PRESS RELEASE

National Protected Areas Project

The APA has written to President Bharrat Jagdeo urging him to move forward in the national interest on the National Protected Areas Project. Guyana still remains the only country in South America without a protected areas system. This project has been in the pipeline for the past five years and while there have been sporadic attempts to get it off the ground no serious steps have been taken to address the conflicts between the government’s position and the constraints under which the donors operate. A key issue has been the government’s failure to understand that donors cannot support a protected areas system which violates the rights of indigenous peoples.

The APA maintains its position that Amerindian legal and traditional (or customary) rights must not be infringed or violated. This is fully consistent with donor agencies such as the World Bank who are not allowed to support projects that impact negatively on indigenous rights.

The APA expresses serious doubts about the government’s commitments to respect Amerindian rights. It has been nine months since the government agreed to amend the Kaieteur National Park Act to save existing Amerindian rights. Melinda Janki, legal advisor to the community has said, " This delay is inexplicable and obviously of great concern to the community." The APA itself shares this opinion since the President has not responded to any of the letters written by Chenapou to his office. The organisation has reminded President Jagdeo that the amendment must go through before the NPAS project can proceed.

The APA has suggested consultation and mediation as ways of resolving potential conflicts in the nation’s interest. The APA has expressed the willingness to work with Clayton Hall who has recently been retained by the UNDP to try to move the process forward. The organisation expresses disappointment at the role played by Navin Chanderpal as Advisor to the President in the extension of the Kaieteur National Park and his poor handling of Amerindian issues in the NPAS project.

The APA will also soon be communicating with the World Bank on this issue.

APA Executive Committee
10^th February, 2000