Chairman of Guyana’s National Toshaos Council, Derrick John has expressed his alarm over a complaint lodged by the Amerindian Peoples’ Association (APA) against Guyana’s National Forest Carbon Programme. In a statement to the media, he said the complaint was filed without consultation or consent from the National Toshaos Council (NTC), which represents indigenous peoples in Guyana.
He noted that an 18-page letter, which was addressed to the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) Secretariat and copied to several international institutions, including the United States Department of State and the Norwegian Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI), called for the suspension of all forest carbon credits issued to Guyana until the APA’s demands are met.
The Chairman has since accused the APA of being presumptuous and totally unacceptable in its demands, saying that it does not represent the wishes of the indigenous people. He has also criticized the APA for appointing itself as the spokesperson of the indigenous people in Guyana without their consent, despite previously accusing the government of not obtaining free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC).
Furthermore, the Chairman stated that the APA is a member of the national multistakeholder steering committee (MSSC), which oversees the LCDS 2030 implementation, including the forest carbon credit programme. However, the Committee was not informed of the APA’s move, and other representatives of indigenous peoples in Guyana were not consulted either.
As such, John called on other community leaders to speak out against the APA’s actions, which he said could deprive villages and communities of development funds that are essential for pursuing the vision of the indigenous people.
He also emphasized that indigenous leaders are actively engaged in developing plans and projects in consultation with their residents to determine development programmes for their respective communities, and the APA must not be allowed to interfere with this process.
