Village Sustainability Plans (VSP) Project

The Village Sustainability Plans (VSP) Project, financed under the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) with a dedicated budget of USD 3,464,285, represents a transformative investment in grassroots climate justice and participatory development across Guyana’s Amerindian and hinterland communities. 

Signaling a strong commitment to village-level climate investment, this project continues to deliver essential technical assistance, training, and coordination at the national level while also helping individual villages turn plans into actionable initiatives. Whether through piloting small-scale resilient infrastructure and sustainable agriculture interventions or advancing eco-tourism and other community-driven livelihood activities, this initiative has been empowering villages to craft and execute their own sustainability strategies. At the core of this investment, the communities are positioned to initiate and lead growth strategies that embed their local priorities for driving social and economic progress, natural resource management, and local infrastructure. All the while, the VSP ensures alignment with broader national climate and forest goals upheld under Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS 2030).

The VSP initiative directly supports Amerindian villages in preparing and implementing these plans while building the technical and institutional capacity of the National Toshaos Council (NTC), village councils, and the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs. By doing so, the project strengthens governance systems, advocacy and representation enabling the communities to manage and chart their own sustainable development trajectories. The project’s main objectives are: 

• Support Amerindian villages in preparing and implementing actionable sustainability plans.
• Build technical and institutional capacity of the NTC, village councils, and the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs.
• Promote inclusive participation of women, youth, and vulnerable groups in planning and decision-making.
• Enhance access to climate finance and sustainable livelihood opportunities for communities.

The project has several expected Outcomes, where participating villages are expected to:

• Be equipped to undertake long-term sustainability planning and implementation.
• Benefit from a monitoring, evaluation, and learning system to ensure continuous improvement.
• Experience stronger collaboration between communities, government agencies, and development partners.
• Demonstrate greater environmental stewardship and resilience across Amerindian communities.

The VSP ensures that Indigenous villages are empowered to lead their own sustainable development in harmony with Guyana’s LCDS 2030, translating global climate ambitions into locally meaningful pathways.

Impact

Over time, the VSP Project is anticipated to generate far-reaching impact: increased equity in benefit sharing from REDD+ revenues, strengthened community resilience, improved natural resource stewardship, and deeper trust in participatory governance mechanisms. By leading their own development trajectories, villages can implement locally appropriate growth strategies that enhance social, environmental, and economic outcomes.

The VSP Project embodies a paradigm shift in climate finance: moving from top-down resource allocation to bottom-up, locally grounded planning, ensuring that Indigenous communities are at the forefront of shaping and implementing sustainable development across Guyana’s hinterland.