Guyana pledges full commitment to ACTO founding principles
MINISTER of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Mr. Manniram Prashad assured, yesterday, that as a signatory to the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT), Guyana remains fully committed to the founding principles and protection of sovereignty, sustainable development, fight against poverty and improvement in the quality of life of its citizens.
He gave the assurance at the opening session of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO) Regional Technical Workshop at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara.
The two-day event is being held under the theme ‘Developing Environmentally Sustainable Community-based Tourism in the Amazon Region’ and seeks to address ways to promote the preservation of the Amazon Basin and regulate Amazonian development through the cooperation of its members.
Prashad told the visiting delegations that Guyana continues its aggressive drive to achieve economic growth and development and seeks to do so without compromising the environment.
He said the goal is being achieved by the adoption of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), an initiative of President Bharrat Jagdeo.
“Guyana has adopted a Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and we are confident that we can achieve economic growth and development without compromising our environment and our pristine rainforest,” Prashad reiterated.
He said the forum is “relevant and timely” when the world is confronted with the impacts of climate change.
“This technical meeting is happening at a critical time and juncture when the world is confronted with climate change which impacts every sector of society, especially the more vulnerable indigenous, rural and remote communities,” Prashad explained.
He noted, too, that community entrepreneurship could make a real difference to the local and national economy, promote social cohesion and community pride and emphasised that industry at large and ACTO need to nurture, support and grow it.

IMPORTANT NICHE

In light of this, Prashad took the opportunity to point out that community based tourism in Guyana is growing and expanding and it is an important niche market for which this country has established a competitive advantage over the years.
“We have a sacred duty to make community led tourism work. We must address the challenges faced, share best practices and lessons learned, identify opportunities, create a network among communities across the Amazon, develop partnerships and build synergies,” he maintained.
He lauded the efforts of ACTO in seeking to protect and promote sustainable practices within the Amazon Region, which is the largest remaining area of pristine tropical rainforest, totalling approximately 7.2 million square kilometers, the habitat for one-third of the world’s species and which contains 20 per cent of its fresh water resources, rich in biodiversity with high endemism and culturally rich with 30 million inhabitants and more than 420 ethnic groups.
“I must acknowledge and congratulate ACTO for their vision and numerous initiatives to protect and promote the Amazon Region and their leadership in integrating the peoples of the Amazon,” Prashad said.
He concluded by urging deliberation on certain key areas during the course of the discussions, including  developing a best practice guide for community based tourism in the Amazon and a community based tourism manual,  assisting with training and capacity building for communities in tour guiding, hospitality and management and developing and establishing a funding mechanism for selected pilot communities for product development, marketing and access to new information and communication technologies.
In his address, the Secretary General, Mr. Alejandro Gordillo said ACTO is, presently, focusing on designing and implementing programmes which are important for Andean countries.

STRATEGIC AGENDA

For that process, he called for greater participation from member countries as well as those outside of the Region in order to achieve it and announced that a strategic agenda has been designed to stimulate greater Amazonian cooperation.
Gordillo also demanded that member States give their full support towards the initiatives.
“ACTO depends on its member countries. If we want progress and to move forward, it is necessary to work together with the Permanent Secretariat,” he stated.
Since its establishment, in the city of Brasilia, Brazil, the ACTO Permanent Secretariat has signed agreements and implemented projects to induce Amazonian sustainable development.
The ACT was signed on July 3, 1978, by Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela, with the aim of promoting joint actions towards the harmonious development of the Amazon Basin.
In 1995, the eight nations decided to create ACTO, to strengthen and implement its goals.
The basic principle of ACTO is to promote the sustainable development of the Amazon Region and its coordination include areas such as environment, health, science, technology and communication, tourism, transport, communication and indigenous affairs.
Being the major initiative on regional integration of the Amazon, ACTO is becoming an important tool in promoting unity in South America.
Representatives of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela and Guyana are attending the workshop where they are relating their community based tourism experiences.