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On Monday 17th April, 2023, the National Toshaos Council (NTC) and the Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development (Iwokrama) announced their collaboration in supporting the Council’s mentorship to indigenous villages and communities to prepare Village Sustainability Plans (VSPs).
The VSPs which are being discussed and prepared by each indigenous village and community across Guyana, provide details on the projects developed and decided upon by the residents of each respective community. These plans will be financed by revenues earned under the Forest Carbon Credits Programme of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030.
The NTC’s executive members and technical staff are providing guidance to villages and communities at their request, in developing their village plans. Iwokrama’s support to the Council would cover expenses associated with these exercises in Deep South and South Central Rupununi., Region 9
The simple signing ceremony held at Iwokrama’s Georgetown office was attended by Programme Coordinator, Ms. Nandanie Jerry, who represented Toshao Derrick John, NTC Chairman. She expressed appreciation to Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Dane Gobin and Director for Resource Management and Training Dr. Raquel Thomas for Iwokrama’s timely support.
Mr Gobin, in brief remarks stated his satisfaction for the opportunity to support the NTC’s important work with the villages as part of the LCDS 2030. Further, he expressed Iwokrama’s interest in strengthening ties with the NTC in areas of collaborative research, sustainable natural resources management, preserving indigenous culture among other areas.
The NTC is the representative body of all Toshaos. The Council engages with Government and other partners on behalf of all villages; promotes good governance practices; advocates for sustainable management of natural resources; and prepares, implements and supports policies, plans and projects to enhance the lives and livelihoods of Guyana’s indigenous peoples.
Notes to the Editors:
- About Iwokrama
The Iwokrama International Centre (IIC) was established in 1996 under a joint mandate from the Government of Guyana and the Commonwealth Secretariat to manage the Iwokrama forest, a unique reserve of 371,000 hectares of rainforest “in a manner that will lead to lasting ecological, economic and social benefits to the people of Guyana and to the world in general”.
The Centre, guided by an international Board of Trustees, is unique providing a dedicated well managed and researched forest environment. The forest is zoned into a Sustainable Utilization Area (SUA) and a Wilderness Preserve (WP) in which to test the concept of a truly sustainable forest where conservation, environmental balance and economic use can be mutually reinforcing. The IIC collaborates with the Government of Guyana, the Commonwealth and other international partners and donors to develop new approaches and forest management models to enable countries with rainforests to market their ecosystem services whilst carefully managing their resources through innovative and creative conservation practices. In more recent years, the Centre has received support from corporate partners such as Exxon Mobil (Guyana) Limited who has funded the development of its Science Programme and continues to provide an annual contribution to the implementation of this Programme.
Iwokrama brings together:
- 20 local communities (approximately 7,000 people) who are shareholders and participants in the IIC’s sustainable timber, tourism, research operations and forest management activities through complex co-management and benefit sharing arrangements;
- Scientists and researchers engaged in ground breaking research into the impacts of climate change on the forest and measuring the scope and value of its ecosystem services; and
- A portfolio of sustainably managed and certified business models using innovative governance systems which include participation of the private and public sectors and the local communities, earning income from the forest and its natural assets whilst employing international social, environmental and economic best practice, whilst still keeping abreast of the ever changing thinking on funding for environmental projects in the face of climate change and the perennial scarcity of international finance.
This alliance and the Centre’s work programmes are committed to showing how a rain forest can be used for real sustainability, real climate change protection and real community benefit.
For further details about the Iwokrama International Centre please visit www.iwokrama.org , www.iwokramariverlodge.com or contact Dane Gobin, Chief Executive Officer on dgobin@iwokrama.org.
About the National Toshaos Council
The National Toshaos Council (NTC) is a body corporate that is legislated under Part IV of the Amerindian Act of 2006. It is comprised of all Toshaos of Guyana and represents the majority of Guyana’s Indigenous Peoples. Through its constituent network of village leaders, the NTC maintains a connection to all Amerindian villages and communities.
The NTC is mandated to represent Guyana’s Indigenous Peoples, and to plan and develop policies, programs and projects aimed at sustainable development, general welfare improvement and the promotion of the rights of the Indigenous peoples, which include their human rights, land rights, preservation and promotion of their languages and culture, strategic planning, mitigation of Climate Change, protection, conservation and management of forest and natural resources, villages governance and other social and economic projects.
