Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040.

The Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040 is Guyana’s twenty-year, national development policy that reflects the guiding vision and principles of the ‘green agenda. The central objective is development that provides a better quality of life for all Guyanese derived from the country’s natural wealth – its diversity of people and abundant natural resources (land, water, forests, mineral and aggregates, biodiversity). The vision of the ‘green agenda’ is centred on principles of a green economy defined by sustainable, low-carbon and resilient development that uses its resources efficiently, and sustained over generations. The development philosophy emphasises the importance of a more cohesive society based on principles of equity and tolerance between ethnic groups – recognising that diversity of culture and heritage is the underlying strength of the country’s human capital. Development objectives therefore seek to improve the health, education and overall well-being of Guyanese citizens, to lift people out of poverty through an economy that generates decent jobs and that provides opportunities for sustaining livelihoods over the long term.
The objectives of this Policy are broader than Guyana’s past development strategies and captures a more holistic view of the country’s social, economic and environmental well-being, in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular, the Strategy is transformational. It not only aims to foster sustained economic growth that is low-carbon and climate-resilient (consistent with the Low Carbon Development Strategy) but also to promotes social cohesion, good governance and careful management of finite natural resources in accordance with green economy (GE) principles. The main 8 development objectives of the Policy are the following: 1-Sound Fiscal and Monetary Policy; 2- Sustainable Management of Natural Resources; 3- Green and Inclusive Economic Diversification; 4- Transition to Renewable Energy; 5- : Resilient Infrastructure, Green Towns and Urban Public Spaces; 6- Trade, Investment and International Cooperation; 7- Healthy, Educated and Socially Cohesive Population; 8- Good Governance, Transparency and Knowledge Management.
In order to fully implement the development outcomes and provide benefits to all, the Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040 presents an ambitious development agenda that will require adjustments in attitude and action across all levels of Guyanese society. Business-as-usual approaches must be replaced by new and better ways of thinking and doing routine tasks, project actions and investment decisions, and in more coordinated and cost-effective ways, to arrive at the outcomes. This means being willing to move past ‘silo-ed’ working practices towards deeper and more meaningful collaboration across and within sectors. It means working via inter-ministerial, multi-stakeholder task force teams or public/private partnership mechanisms, with a shared purpose and common understanding of expected outcomes.