Remember: Few Indigenous Peoples entrust authority to single persons or institutions and then send them off to
make deals without having ways of making them accountable to the people that they represent. If we choose to
create a negotiating team in our community, we need to think about how to make sure that negotiators report back
to the community — not only after decisions are made, but while negotiations are going on. Section 3.3 talks more
about what to think about in developing a communications and consultation strategy.
We also have to decide on the stages of our community’s process for making decisions about new things, like
large-scale mining or a conservation project. One of the most important things to remember about Free, Prior and
Informed Consent is that it is a process, not a one-time event. That means our communities do not have to give a
single and final “Yes” or “No” up front. We have the right to decide whether to accept or reject a proposal for a
project at each stage of its development.
Decisions about whether Indigenous lands should be logged, mined, dammed, crossed by a road, or included
in a conservation scheme will have consequences for tens or hundreds of years. We have the right to demand
time to consider the options, with the right information in hand. If at any stage the project proponent is acting
disrespectfully, we can stop negotiations and the deal can and should be halted.
So we need to think through the steps that the negotiations should go through and then get the project proponent
to agree to go through these stages.
1) A first phase may be to have time for community preparations, like those set out in Sections 2.1 to 2.4;
2) A second phase may be to gather information. Section 3 talks about what information is important and
where to find it. We should not go forward until we are informed! That means not only getting information,
but also understanding it;
3) Critical information will come from the environmental and social impact assessment. An ESIA is a report
required for project approval and is commissioned by the company. It looks at the impacts a project could
have and then makes plans to try to lessen the negative impacts. Some examples of impacts of mining
projects are problems with alcohol or drugs that outside workers might create, or cutting forests and the
risk to wildlife. There are many risks to be considered, but often the ESIA process doesn’t consider them all.
It also sometimes doesn’t involve Indigenous communities properly, especially in Guyana. For this reason,
it is important for our communities to become more involved in ESIAs. See the “Environmental and Social
Impact Assessments” guide that goes with this FPIC guide for more information on the stages of ESIAs, how
to get involved, and how to make sure that issues that matter to our community are included. Key FPIC Tip:
We won’t know the full impacts of a project until after the ESIA is done, which can take two years. But by
getting involved from the beginning we can get better informed.
4) Once we have all the information we need, the next stage is to take time to study it, and make sure
community members really understand it. See Sections 3.2 and 3.3 below for tips on how to make sense of it
all;
5) Next, if our community decides that it is interested in the proposal going forward to the next stage, we
should start negotiations toward an impact and benefit agreement with the government or company.
But here again, we should not be rushed! Negotiations should happen in stages, with time to consider all
options and offers. Section 4 outlines how we might approach negotiations. More detailed information can
also be found in the guide on “Negotiating Impact and Benefit Agreements.” We need to read it carefully;
6) If our community is not happy with the results of negotiations, we can refuse to support the project
and the agreement. If we are happy, we can make an agreement that gives our consent. Our work is
not finished when we sign an agreement with the project proponent. Next, we have to make sure it is
legalised, implemented, monitored and enforced. If the company does not implement it, our consent can be
withdrawn.
We cannot agree to a process that will lead to hasty decisions. Once signed, agreements are hard to change!
A practical guide for Indigenous Peoples in Guyana
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