Buckhall landing on the Essequibo River. Thence down the left bank of the Essequibo
River for about 3 miles. Thence in a straight line in a northerly direction towards
Supenaam Creek opposite the Tapakuma Creek to the point of commencement.
The description of our titled lands and lands for which we have for an extension to our
title, along with maps of these areas, are attached in the annexes.
If the Project will affect a wider area that includes our neighbouring communities, we
shall consider the impact of the Project on our neighbouring communities before making
a decision about the Project. The Project Proponent must inform our neighbouring
communities about the Project and provide them with information about the potential
impacts of the Project.
IN WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES MUST FPIC BE OBTAINED:
Consultations must be held and FPIC obtained from our Village in relation to any
proposed activity, decision, project, legislation, policy and research1 that may affect our
rights, interests, lands, territories, resources and livelihoods.
This includes activities that may not take place directly on our lands, but that could have
an indirect impact on our Village immediately or in the future. Roads and forest
concessions close to our land or mining concessions in the source of the rivers we
depend on are examples of such activities.
WHO MUST OBTAIN FPIC2:
A Project Proponent could be any outside organisation or individual. These parties
include, but are not limited to, the following: national and regional government and
related agencies (e.g., Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of
Agriculture, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Public Works, “Go Invest”, Office of the
President); national development programmes and strategies; police and armed forces;
companies or private investors; concession holders and lease holders; private and
public international financial institutions; international agencies (e.g., United Nations
Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, International Fund
for Agriculture Development, Food and Agriculture Organization); national and
international non-governmental organizations (NGOs); religious organisations;
researchers and research organisations and any neighbouring villages.
Individuals and groups from within our Village that have proposals for projects in the
Village that will affect the broader population must follow the FPIC process. The Village
may decide to expedite certain steps in the process for projects with lesser levels of
impact on our community. These individuals and groups must still comply with all
Village rules.
It must be the responsibility of Project Proponents to initiate the FPIC process for any
proposed project and to cover the financial costs of that process. The Project Proponent
must ensure that all Village community members have access to information about the
1
‘Activity’, ‘project’, ‘legislation’, ‘policy’ and ‘research’ will in the following be referred to by the term
‘activity’.
2
Any person or entity mentioned in this section will for the purpose of this protocol be referred
to as the Project Proponent.
Bethany Village FPIC Protocol
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