Environmentalist Simone Mangal-Joly has written to the Executive Director of the EPA, Kemraj Parsram urging him to cease and desist from conducting meetings on ExxonMobil’s proposed fifth oil platform until a certified Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is provided.
In a letter of yesterday’s date, Mangal-Joly said she was writing to express her concern regarding the consultation meeting that was conducted by ExxonMobil on the EIA for its proposed Uaru Development Project with indigenous peoples at Santa Rosa on February 20, 2023, and the way ExxonMobil and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been “eroding democracy” in Guyana.
She argued that a certified complete copy of the EIA linked to ExxonMobil’s
application for an environmental permit was not made available prior to this consultation meeting, and the consultation process did not follow the principles of Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) as required by international law.
“You were aware from my letter of complaint, dated February 18, 2023, of the EPA’s failure to provide the public with a certified copy of the EIA proving that the study the EPA has exhibited is accepted by Exxon Mobil as the true and complete EIA related to its application for an environmental permit for its Uaru project. The fact that the public was not provided with a copy of the certified EIA prior to the commencement of oral consultations is a violation of due process and is a clear indication that the public’s rights were not being respected.
“It is imperative that the public has confidence that the document being exhibited by the EPA is mindeed accepted as the Environmental Impact Assessment by Exxon Mobil in order to be able to review the proposed project and its potential environmental impacts. It is not acceptable that Exxon Mobil and the Environmental Protection Agency knew that the public did not have a certified EIA in their possession and that a complaint had been launched, yet still went ahead and held the meeting yesterday at Santa Rosa”, she argued.
Moreover, she said that the consultation process with the indigenous peoples did not follow the principles of FPIC enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the International Labour Organisation Convention 69 (ILO69).
“The FPIC principle requires that companies seeking to carry out projects that may affect the rights, lands, territories, and resources of Indigenous peoples must obtain their consent through a culturally appropriate and informed consultation process. This includes: (1) Providing support to indigenous peoples to understand issues and contents of the EIA through a source that is independent of the company; (2) Providing sufficient lead time for issues to be discussed at the village levels and concerns formulated before representatives engage with the EPA and Exxon Mobil in a consultation meeting; (3) Conducting meetings in local languages with support of independent interpreters; and (4) Preserving a record of all meetings on the Public Register, which the EPA is required Under Section 36 of the Environmental
Protection Act to maintain with all documents relevant to each application for environmental permits. The fact that the consultation process in this case did not follow these principles is unacceptable”, she argued. She charged that the behaviour of both Exxon Mobil and the Environmental Protection Agency is an erosion of citizen’s democratic rights.
“I strongly urge you to cease and desist any further meetings until a
certified EIA has been made available to the public and Indigenous peoples, and until the consultation process follows the principles of FPIC. This will help to ensure that the rights of the
public and Indigenous peoples are respected, and that the democratic process is upheld. Thank you for your attention to this matter”, she urged.
