Dear Editor,
We write to communicate concerns about your article, ‘Ministerial team in Region 9 Low Carbon Consultation’ published on June 24, 2009. As Amerindian leaders and elders who were present in the said “consultations,” we strongly feel that your article, which was based on a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release, does not properly reflect what took place during the recent meetings in Region 9. While it is true that positive statements were expressed about the need to protect the forest and fight climate change, numerous participants voiced concerns over specific proposals in the President’s draft Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), which are not mentioned in your report.
In particular, participants raised our outstanding land issues and asked how the strategy would respect our rights as protected under international norms that are still not adequately safeguarded under the 2006 Amerindian Act and other national laws. Many people called for full respect for our traditional farming and activities on our traditional lands (both titled and untitled), while others highlighted the need to address land claims upfront before implementation of forest conservation schemes. Several individuals also conveyed serious concerns about LCDS proposals to support large-scale rice and soya bean farming in fragile savannah ecosystems.
We call on the Stabroek News to ensure that further reporting provide a balanced perspective of issues raised and views expressed by rights’ holders and citizens in future low carbon news stories.
May we also respectfully recommend that in the future the Stabroek News as a high quality newspaper not rely solely on the GINA reports for information on public views on government’s LCDS.
Yours faithfully,
Tony James, Aishalton Village
Ron James, Aishalton Village
Dave Lewis, South Central
Rupununi
Sydney Allicock, North Rupununi
Gavin Winter, Aishalton Village
