Conservation International to get 200,000-acre lease for preservation
Agreement to be handed over next week
Stabroek News
July 11, 2002
The Government of Guyana will formally hand over a 200,000-acre conservation concession to Conservation International (CI) next week, for which CI has spent some US$300,000 in start-up costs.
The concession is located in the Upper Essequibo and is uninhabited with the nearest community, Apoteri, located 50 miles away. CI’s President Russell Mettermeier, will receive the timber sales agreement (TSA) from President Bharrat Jagdeo for the concession.
The project falls under a TSA in the absence of legislation to cover conservation concessions, but Executive Director of CI Guyana, Joe Singh, said government had already moved to amend the laws to facilitate such initiatives in its commitment to conservation management. The TSA would be for a renewable 30-year lease.
No logging would be done in the concession, nor would there be any form of income-generating enterprise, Singh told reporters at a press briefing yesterday. He said that the concession was the second of its kind in the world with Peru having a similar one.
CI will pay the government, through the Guyana Forestry Commission, similar fees as what applied when a concession is being logged. Acreage fees will be paid at a rate of US$40,000 and a minimum royalty of US$11,000 annually, and a one-off US$6,000 for a performance bond. US$20,000 was already paid for a permit to get the project started.
CI undertook the training of four rangers for the concession at a cost of US$100,000 for an 18-month stint at the Iwokrama Centre for Rain Forest Development and Conservation.
An exploratory lease was granted to CI 18 months ago to evaluate the potential of the area granted in the TSA. CI said that although it was found that the area was rich in timber, its remote location would make it uneconomical for logging operations.
"The idea is to encourage participation in a programme which results from a partnership between government and agencies, entrepreneurs and NGOs that are willing to invest and pay for the standing forest to be retained in a pristine condition," Singh said.
He disclosed that although it was not required, CI would establish a Voluntary Community Investment Fund to be used for the development of the communities, which previously used the concession for their sustenance. Apoteri, Rewa and Crash Water have been identified as the villages to benefit from the fund.
"This is an acknowledgement that while we are managing the concession to retain its pristine condition, in order to demonstrate good faith and a commitment for the development of the communities which have been using the area for their economic sustenance, we will be making funds available on an annual basis," the executive director stated.
Singh pointed out there would be criteria set out for the accessing of the funds from CI on an annual basis. The projects identified by the communities would have to be conservation-based and must benefit the entire community. The funds must also be used to stimulate enterprise development.
Singh said CI has been in consultation with bodies, which have experience in community development projects, such as the Ministry of Agriculture and the North Rupununi District Development Board so that a best practice arrangement would be worked out for the three communities.
A social impact assessment of the establishment of the concession was done by CI, Singh said, and the public had the opportunity at various fora to raise questions and seek clarification.
The signing of the TSA next week would signal the implementation of the management plan for the concession.
Singh said CI had a deep interest in conserving bio-diversity, which must go parallel with the socio-economic development of communities.
"This is not just about flora and fauna. Unless there is a parallel socio-economic track, people would not be interested unless they see the benefits which can come to them," he said.
Singh stated that a lot of money has been invested by CI in Guyana and expressed the hope that its initiative would open a chapter for other investors to see the conservation of standing forests as another feasible option to protect bio-diversity as well as to generate income for socio-economic development.