The exercise was conducted in eighteen Macushi and Wapishiana communities that interact with the Kanuku mountain range in the Rupununi for their daily existence, Regional Information Officer Terrence Boston reported.

The consultation process referred to as a Community Research Review was done in Region Nine (Upper Takutu/ Upper Essequibo) where wildlife and other biodiversity resources are slowly being threatened to extinction and need to be managed, Boston stated.

Executive Director of CI in Guyana, Major General (ret’d) Joseph Singh said during the review of the consultation that the pioneering work of the community resource evaluation (CRE) would be used with other data to further consultations towards the implementation of the protected areas. Among the benefits of the process, persons from the local communities will now have an understanding and appreciation of what protected areas are all about.

Singh also said he expects that the work done so far in Region Nine by CI would be used as a model for other protected areas, Boston reported.

It is planned that this data base collected will be circulated to the Amerindian communities and used as a reference document of what resources are available, where they are found, how to use them and how important it is to manage these resources.

This information will be channelled to the regional and national advisory groups, the Cabinet, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Office of the President for consideration. Once approved, Boston added, CI will have the responsibility to reconvene meetings with the toshaos (indigenous village leaders), the Regional Advisory Committee and other stakeholders in Region Nine to re-engage their alliance and involvement in moving the process through its final stages.

A Conservation Inter-national (CI) press release named the evaluated communities as Mauranau, Sand Creek, Parikwarinau, Shulinab, Meriwau, Quiko, Moco-Moco, Nappi, Hiowa, Parishara, Yupukari, Kaicumbay, Katoka, Saint Ignatius, Kumu, Quarrie, Shea and Rupunau.

Singh said while CI aims to conserve biodiversity, protected areas in themselves were not the objective.

He stated further that while biodiversity is being conserved, it also enhances the livelihood of the communities so that enterprises such as local tourism, among other ventures, can be established to bring real income to the indigenous people, Boston reported.

During the consultation process, CI held several community meetings in villages where the proposed protected areas are to be established. The consultations, Boston said, allowed the opportunity for the communities to select those who could represent the interest of particular villages.

The selected participants worked along with their coordinators and a five-member team from CI with staff members who are fluent in the Macushi and Wapishiana dialect as well as English, enabling full participation in the exercise.

Boston said participants focussed on collecting data on farming, fishing, hunting and gathering which are all integral aspects of the everyday life of the local Amerindians who target the mountains for their sustenance.

The data collected facilitated the creation of a resource list, development of a seasonal calendar that indicates periods when different resource use occurs and information on how these resources are utilised. Mapping of resource hot spots was also designed and is now available.

Meanwhile, at the meeting Susan Stone of CI in presenting an overview of the consultation disclosed that 424 persons from all the communities participated in the exercise.

And Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues who also spoke at the review said that frequent complaints from Amerindian communities which have been coming to the Ministry dealt with issues related to forestry and mining.

She noted that government held the view that if these activities are not monitored they would have serious effects on Amerindian communities. For this reason, Rodrigues said, government is encouraging the local communities to not only involve themselves in the consultation process but also to be part of the advancement of protected areas, Boston reported.

Also at the meeting were EPA representative Ramesh Lilwah, World Bank representative Lucia Hammer, Director of CI-Guyana, Clayton Hall and Regional Chairman, Region Nine, Vincent Henry.