MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Guyana offers to trade millions rain forest hectares for aid

Pte. Bharrat Jagdeo wants Guyana to be a Colony again?

Guyana has offered to preserve its entire rain forest with control going to a British-led international group in return for economic aid.

The assistance would be used to convert the South American nation to a "green" economy, The Independent reported. President Bharrat Jagdeo said he is looking for both technical help and backing for private-sector development. "We are a country with the political will and a large tract of standing forest," Jagdeo said. "I'm not a mercenary, this is not blackmail and I realize there's no such thing as a free lunch. I'm not just doing this just because I'm a good man and want to save the world, I need the assistance." Guyana, located between Venezuela and Brazil, is the only English-speaking country in South America because of its history as a British colony. Most of its million people live near the coast, while its interior rain forests are the size of Britain.