Amerindians were shut out of final decision on carbon credit sales, payment arrangements – MP says 

Jul 21, 2023 News

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Kaieteur News – An Indigenous Member of Parliament has called out the government on the disbursement of carbon credits payments and also questioned whether the villagers were properly consulted and gave their consent for the sale of the credits.

Several indigenous groups and organisations have also criticized the administration for the arrangements put in place for the sale of credits as well as allocation of funds to Amerindians villages.

In a statement Member of Parliament, Vincent Henry, who is also Leader of Guyana Action Party (GAP) said although the Indigenous peoples are thankful that their carbon credits have become marketable, they are not pleased with the concept that the Government is utilising in bringing it to fruition. “They see the payment of the 15 percent of the Carbon Credit funds as a contribution to the Indigenous peoples as an affront. It is not a contribution it is payment from the sale of some of the carbon credits owned by the Indigenous Peoples,” Henry noted.

Further, he said the village general meetings of the Indigenous Peoples of Guyana, largely, did not get the opportunity to make the final decisions with regards to the sale and amount of remuneration to be received. “It must be noted that the Amerindian Act of 2006 distinctly spells out that the Village General Meetings are the final arbiters in the communities. Bearing in mind the above discrepancies, the Guyana Action Party is requesting that the concept be revisited to allow Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) by the Indigenous Peoples.”

“We further request that the money from the sale of Indigenous owned Carbon Credits be paid directly to them via their legally established institutions and systems. We also propose that the relevant agencies in consultation with the communities develop broad-based guidelines and checks and balances that will ensure that the monies acquired from carbon credit sales are generally utilised in developmental projects that promote and support the LCDS,” Henry said.

The government last year struck a deal with Hess Corporation which will see Guyana issuing about 7.5M credits per year, on average from 2021 to 2032. But even before the pact was signed  the Irfaan Ali – led Administration had committed that 15 percent of the proceeds from any sale of forest carbon will go to Amerindian communities, in both forested and non-forested areas. Guyana will receive $187M, as payment for the ‘legacy period’ (2016-2020). For the period 2021 to 2025, a payment of $250M is expected; and for 2025 to 2032, $350M, under the agreement with Hess Corporation.

Guyanese Environmentalist, Dr. Janette Bulkan, in a recent letter said that the sale by the Government of Guyana of forest-based carbon credits was fraudulent. She explained that the Government had no authority to sell any of the resources on the titled Village Lands without explicit Amerindian agreement at Village level. “This was a sale of stolen property, and Hess Corporation is likewise criminally guilty of purchasing such stolen property, having been informed of the illegality,” Dr. Bulkan added. She explained that any Amerindian Village Council can agree to dispose of natural resources of the titled Amerindian Village Lands only through compliance with sections 13, 14, 34 and 44 of the Amerindian Act cap. 29:01 2006.  According to Dr. Bulkan, these sections require a properly convened village meeting and a vote of at least two-thirds of villagers in favour of such disposal. To this end she said, “So far as I know, none of the titled Amerindian Villages has convened such a meeting or passed such a vote.” Consequently, she said the sale by the Government of forest-based carbon credits was fraudulent, including the 2.299 million hectares of forest on Village Lands sold on December 1, 2022. “This was a sale of stolen property, and Hess Corporation is likewise criminally guilty of purchasing such stolen property, having been informed of the illegality,” Dr. Bulkan said. She added that the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) Secretariat’s TREES and Aster Global Environmental Solutions as auditor were informed that their failure to apply the Amerindian Act led to these criminal acts.  Notably, Aster Global was contracted as the auditor of Guyana’s carbon credits scheme to ensure compliance with the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) Secretariat’s TREES (The REDD+ Environmental Excellence) Standard.

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• arrangements, disbursement, Member of Parliament, payment, Vincent Henry

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