Member of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) Multi-Stakeholder Steering Committee, Peter Persaud, said that the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) is not being honest in its criticism of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility consultation process and its treatment of land tenure issues. An article in the Guyana Times yesterday noted that the APA believes that Guyana’s Readiness Preparation Proposal (RPP) does not meet FCPF rules and guidelines, since it has failed to take into consideration uncertainties regarding “land tenure arrangements.”
According to the article, the APA president said government was unable to furnish the APA with terms of reference outlining its role in the entire outfit; “and, as such, the APA will not be hypocritical and participate.”
According to the article, APA President Tony James is concerned that the APA’s recommendations for the Guyana RPP have not yet taken onboard.
The APA shared their concerns at the FCPF meeting which ended on Wednesday. The APA also claimed that the National Toshaos Council (NTC) Chairperson Yvonne Pearson acts unilaterally. According to the article, the decisions of the NTC are not representative of the views of the APA.
But Persaud repudiated the statements of the APA on Pearson and the consultations of the NTC. He said that the body met about ten times since the beginning of the year and that the consultations were in line with the principles of Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).
Persaud said: “When you look at the latest RPP, you will find that these issues are mentioned.” He said that the RPP is compliant with the goals all international bodies, like the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change. He said that all of the consultations are consistent with the tenets of FPIC. Persaud said that FPIC is mentioned on page 15 of Guyana’s RPP; while land tenure issues, which the APA was also concerned about, are mentioned on pages 24 and 25.
“The APA was being dishonest and misleading to international donors, but the World Bank knows better,” Persaud said, noting that the consultations were done by the NTC. Persaud said that the Technical Advisory Panel of the FCPF looked at the issues that the APA is concerned with.
According to Persaud, the APA is also concerned about land tenure issues. But he said that Guyana does not have a land-grabbing issue like many other countries. He said that the APA is saying that land demarcation teams do not report to the village councils and that the villagers do not know what the teams are doing. But he said that the teams are mandated to report to the village councils since the councils have a role to play in the process.