Recent reported developments in the Rupununi contradict other aspects of public policy
Tomado de:
http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/letters/05/16/recent-reported-developments-in-the-rupununi-contradict-other-aspects-of-public-policy/
By Stabroek staff May 16, 2009 in Letters
Dear Editor,
I commence with a quote from Basil Liddell Hart (1933): “I do not criticize persons, but only a state of affairs. It is they, however, who will have to answer for deficiencies at the bar of history.”
I now refer to recent reports carried by the media which inform of the following:
* Large scale economic enterprises, such as the cultivation of rice and soybeans, are being contemplated for the savannahs in the Rupununi.
* Among some of the likely investors are those who were ordered by the Supreme Court of Brazil to vacate indigenous lands in the Raposa Serra do Sol area of north eastern Roraima State, bordering Regions 8 and 9.
* The conservation organizations have no role to play in this evolving process.
* The Chairman of the Simpson Group of Companies is reported to have told a recent news conference in Boa Vista that he owned one million hectares of arable land in Lethem town (sic).
Additional information obtained from reliable
sources indicates that over three hundred mining claims have been registered in the Rupununi and Rewa Rivers, tributaries of the Essequibo River and which lie in the heartland of Guyana’s rich and unique biodiversity.
The Rewa River bisects an ecosystem that is sandwiched between the Kanuku Mountains – a proposed protected area; the North Rupununi wetlands – a proposed Ramsar site; the Conservation Concession in the Essequibo River and the Iwokrama Rain Forest Reserve.
The ecosystem is home to settled Macusi and Wapishana communities which are interested stakeholders but also stewards of this ecosystem.
While to the unsuspecting, these bits of information may be indicators that the bridge over the Takutu River between Guyana and Brazil has started to pay dividends in being a catalyst for the economic development of Region 9 and further afield, taken cumulatively, they fly in the face of and are in contradiction with other known aspects of public policy:
* The President’s laudable global crusade on climate change and his advocacy of the responsibilities of more developed high emission countries to compensate Guyana for its stewardship of its forest resources;
* National policy on ecologically sustainable management of Guyana’s rich and unique biodiversity and critical ecosystems;
* Maximising on the economic potential of ecologically sustainable and culturally sensitive tourism;
* Article 13 of the Guyana Consti-tution on the involvement of people in the decision-making process and in particular the communities that are the stakeholders and stewards; and
* The Millennium Development Goals as they speak to the safeguarding of the interests of future generations.
I wish to prompt, through this letter, serious re-examination of the implications of the course of this development which we are led to believe are in the best interests of Guyana and urge those who are vested with technical and advisory responsibilities to honestly provide decision-makers with the professionalism, support and advice that their training, experience and conscience dictate they must do.
Passivity and acquiescence, it has been proven, do not constitute viable defence in the courts of Guyana and I would hope that it would not be necessary for future generations to hold us accountable for ‘Crimes against the Environment.’
Let me end, as I began, with a quote, this time from Franz Fanon in The Wretched of the Earth (1963): “Now, it so happens that when the people are invited to participate in the management of the country, they do not slow the movement down but on the contrary they speed it up.”
Yours faithfully,
Joseph G. Singh
Major General (retd)
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Nota del Editor del blog: Al referenciarse a la República Cooperativa de Guyana se deben de tener en cuenta los 159।500 Km2, de territorios ubicados al oeste del río Esequibo conocidos con el nombre de Guayana Esequiba o Zona en Reclamación sujetos al Acuerdo de Ginebra del 17 de febrero de 1966.
Tomado de:
http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/letters/05/16/recent-reported-developments-in-the-rupununi-contradict-other-aspects-of-public-policy/
By Stabroek staff May 16, 2009 in Letters
Dear Editor,
I commence with a quote from Basil Liddell Hart (1933): “I do not criticize persons, but only a state of affairs. It is they, however, who will have to answer for deficiencies at the bar of history.”
I now refer to recent reports carried by the media which inform of the following:
* Large scale economic enterprises, such as the cultivation of rice and soybeans, are being contemplated for the savannahs in the Rupununi.
* Among some of the likely investors are those who were ordered by the Supreme Court of Brazil to vacate indigenous lands in the Raposa Serra do Sol area of north eastern Roraima State, bordering Regions 8 and 9.
* The conservation organizations have no role to play in this evolving process.
* The Chairman of the Simpson Group of Companies is reported to have told a recent news conference in Boa Vista that he owned one million hectares of arable land in Lethem town (sic).
Additional information obtained from reliable
sources indicates that over three hundred mining claims have been registered in the Rupununi and Rewa Rivers, tributaries of the Essequibo River and which lie in the heartland of Guyana’s rich and unique biodiversity.
The Rewa River bisects an ecosystem that is sandwiched between the Kanuku Mountains – a proposed protected area; the North Rupununi wetlands – a proposed Ramsar site; the Conservation Concession in the Essequibo River and the Iwokrama Rain Forest Reserve.
The ecosystem is home to settled Macusi and Wapishana communities which are interested stakeholders but also stewards of this ecosystem.
While to the unsuspecting, these bits of information may be indicators that the bridge over the Takutu River between Guyana and Brazil has started to pay dividends in being a catalyst for the economic development of Region 9 and further afield, taken cumulatively, they fly in the face of and are in contradiction with other known aspects of public policy:
* The President’s laudable global crusade on climate change and his advocacy of the responsibilities of more developed high emission countries to compensate Guyana for its stewardship of its forest resources;
* National policy on ecologically sustainable management of Guyana’s rich and unique biodiversity and critical ecosystems;
* Maximising on the economic potential of ecologically sustainable and culturally sensitive tourism;
* Article 13 of the Guyana Consti-tution on the involvement of people in the decision-making process and in particular the communities that are the stakeholders and stewards; and
* The Millennium Development Goals as they speak to the safeguarding of the interests of future generations.
I wish to prompt, through this letter, serious re-examination of the implications of the course of this development which we are led to believe are in the best interests of Guyana and urge those who are vested with technical and advisory responsibilities to honestly provide decision-makers with the professionalism, support and advice that their training, experience and conscience dictate they must do.
Passivity and acquiescence, it has been proven, do not constitute viable defence in the courts of Guyana and I would hope that it would not be necessary for future generations to hold us accountable for ‘Crimes against the Environment.’
Let me end, as I began, with a quote, this time from Franz Fanon in The Wretched of the Earth (1963): “Now, it so happens that when the people are invited to participate in the management of the country, they do not slow the movement down but on the contrary they speed it up.”
Yours faithfully,
Joseph G. Singh
Major General (retd)
Related articles
Campaign to preserve Rupununi wetlands sharpening focus Stakeholders in the North Rupununi Wetlands project...
Guyana better placed to meet wetlands obligations -British High Commission Guyana is said to...
AFC signs on to petition against forest bill The Alliance for Change (AFC) has joined...
David Singh appointed local Conservation International head Conservation International Guyana (CIG) says it expects...
Iwokrama under canopy of Guianas sustainable management project The European Union has partnered with the...
Nota del Editor del blog: Al referenciarse a la República Cooperativa de Guyana se deben de tener en cuenta los 159।500 Km2, de territorios ubicados al oeste del río Esequibo conocidos con el nombre de Guayana Esequiba o Zona en Reclamación sujetos al Acuerdo de Ginebra del 17 de febrero de 1966.
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