Comments on: When will the multi-stakeholder process for Guyana’s forests begin? http://www.redd-monitor.org/2009/04/22/when-will-the-multi-stakeholder-process-for-guyana%e2%80%99s-forests-begin/ Analysis, opinions, news and views about Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:25:44 +0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Chris Lang http://www.redd-monitor.org/2009/04/22/when-will-the-multi-stakeholder-process-for-guyana%e2%80%99s-forests-begin/comment-page-1/#comment-1816 Chris Lang Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:11:18 +0000 http://www.redd-monitor.org/?p=1684#comment-1816 An article in <em>Kaieteur News</em> on 19 April 2009, gives an indication of how unsuccessful the Guyana Forestry Commission's "consultation" on REDD has been so far. The headline is: "<a href="http://www.kaieteurnews.com/2009/04/19/indigenous-leaders-speak-frankly-%E2%80%98we-don%E2%80%99t-know-anything-about-carbon-trading-and-redd%E2%80%99/" rel="nofollow">Indigenous leaders speak frankly: 'We don't know anything about Carbon Trading and REDD'</a>". The article reports on a meeting between Indigenous Peoples' representatives from Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana (who were in Georgetown for a meeting last week) and President Bharrat Jagdeo. The following exchange is reported in the article: <ul> "When Sydney Allicock, a leader of the Macushi Amerindian community of Surama, asked the President to teach Amerindians about REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) and carbon trading, the President gave a commitment to take his plan to the communities and explain it to them." </ul> To put this in context, Guyana has already written its Readiness Plan (R-Plan) for the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility. Having written the R-Plan, Guyana's president is now promising to explain what REDD is to indigenous communities. This turns the concept of Free Prior Informed Consent on its head. An article in Kaieteur News on 19 April 2009, gives an indication of how unsuccessful the Guyana Forestry Commission’s “consultation” on REDD has been so far. The headline is: “Indigenous leaders speak frankly: ‘We don’t know anything about Carbon Trading and REDD’“. The article reports on a meeting between Indigenous Peoples’ representatives from Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana (who were in Georgetown for a meeting last week) and President Bharrat Jagdeo. The following exchange is reported in the article:

    “When Sydney Allicock, a leader of the Macushi Amerindian community of Surama, asked the President to teach Amerindians about REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) and carbon trading, the President gave a commitment to take his plan to the communities and explain it to them.”

To put this in context, Guyana has already written its Readiness Plan (R-Plan) for the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility. Having written the R-Plan, Guyana’s president is now promising to explain what REDD is to indigenous communities. This turns the concept of Free Prior Informed Consent on its head.

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