AN anonymous letter published in the Stabroek News on January 11 under the Headline: “Only one introductory LCDS meeting was held in Santa Rosa”craves my response; as it is apparent that the letter writer is sadly misinformed, both in regard to Guyana’s implementation of a Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and the opportunities the Strategy creates for our Indigenous population and their villages and communities. Furthermore, the writer appears to be oblivious to, or else, uninterested in Government’s several initiatives aimed at informing the Guyanese people, including our Amerindian population, through the media of public consultations, leaflets, the radio, the press, the Village General meeting, National Toshaos Council meetings, the Forests Associations, interested Indigenous Organisations, etc. about the Low Carbon Development Strategy and the benefits that will accrue to Guyana as a result of our offering our forests at the service of the world in what is a universal fight against the negative impact of climate change.
And where meetings were held in villages and the residents were more comfortable using their native language, translators were used.
2) While Government through the Multi-stakeholders Steering Committee have been at the forefront of these Public Awareness sessions such as the one to which the writer alludes and which was attended by several hundred residents of Santa Rosa Village, several Ministers of Government including the Minister of Amerindian Affairs; some Indigenous Organisations such as TAAMOG and NADF have themselves been conducting similar sessions in Villages and Communities, individually and in groups. Such is the commitment and dedication of some who appreciate that the education of our people on the Low Carbon Development Strategy requires a collaborative effort; while others are engaged in wicked campaigns of misinformation, distortions and sensationalism
3) The writer must know that Government’s respect for our Indigenous people and Government’s recognition of their right to the lands they have traditionally occupied are borne out not only by our acceleration of the Land Titling and Demarcation of Amerindian lands; but also, by Government’s determination that the decision of Amerindian villages to opt in or not to opt in to the strategy is one that they would unilaterally make. Furthermore, villages would receive benefits whether they placed their titled lands under the Strategy or not.
In fact, the issue of Amerindian Land rights is one the PPP/C Government is committed to address in our 1992, 1997, 2001 and 2006 Manifestos. And if the writer were a friend of The Truth, he/she would be aware of the fact that the PPP/C has been ploughing more and more resources annually since 1993 to have Amerindian Lands titled and demarcated. Furthermore, the PPP/C Government has also been addressing requests by several villages for extension of Land Titles. We have moved beyond the “Independence Agreement “to which the writer refers. The revised Amerindian Act 2006 stands out as testimony of our resolve to modernize our indigenous laws and to consult with and to involve our Amerindian organizations and our Amerindian people in the process.
The writer is encouraged to note that land titling, demarcation and extension were important items on the agenda of the National Toshaos’ Council Meetings held in July 2009 and again, in October 2010. These meetings, notwithstanding the fact that the 2006 Amerindian Act requires that the NTC meets at least once every two years. Indeed, most Toshaos welcome the opportunity provided so that they could meet beyond the “once every two years “to discuss issues of concern to them and their villages/communities.
4) Mr. Editor, the Guyanese public would know that when President Jagdeo, over three years ago, proposed that Guyana places its forests at the service of the world in the fight against Climate Change, while, at the same time ensuring that the country could both preserve its forest and benefit fully from the economic value they hold within them, he did both the world and Guyana an enormous service. In particular, in calculating the Economic Value to the Nation (EVN) of the forests, forests lands which come directly under Amerindian jurisdiction were excluded from the calculation; so that Amerindian communities may freely decide whether to opt in or out of the LCDS.
And Guyanese have been repeatedly reminded that public awareness programmes and consultations would be a continuous process in which our people are updated on developments with respect to the LCDS.
We are a large country and our Amerindian communities are widely spread, but, nevertheless, our government has not allowed the issues of costs and logistic difficulties to negate our commitment and our efforts at extensive consultations within and without these communities and this has been very clearly endorsed by reputable international organizations
In fact, may I remind our readers that the government has indentified several priorities for implementation under the Low Carbon Development Strategy, and these include accelerating of Amerindian Land Titling, Demarcation and Extension and Hinterland Electrification, all for the benefit of our Amerindian communities.
5) On October 28, 2010, 161 Toshao’s and senior councillors signed the resolution on REDD+ tabled at the Guyana International Conference Centre. There were widespread and lengthy discussions and a range of differing views were encouraged, both for and against the resolution. No one was coerced into signing and, indeed, the entire deliberation was witnessed by a number of distinguished persons present from prominent international organizations.  
Most of the information adumbrated above were ventilated during the June 2009 consultation in the Santa Rosa Village to which the mystery writer refers. Perhaps he/she like the indisciplined student was not attentive enough. Or, perhaps he/she did not care enough to note the above important issues that were being discussed at that time. But then again, some people hear only what they want to hear.   
Our government would continue to meet with our people and that includes our Amerindian citizens; providing them with opportunities to access information, to share their views/opinions/experiences, to voice their concerns, to offer suggestions and to be an integral part of any decision process on issues that may or may not affect them directly or indirectly. We invite our letter writer to be alert to these opportunities and to come on board.  After all, you too must enjoy the right to be heard and to be educated.