Company: Environmental Management Consultants (EMC)

Mr. Shyam Nokta is a natural resources, environment and climate change consultant and Chief Representative for the Caribbean for The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). Mr. Nokta previously served as Adviser to the President and Head of Guyana’s Office of Climate Change where he played a key role in overseeing Guyana’s response to climate change and the development and implementation of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). The LCDS received national and international
acclaim and was recognized by the United Nations as one of the first working models of green growth.

Mr. Nokta was one of the principal negotiators for the Avoided Deforestation (REDD+) Partnership with the Kingdom of Norway and was responsible for coordinating it’s implementation. The Guyana-Norway Partnership was the first national-scale model of REDD+ and Guyana one of the first countries to receive payments for forest climate services under the landmark US$250 Million Agreement. The lessons from
the Guyana-Norway Partnership helped shape the REDD+ component of the Paris Agreement.

Mr. Nokta is eminently qualified in the field of natural resources, environmental management, climate change and green growth with substantial experience in policy, strategy development and projects implementation. He is the founder and principal of Environmental Management Consultants (EMC), one of Guyana’s premier environmental service providers and which offers a range of services to Governments, NGOs and private sector entities. Mr. Nokta oversees a team of national and international experts whose work includes providing support to meet Multilateral Environmental Agreements (such as UN Conventions on climate change, biodiversity, land degradation); environmental training and capacity building, environmental and social impact assessments (ESIAs) and environmental management plans (EMPs); biodiversity assessments and management planning; and environmental compliance support for project in the oil and gas, mining, agriculture, fisheries, forestry, energy, manufacturing and infrastructure sectors. He has guided the preparation of over 25 EIAs and 60 EMPs covering 15 + sectors.

Mr. Nokta has been involved in key conservation initiatives in Guyana having worked with the Iwokrama International Centre and it’s programme for biodiversity conservation and management. He was one of the founding members of the Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society (GMTCS) and served as In-Country Representative of Fauna & Flora International (FFI), one of the oldest conservation organisations globally which provided training and capacity development support for Guyana’s Protected Areas System.

Mr. Nokta served as Chairman of the Board for the Kaieteur National Park for over 5 years and played a key role in establishing legislation for Protected Areas and setting up Guyana’s Protected Areas Commission where he served as the first Chairman of the Board. Mr. Nokta was involved in the development of Guyana’s tourism sector by providing policy level support, strategic guidance and involvement in the development of tourism legislation and the setting up of Guyana’s Tourism Authority.
Mr. Nokta has been integrally involved in Guyana’s private sector and is currently the President of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA). As a member on the Council of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) where he headed the Energy Sub Committee and currently chairs the Energy Committee of the American Chambers of Commerce (AMCHAM) in Guyana. Mr. Nokta is currently chairing a Government-appointed Advisory Panel on Local Content for the Petroleum Sector.

Mr. Nokta holds a Master of Science in Environmental Assessment and Management with Distinction from the University of Oxford-Brookes, a Bachelors of Sciences Degree in Environmental Studies with Distinction and a Diploma in Tourism Studies from the University of Guyana. He is the recipient of several academic awards includes the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship from the US Government to pursued PhD studies and the IDB-Japan Scholarship to pursue studies at the MSc level.