The south American nation's president, Bharrat Jagdeo, said he would place the country's rainforests under the control of a British-led body in exchange for "technical assistance needed to make the change to a green economy."
"We have received a letter from the President and we are considering it," an official spokesman for the UK prime minister, Gordon Brown, was reported as saying last night.
Countries like Guyana, with high forest cover and low deforestation rates, are hoping that UN climate talks in Bali next month will establish a framework for compensated forest protection.
Globally, deforestation and land use change accounts for 15% to 20% of total emissions, a larger source of greenhouse gases than the entire transportation sector.
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