the strategic deployment of renewable energy in SIDS, to bring clarity to policy makers regarding the required steps, and to enable targeted action. As a joint effort of SIDS and development partners, this framework for action will assist in transforming SIDS energy systems through the establishment of the enabling conditions for a renewable energy-based future, by moving away from developing projects in isolation to a holistic approach that considers all relevant elements spanning from policy and market frameworks, through technol...[more]

Partners
Antigua and Barbuda, Mauritius, Bahamas, Nauru, Barbados, Palau, Cabo Verde, Samoa, Comoros, São Tomé and Príncipe, Cook Islands, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Fiji, Seychelles, Grenada, Solomon Islands, Guyana, Tonga, Kiribati, Trinidad and Tobago, Maldives, Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, Vanuatu, Federated States of Micronesia, ENEL, New Zealand, European Union, Norway, France, SE4ALL, Germany, ...[more]
Action Network
Sustainable Development Goals
Transforming Guyana's Economy while Combating Climate Change

In 2010 the president initiated Guyana's low-carbon development strategy Called "Transforming Guyana's Economy While Combating Climate Change". Source: Guyana's low-carbon development strategy 'Transforming Guyana's Economy While Combating Climate Change' (2010) reflects the outcome of almost a year of review and consultation within Guyana, coupled with input from climate change negotiations at the United Nations, and other international climate change initiatives. It sets out Guyana's strategy to forge a new low carbon economy over the coming decade. It identifies the eight priorities that ...[more]

Partners
Action Network
Sustainable Development Goals
United Nations