After five-day meeting…
ELECTED indigenous leaders of French Guiana, Suriname and Guyana ended a five-day conference in Georgetown last week, with several resolutions and agreements for spearheading the struggle to prevent deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, parts of which fall within the three countries.

“All actors must recognise and act accordingly, that forests are not merely tradeable commodities in climate change and or carbon sinks but represent other values for indigenous peoples who have cared for them over many centuries.

“We will simply not allow mining or massive infrastructure projects or any other schemes which violate our rights and interests,” one resolution stated.

The meeting addressed the issues of climate change, mining and the massive developmental project, the Initiative for the Integration of the Regional Infrastructure of South America (IIRSA), as major threats to the rainforest and the indigenous peoples’ way of life. 

Delegates also resolved to take steps for ensuring, that any Government decisions on issues which affect the ecological diversity of the rainforest are arrived at with the participation of leaders of the indigenous communities and in keeping with the principles of free prior and informed consent (FPIC).

The issues on which they want consultation include climate change and the action for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD).

The resolutions were announced at a press conference last Friday, Regency Suites Hotel, Hadfield Street, Stabroek, where the leaders met.

Delegation heads also spoke about a series of activities in which they will be engaged over the next few months, among them sensitisation of their communities on the issues at the grassroots level and increased collaboration with governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in accordance with their objectives.

President of the Guyanese Amerindian People’s Association (APA), Mr. Tony James said: “The meeting resulted in strategies and action plans on our key concerns and we have informed our Government about these. But we want to negotiate as well with NGOs, too, and will be working on a mechanism through which all this is possible.”

During their deliberations, it was revealed, that the Amazon rainforest is home to 400 different tribes of indigenous peoples, at least 60 of which live in voluntary isolation from the dominant society.

Another revelation was that the rainforest spreading across nine countries, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana included, plays a vital role in stabilising weather patterns and restraining climate change, while supporting the greatest diversity on Earth.

Endangered
The forum was also told that the stability of the rainforest had become increasingly endangered, due to rapid deforestation caused by mining and other massive infrastructure projects that are designed to accelerate the extraction of a wide range of resources.

Almost 20 per cent of the forest has disappeared over the past 40 years and each year between 7,000 and 17,000 square miles are destroyed, with scientists predicting that, if development plans for the Amazon continue unchecked, its entirety will be at the tipping point or brink of permanent ecological collapse within the next 10 to 20 years, the discussants were informed.

The Guiana Shield Regional Meeting was organised by the three national level indigenous organisations of the region – the APA, Organisatie Van Inheemsen (OIS) of Suriname and the Fédération des Organisations Autochtones de Guyana Village Amérindien (FOAG) of French Guiana, in coordination with the Coordinator of Indigenous Organisations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) and the Amazon Alliance.

Those in attendance agreed that the Amazon was not just a forest, but home of the indigenous peoples and their pharmacy at the very centre of their way of life.

Illegal and unregulated mining and its concomitant hazard of mercury pollution was described as a major threat to the health of indigenous peoples.

Mr. Leon Wijngaarde and Mr. Leslie Artist, from the Suriname delegation, said members had recorded instances of babies in indigenous villages being born blind or without limbs and other deformities, suspected to be related to mercury poisoning.

Mr. Jean Auberic Charles, who led the French Guiana group (FOAG), which represents 32 indigenous peoples, reported that the gathering helped to consolidate the unity of the indigenous peoples of the Guiana Shield Region

He said delegates reiterated their determination to work together and strengthen their collaborative effort on matters relating to climate change, REDD and other forest debates in which the indigenous peoples are legitimate rights holders.

Resource persons for the five-day duration included leading experts on the topics of climate change, REDD, IIRSA and mining.