Iwokrama strikes deal with Fair View village
Guyana Chronicle
December 23, 2006
THE Amerindian village of Fair View has signed an agreement with the Iwokrama International Centre to become part owners of Iwokrama’s sustainable forestry business.
Addressing a gathering at the signing ceremony Thursday at the Hotel Tower in Georgetown, Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Ms. Carolyn Rodrigues, said the move is an important one as it relates to the development of the Amerindian people.
She said Fair View is an example of the way Amerindian communities should operate and stands out in a lot of ways.
“I believe that if we can all work together this can be a shining example for others to follow,” she stated.
She said it speaks volumes that villagers sought to have an agreement with Iwokrama for sustainable development even before they were granted land titles in July this year.
The minister pointed out, though, that some Amerindian communities, after receiving their land titles, signed agreements to do the very opposite of what they had promised and rigged their forest.
She pointed out that her ministry is placed between a rock and a hard place since it is trying to let the villages operate independently but when bad decisions are made persons automatically look to the ministry.
Rodrigues announced that when the new Amerindian Act is taken to Parliament it will ensure that persons opening their places to commercial activities will have to first consult the ministry.
Director General of the Iwokrama International Centre, Dr. David Singh, said the agreement marks a new era of formal relationship between local communities and a protected area.
“Today, we demonstrate that it is possible that people can live, sustain their livelihoods, find self advancement and fulfil their aspirations, whilst living and working within a park,” he said.
Fair View now owns about 22,000 hectares of state forest in the Iwokrama Programme Site.
Fair View village is located near the Kurupukari crossing of the Essequibo River and the local economy is based on trading in Crabwood oil, agriculture, fishing and hunting.
The village is made up of Makushi, Patamona and Wapishana peoples.
The Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development is an autonomous non-profit institution established by Guyana and the Commonwealth.
The centre manages the nearly one million acre (371,000 hectares) Iwokrama Forest in central Guyana to show how tropical forests can be conserved and sustainably used to provide ecological, social and economic benefits to local, national and international communities.