Memorandum signed with CI for protection of southern forest
Stabroek News
November 26, 2002
The Government of Guyana (GoG) and Conservation International (CI) last weekend signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a Protected Area in Southern Guyana and to link conservation with the long-term health and development of the country.
The 1.5M acre south-eastern forest is seen as one of the anchors of the National Protected Areas System. Kaieteur National Park and the Iwokrama Rainforest Project have already been declared protected areas. The others to be declared are the Mabura/Murabali Reserve, Shell Beach, the Kanuku Mountains, the North Pakaraimas including the 2,800-metre high Mount Roraima and Southern Guyana - the subject of the MOU. The government after consultation with the local scientific community identified these areas for protection.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, signed the MOU on behalf of the government and CI’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Peter Seligmann, signed it on behalf of his organisation. CI’s President, Dr Russell Mittermeier, Nicholas Pritzker, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Hyatt Development Corporation and Hyatt Equities, LLC, and CI’s Regional Director, Major General (retired) Joe Singh were present at the signing ceremony in the Credentials Room at the Office of the President.
The press was not invited to attend the signing.
A release from CI’s local office says that the MOU among other things recognises “the global importance of Guyana’s biological resources and diversity and that the long-term economic, scientific and ecological values of intact primary forests may exceed the short-term benefit of revenues derived through extractive industries. The Government and CI are, therefore, jointly committed to conserving these resources in a sustainable manner.”
The release also says the agreement commits the government and CI “to developing a Management Plan and a Long-term Financial Vehicle that would finance the implementation of the Plan for the management of the Protected Area.”
“The timeline set for the declaration of the Protected Area is on or prior to June 30, 2003, after confirmation of the proposal by stakeholders, including the indigenous Wai Wais living in the area.”
According to the CI release, should the proposed Protected Area be declared by June 30, 2003, in addition to providing US$1M to endow a financial mechanism, that would support the long-term costs of managing protected areas in Guyana, among other things, CI would commit an additional US$1M to the process.
It says, too, that other financing would be sought from private donors, international agencies and governments to increase the capital of the proposed financial mechanism.
In the MOU, CI has agreed to prepare the Management Plan, provide technical support, and to function as the Management Authority for the proposed Southern Guyana Protected Area. “A key component of the process would be involvement of stakeholders, including the Wai Wais.”
A GINA release on the same issue quotes Dr Luncheon as describing the MOU as “perhaps a reflection of the confidence that is bestowed on this relationship and we anticipate as we move forward with this MOU, to develop an even stronger and more robust relationship with Conservation International”.
It also quotes Seligsmann as saying, “The MOU signals an important commitment and a pledge by Conservation International to stand with the government in finding solutions that would result in the protection of places on this planet that are irreplaceable.
“We are here to demonstrate our commitment to working with the Government in not only protecting the remarkably important part of the world, the beautiful forests that are rich biologically, but also working to create that link between conservation and the long-term health and development of this great country.”
CI has a similar agreement with the government in which it is the lead agency for the preparation of the Kanuku Mountains to be declared a protected area.
It also has a conservation agreement covering 81,000 hectares of pristine forest in the Upper Essequibo/Upper Takutu (Region 9). Under the agreement, CI will keep the forest intact and will pay royalties to the Guyana Forestry Commission.
