The Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) says a senior government official has been misrepresenting its European Union (EU)-funded project to help educate indigenous communities on a new forest management process and says that any intimation that the project funds are being misused has no basis in fact.
The APA has begun to implement the project, “Promoting the effective participation of indigenous peoples in the FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement process in Guyana.” It activities so far include a series of community workshops on the FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade) and FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) primarily for regions 1 and 2, the development of materials for the workshops and for wider distribution, and the participation of community representatives at local and national forums where FLEGT VPA is being discussed.
The APA and the EU last December signed a two-year agreement worth $36 million for the project, which officially began in March.
In a statement, the APA said that it has recently come to the notice of the organisation that the facts of this project was misrepresented by a senior government official during various forums including public meetings held in Amerindian villages in regions 1 and 9. “It first came to our notice that during a meeting near
