“Guyana has embarked on one of the world’s most ambitious low carbon development strategies. We are maintaining 99.5% of our forest in a way that aligns economic growth and socially inclusive development with action on climate change and environmental excellence. But far more than that – by 2016, we will also virtually eliminate our energy-related greenhouse gas emissions through a combination of solar power in every indigenous and forest-dependent home, and the Amaila Falls Hydro-Electricity plant.”

H.E. Mr. Donald Ramotar,

Former President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana

In 2010, implementation of the LCDS commenced, and Guyana is likely to receive between US350 million and US500 million in payments for the climate services provided by its forest between 2010 and 2015. This is underpinned by an agreement with the Government of Norway which will pay for up to US250 million of these services, and is the largest national-scale forest climate services agreement of its kind in the world. The payments are being managed through the Guyana REDD Investment Fund (GRIF), with the goal of catalyzing private investment to create a “low deforestation, low carbon, climate resilient economy”. GRIF will enable Guyana to:

• Invest in clean energy, including the development of hydropower. Funds from GRIF are being used as part of a Public-Private Partnership to construct and operate a hydro-electricity generation plant. This will enable Guyana to generate economic growth at, or in excess of, projected Latin American growth rates over the coming decade, while simultaneously eliminating approximately 30% of non-forestry based greenhouse gas emissions.

• Invest in public-private partnerships for low carbon economic infrastructure, including improving roads, drainage and irrigation to unused, non-forested land with high agricultural potential in the Intermediate Savannahs and Canje Basin; upgrading of sea and river defenses to protect against future sea level rise and flooding; and investment in high technology telecommunications facilities (fibre-optic bandwidth).

• Invest and create employment in high-value, low carbon economic sectors, including the production of fruit and vegetables, aquaculture, and sustainable forestry, as well as low carbon business development opportunities such as business process outsourcing and ecotourism.

• Invest in communities and human capital, thereby ensuring that Amerindian and hinterland communities and the broader Guyana citizenry have improved access to health, education, renewable energy, clean water and employment, without threatening the sustainability of forest resources.

The Government is offering long-term leases (up to 99 years) on over 200,000 hectares of land with abundant fresh water for large-scale agro-industrial investment and development.

The Government seeks Expressions of Interest from investors interested in these valuable opportunities, and also from those who are interested in entering Public-Private Partnerships for infrastructure up-grades—roads, power, ports—to support private investment in vertically- and/or horizontally-integrated large-scale agro-industrial projects.

Land blocks of over 5,000 hectares each are available, and ideally suited for export of:

• Aquaculture
• Orchard Crops - Oil palm, citrus, cashews, coconuts
• Tropical fruit - Pineapple, papaya, passion fruit, pomegranate
• Fast-growing trees (e.g. paulownia) and bamboo for bio-feed stock in co-generation
• Row Crops - Peanuts, pistachios, peas, peppers, sorghum, tomatoes, onions, herbs, spices
• Poultry
• High-end Flowers
• Ethanol from sugarcane for domestic use and export.

These land blocks are on non-forested land, and their development is an important component of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy, which seeks to open up employment and economic opportunities which do not put pressure on Guyana’s 16 million hectare forest.

A 2008 independent fact-based study by McKinsey & Co. estimated that annual export values from agricultural sector development of new crops and products in Guyana could reach the following values:

? Aquaculture – US350-450 million

? Fruits and vegetables – US 250-350 million

? Forestry – US200-300 million

? Bio-Ethanol - US500 – 600 million

CONTACT:

Large-scale investors and developers in production or infrastructure who are interested in opportunities in the Intermediate Savannahs or Canje Basin - or any other large-scale Low Carbon Development Strategy opportunities, should contact investment@lcds.gov.gy

200,000 HECTARES OF VALUABLE LAND

Land is available in:

Intermediate Savannahs (120,000 hectares available for lease) in north-east Guyana. This area is comparable to Brazil’s Cerrado Region but with more water, and closer to the Atlantic coast and export markets. Its open land requires liming and fertilization and is well-suited for at-scale production of crops as listed and fish farming. Corn and soy are also now in commercial production for seeds. Roads can be up-graded or built to connect the area to the international airport by truck in less than six hours for export of fresh and perishable produce. The Berbice River bi-sects the Intermediate Savannahs and is navigable to the Atlantic Coast by ocean-going ships for export of products and imports of equipment and inputs.

Canje Basin and Corentyne area (80,000 hectares available for lease) adjacent to the Intermediate Savannahs closer to the Corentyne River. Its rich soil is ideal for large-scale coconut growing as well as for expanding current sugar production.

Development requires draining swamps.

Competitive Advantages of investing in these areas include:

• Water supply is abundant from rivers and high annual rainfall (2000 mm/year or more).
• Soil quality ideal for the selected crops and uses noted on previous page.
• Year-round growing given locations of the investment areas are four degrees north of the Equator with permanent tropical temperatures and two annual rainy seasons.
• Strategic internal location in easy range of the Atlantic, airport, and bordering navigable rivers.
• Strategic country location close to markets in the U.S., Europe, and the Caribbean with direct access to north-south Atlantic Ocean shipping routes and on to the Panama Canal. Guyana has direct geographical proximity to 277 million consumers, and a US130 billion+ market with an overall purchasing power of over US2 trillion.
• Young, English-speaking population and English common law system mixed with Roman and Dutch law.
• No need to buy land given long-term leases on GOG-owned, large contiguous parcels of unoccupied, legally secure, virgin agricultural land.
• Strong Environmental integrity with no need to clear forest, or degrade or threaten the landscape.
• Communication up-grade to high speed broadband internet connections with two new fiber optic cables installed during the year 2010.