GEORGETOWN, GUYANA -- The Rainforest Alliance has been selected to conduct an independent review of Guyana’s Annual Progress reports on curbing deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) under the Guyana-Norway forest protection agreement.

According to the Stabroek News, the Rainforest Alliance Program was contracted by the Norwegian Ministry of the Environment to verify the cumulative accuracy of two annual progress reports on REDD-plus Enabling Indicators. Guyana has completed two of these reports, one covering November 2009 to February 2010 and the other from March 2010 to September 2010.

Last November, Norway and Guyana signed a Memorandum of Understanding through which Norway agreed to pay approximately $30 million this year and potentially up to a total of $250 million by 2015 to help Guayana preserve its forests and limit forest-based greenhouse gas emissions.