Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jan 09, 2011 News
– Pauline Sukhai
The mechanism through which Amerindian communities can opt into the government’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) has not been developed as yet, but the Amerindian Affairs Minister, Pauline Sukhai says Amerindians would be involved.
Sukhia told a recent press conference that the opt-in mechanism would be fine-tuned and developed with the Amerindian communities.
The government has pledged all of Guyana’s forests in global efforts to fight climate change if it could get international partnerships to do so.
The LCDS forms the basis under which the Norwegian Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to give Guyana US$250 million over five years if it were to protect the rainforest.
Amerindians comprise 9.1 percent of Guyana’s population and currently own approximately 14 per cent of the land with a majority of the communities holding Absolute Titles to their lands.
“In the LCDS, there is no pressure on anyone to opt in,” Sukhai said.
Guyana could be among the first countries to benefit from funding for preserving forests when a UN process called REDD-plus, kicks in.
A report, which was compiled by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), has suggested that any funding mechanisms under the LCDS would be managed by the indigenous people themselves.
The IIED was contracted by the governments of Guyana and Norway to carry out a review of the consultation process of the LCDS.
The government has said that the forests it has pledged for international partnerships do not include those on Amerindian lands.
Funds could be managed through mechanism(s) to be set up under the National Toshaos Council working in tandem with Village Councils with technical, legal and financial expertise provided as may be necessary.
This was articulated in the LCDS draft document and has been further emphasised in the stakeholder Consultation Framework and in sub national outreach meetings and other awareness sessions.
The Indigenous Peoples’ financial mechanisms proposed so far include: An Amerindian Development Fund for LCDS payments; Indigenous Peoples’ Low Carbon Development Bank; Indigenous Peoples LCDS Trust Fund.
The LCDS draft says that: “The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs is continuing to work to expand land under Amerindian ownership, and extra resources provided through REDD and other forest payments will be used to accelerate this process.”
President Bharrat Jagdeo has said that the first tranche of resources to come from Norway will go towards land demarcation.
Some Amerindian leaders have expressed the view that they don’t understand the LCDS and further consultations were promised.
At a recently held meeting, the National Toshaos Council impressed upon the World Bank the urgency of disbursing funds which were promised to help in the awareness exercise.
The same review conducted by IIED had suggested that audio-visual films explaining key facts about the LCDS could help Guyana’s Amerindian people understand better.
Bilingual translators were catered for in the conceptual framework for the LCDS consultations and were on hand and utilised as required at the sub national sessions.
The World Bank, in 2009, announced the approval of a US$200,000 seed grant to support the development of the LCDS, including community awareness activities to be coordinated by the National Toshaos Council. But so far the funds have not been released.
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