The Amerindian Peoples Association has expressed deep concern over the recent agreement forged between the government of Guyana and Conservation International (CI) to establish the region of Southern Guyana as an official 'protected area'. In the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two parties, CI has pledged substantial funds to help with the management of the proposed area, with more money guaranteed if the area is declared by June 30, 2003. The APA has stated that CI did not consult with the six Wapishana communities in the region, which will certainly be affected by any such proposal. CI has promised to consult with the indigenous communities in the upcoming months, but the APA expressed worries about recognition of ancestral land claims, which might be preempted by the establishment of any 'protected area'. “If these issues are not seriously addressed, protected areas and conservation of biological diversity will not only be at the expense of the rights and ways of life of Guyana's first peoples, they will also be unsustainable,” the organization noted.
