This initiative – led by Pilot Projects – is designed to incentivise forest conservation by strengthening local and global value chains for forest products in Guyana! The Forest Value Creation Hubs will connect small timber and NTFP producers with reliable domestic markets and internationally recognised group certification to boost high-end niche exports. The Design Innovation and Training Hub will integrate traditional crafts with international design expertise, training artisans to create high-value furniture and interior products.

This project, in partnership with an extensive Guyanese consortium and supported by UK PACT, addresses key infrastructure, institutional, and market barriers. It aims to enhance economic opportunities for forest and coastal communities while promoting forest-positive management practices. This project builds on the participation of Georgetown (Guyana) as part of the Cities4Forests network, and the city’s support of far forests through their Conservation Timber Works pilot and Partner Forest program.

This project offers a replicable model in Guyana to incentivize forest conservation by repositioning forest products in local value-creation systems and in national and international markets. It addresses infrastructure, institutional, equity, and market challenges that have constrained the forestry sector’s potential to support meaningful livelihoods in forest and coastal communities. This will be achieved through:

1. Enhanced Forest Value Creation Hub

Connecting small forest producers with reliable offtake, specialised equipment, and resources to improve returns. The hub will provide value-added processors with consistent high-quality-volumes of fit-for-purpose cuts, as well as non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for local and export markets. More small producers will gain access to value-added processing and group certification through Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), increasing high-end niche exports.

2. Enhanced Design Innovation and Training Hub

Linking upstream and downstream actors, the hub will decentralize existing niche production methods and drive product innovation and market growth. Local craft traditions will integrate with international designers to create new product lines. Craftspeople will be trained by master trainers to produce furniture and other interior products enhancing value and returns. 

3. Strengthened Equity, Institutional Capacity and Stakeholder Market Collaborations 

Fostering social and gender equity in the value chain, promoting sustainable products, networking upstream and downstream actors, and developing sustainable policies. Inequalities in the value chain will be explicitly addressed, with outcomes monitored through a novel Safeguards Information System to offer a scalable model for the sector.

What is UK PACT?

UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions) is funded by the UK Government through its International Climate Finance (ICF) portfolio. To deliver on climate and nature objectives, UK PACT funding has been prioritised for the Amazon biome with the objective of halting and reversing forest loss and land degradation by 2030. Under the second phase of UK PACT, a new fund called the UK PACT Amazon Regional Fund, will operate initially over three years (2024-2027). The fund works currently in Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana and Peru to address the key drivers of deforestation, by delivering projects which are primarily climate change mitigation focused, but also demonstrating climate change resilience/adaptation co-benefits where relevant.

For more information about the programme and the current portfolio of projects around the world please visit https://www.ukpact.co.uk/