The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment has acknowledged that over three years ago, parts of the contentious road in the Parabara area in Region Nine (Upper Takutu/ Upper Essequibo) were “seen to be in construction” but no action appeared to have been taken by the authorities.
The ministry had previously indicated that no permission was given for the construction of the road. The ministry is currently conducting a probe after concerns were expressed recently about the road being built by Brazilians in the area—one of Guyana’s most pristine and biodiversity rich regions. Miners had descended on Parabara in their numbers in 2010 following a “gold shout” and a number of persons were granted medium-scale prospecting permits.
In a brief response to further queries by Stabroek News, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Robert Persaud said that parts of the road were seen to be in construction in the 2009/ 2010 period. Other sources have said that the road has since been further developed and is heading in the direction of the New River triangle. Stabroek News was told that the Brazilian national involved in the construction of the road has been identified as Junior Martin. His Guyanese partner, a prominent Bartica gold miner, was granted prospecting permits medium scale (PPMS) in the area by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) in 2010.
Despite the construction of the road being observed in 2010, it was not observed in imagery taken last year for deforestation checks under the Guyana-Norway forests partnership, according to the emailed response from Persaud, sent via another ministry official.
He said that the MRVS (Monitoring, Reporting and Verification System) 2013 Report was checked to see whether mining in the New River Triangle and the road around Parabara showed up on the imagery in the Year 3 report. “We have checked the Year 3 (this is for year 2012) imagery at 5m resolution and the road nor the mining showed up. This therefore means that these two activities did not take place in 2012,” he said. Other sources said that forest degradation – attributed to mining – in several areas including the New River Triangle, had shown up in the imagery and this had “surprised” officials who did not expect mining to be taking place there.
“It was also found that in the historic period – way back in 2009/2010 parts of the road was seen to be in construction,” Persaud added.
It is not clear how the images taken for last year would not have picked this up. Other questions raised include why nothing appeared to have been done after the road was seen to be in construction in the 2009/2010 period.
Last week after several reports surfaced that a road was being built, the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) expressed fear of the consequences of a road in that area of southern Guyana. “Guyana’s last frontier is being breached by Brazilian mining interests who are constructing a road intended to drive deep into the heart of South Rupununi, eventually reaching the New River Triangle. This development will generate a cascade of economic, social, security, political and environmental problems in an area of Guyana which currently has token governmental infrastructure,” said the organisation in a statement.
Subsequently, in response to queries by Stabroek News, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary Joslyn McKenzie in a brief emailed statement said: “We received information in this regard and a team has been deployed to conduct a detailed investigation into this matter.” A subsequent note added that “no permission was issued for the construction of the road referred to and [the ministry is] working with the local community to ascertain further details.”
Over recent weeks, reports have surfaced that a road was being built in the area. Reports indicated that it was being built beyond Parabara, which is 247 kilometres away from the regional capital, Lethem. The relatively pristine area contains the headwaters of several rivers that eventually join the Essequibo. While it is relatively understudied, assessments have found the biodiversity of the area to be rich, with some of the species endemic to that area.
Stabroek News was further told by a source that during processing of images for last year’s report on deforestation under the Guyana-Norway forest protection partnership, forest degradation which appeared to be as a result of mining activities in southern Guyana “surprised” officials as they did not expect this to be occurring there. The GGMC, when informed, professed to not have knowledge of the mining, Stabroek News was told. “GGMC gave no mining leases for that area meaning it was illegal mining,” the source said.
The Amerindian community of Parabara is one of the more remote communities in Guyana and is located along the biodiversity-rich Kuyuwini River. It is close to the Marudi Mountains where mining is currently ongoing. Another area in the Deep South Rupununi where mining is currently ongoing is Wakadanawa.
