Rupununi communities training to be active participants in green economy

Nineteen Indigenous communities of North Rupununi are being trained to become active participants and beneficiaries of Guyana’s green economy.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Guianas, in collaboration with the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB) with funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), launched the “Opt-in Readiness” Project which aims to help communities prepare to become involved and benefit from conserving their forests.
The project was launched in Annai, North Rupununi, on October 17.
Indigenous communities hold title to three million hectares, approximately 16 per cent of Guyana’s 18.5 million hectares of forest.
Under the Guyana/Norway Agreement, those communities are to participate in the conservation of their lands.
Under the project, two teams of trainers, both headed by Indigenous people, will lead the capacity development efforts. The community development team will facilitate a process in each of the communities to create Community Development Plans (CDPs) and provide training in financial management, conflict-resolution and governance to the village leadership (15-25 people) in each of the 19 communities.
In addition, 38 people – 28 men and ten women (two chosen by each community) – will receive 11 weeks of intensive training in Community Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (CMRV) over the coming year. They will be provided with knowledge and technology to gather, analyse and report forest cover and carbon (training provided by the Guyana Forestry Commission), natural resource abundance and use, and community health and wellbeing, including a happiness index.
The information will help the communities better manage their natural resources, care for residents and foster community development. It will also prepare them to receive annual payments under a new Guyana/Norway Agreement or any future payment scheme for conserving our forests.
WWF Guianas, REDD+, and Lead, during the launching, explained that “one outstanding deliverable under the Guyana Norway Agreement is the development of opt-in – the mechanism intended to open the door for titled Indigenous communities to participate and benefit from REDD+ payments for conserving forests on their titled land.”
In this regard, it was reiterated that the aim is to facilitate this effort by developing a model that can prepare communities to effectively opt-in and participate in REDD+.
The Opt-in Readiness Project is one component of WWF’s wider programme of practices to support Guyana’s green development.
WWF Guianas Country Manager Aiesha Williams affirmed: “With the true participation of Indigenous communities, in partnership with the Guyana Government and other stakeholders, and with technical assistance from WWF and others, the green development path our country is pursuing can indeed be achieved and sustained.”
The launching was attended by Vice President and Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock; Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Valerie Garrido-Lowe; Special Assistant to the President, Major General (Retired) Joe Singh; representatives of the Guyana Forestry Commission, and Office of Climate Change; as well the National Toshaos Council (NTC), the Amerindian Peoples Association, Iwokrama and Conservation International Guyana, and NRDDB leadership.