The China Paper project may impact on significant archaeological sites in the Berbice River area

Dear Editor,

As a concerned citizen and a professional in the field of archaeology and cultural heritage protection I am a bit concerned about the China Paper tree-plantation project in the intermediate savannahs and its potential impact on locally and internationally significant archaeological/cultural sites within the Berbice river area.

I will not give myself too much liberty as neither of the agencies specified the exact location of this development; however, from my personal research I am almost sure it is within the confines of the proposed study site for archaeological research in the coming years.

My question now is: (1) Why isn’t this being addressed by the media and the EPA after several headlines by the cultural sector on the significance of the Berbice sites, and not forgetting the signing of a MOU this year with the University of Florida encouraging several years of research in Berbice?

(2) The EPA Act mandates that a cultural assessment be conducted whenever a project is being considered; this goes hand-in-hand with the EIA and the ESIA, so why has this not been addressed and is being ignored by the EPA?

 Yours faithfully,

Louisa B Daggers

Applied Anthropologist/

Archaeologist

Amerindian Research Unit

(ARU)

University of Guyana