A continuing prohibition on joint requests for land title has led to the fragmentation of collective lands and a weakening of joint decision-making on land use among Guyana’s indigenous peoples, according to the findings of a recent study conducted by the Amerindian People’s Association (APA) in 42 Indigenous settlements across regions 1 and 2.
As a result, the study recommends that the government should amend the 2006 Amerindian Act to allow for joint title requests and also establish an independent national tribunal to hear the indigenous peoples’ claims and grievances about land, territorial and resource rights.