The Ministry of Natural Resources on February 5th signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MOU), cementing its relationship with the National Toshaos Council (NTC) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
The signing of the MoUs, according to the ministry, is intended to signal the importance of the Ministry’s commitment to engagement and development.
The signing ceremony was held at the Herdmanston Lodge, where the Chairman of the NTC, Nicholas Fredericks, and Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, signed copies of an MoU between the entities, allowing the ministry to collaborate with the council and maintain communication channels with the indigenous communities.
Additionally, WWF’s MoU was signed by Ndibi Schwiers, the Director of Environment under the Ministry of the Presidency. Schwiers added that the document is transformative and seeks to ensure the development of a pathway that is low carbon, sustainable and resilient.
“The WWF has been a consistent partner and has provided financial, administrative, institutional and technical assistance and support to key natural resource agencies. Additionally, it has helped to advance key strategic priorities, including the Government’s Green State Development Strategy (GSDS), the National Forest Policy and Statement and the Mineral Sector Policy and Framework, among others,” a release from the ministry stated, adding: “Also, due to the valuable role that Indigenous Peoples play in the preservation and management of Guyana’s natural resources, the Ministry and by extension the Government of Guyana remains keenly sensitive on their concerns and are committed to engaging the NTC and the communities they represent”.
Giving the feature address was Trotman, who said that the signing of the documents will continue to strengthen the management and development of the country’s natural resources. Trotman stated that discussions over the MoUs started about two years ago, and explained that before the signing ceremony began, a brief meeting was held, where the chairman of the NTC had raised some issues including that of continuing support for the council from the government.
“We have given our commitment as the government that we will not leave the council hanging, having started a good work that must be completed,” Trotman stated. He added that he would not say what the government would be doing as he cannot commit finances of the government. “No responsible government and no responsible international agency will see you go begging or will see you floundering for lack of funds so the National Toshaos Council should rest assure[d] that you have many friends that will ensure that your work grows from strength to strength”, said Trotman.
Fredericks also delivered remarks at the event.
“It is not an easy life that we live in the hinterlands when issues are brought to our communities regarding extractive industries of our natural resources and the impacts we face on our lives,” said Fredericks, who dubbed the event a historic one.
Fredericks stated that the MoU would not only benefit indigenous people but would benefit Guyana at large, as a collaborative effort can now be taken to tackle issues in relation to mining and extractive activities.
“We see this as a very important step as the National Toshaos Council, in moving towards collaboration to start the discussion of addressing environmental issues, but also how can we build our capacity in the communities so we can benefit from national programmes?” he stated.
The chairman added that the idea for the establishment of a MoU has been around for a while, as the previous NTC executives thought it would be important.
“We are honoured as the current NTC executives and staff to be inking this agreement and we look forward to the implementation phase of this agreement that we will work collaboratively, [maintain] proper communication and transparency to ensure whatever is started here in this room continues and really brings national visibility as to how indigenous people can work with government to address our issues”, said Fredericks.
In his address at the ceremony, WWF Guiana’s representative, Laurens Gomes, expressed his happiness to be a part of the historic event. “For WWF this is a renewal of a MOU that had been in existence but it’s also much more than a renewal because it speaks about the future and it helps define and sharpen the role of WWF contributing to Guyanese priorities of nature conservation and sustainable development,” he related.
Gomes stated that WWF, over the years, has been able to mobilize international resources to assist Guyana with nature conservation, while partnering with the government.
