A practical guide for Indigenous Peoples in Guyana
Table 1: Information that may be needed
Information
Needed
Project plans
Questions to be Answered
1. What kind of project is planned?
2. What other infrastructure will be
needed to support it?
3. What are the project stages?
4. What is the timetable?
5. How will Indigenous communities
be engaged with?
6. How will potential social and
environmental impacts be
assessed?
7. How will traditional practices of
farming, hunting, fishing and
gathering be affected?
8. How will food security and health
be affected?
9. Will any Indigenous Peoples have
to be relocated (moved), or
economically displaced?
10. What emergency, management or
other plans will be made?
11. What plans for closing the project
and reclaiming the land will be
made?
Why they are Important
Sources of Information
1. Different types of projects have different risks for our
community. For example, an open-pit mine instead of a
shaft mine;
Material from the
proponent, such as on
its website;
2. If roads, a hydro-power dam or a processing plant are
needed to support a project, the impacts will be much
greater;
Project summaries or
documents submitted
to the EPA or other
government agencies;
3. Different stages mean different requirements under the law.
They also mean that our community has to consent before
each new stage;
4. Knowing when a next stage will start helps our community
to plan better for what we need to do to participate and get
prepared, and how much time we have to do it. But we also
have to insist on the time we need!
5. It is best to have a clear commitment from the company that
it will seek our consent and respect our rights. If it fails to
live up to this commitment, we have something on paper to
draw attention to;
6-9. We can’t properly decide to give or withhold consent until
we know how our people will be impacted;
10. If there is an emergency, will the company be prepared? For
example, a cyanide spill. We have to make sure solid
emergency plans and environmental management plans are
in place;
11. When mines close, companies often leave without cleaning
up or restoring the land. Making companies commit to a
solid plan can help prevent this.
Consultations with the
proponent or
government;
The media;
Internet searches;
Independent advice
and information from
legal and support
organisations.
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