A historic signing of an agreement between the Protected Areas Commission (PAC) and the Village Council of Kanashen Village on Friday last has now paved the way for the declaration of Guyana’s first Amerindian Protected Area under the National Protected Areas System.
Kanashen is Guyana’s southernmost Amerindian village. It is located within Administrative Region Nine, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, on the border with Brazil. In 2004, Kanashen was granted Absolute Title to the entire Kanashen Indigenous District, an area of 648,567.2 hectares. Then in 2007 they declared their land as the Kanashen Community Owned Conservation Area (KCOCA) under the Amerindian Act of 2006, dedicating it to “the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, natural resources and the preservation of the cultural heritage and traditional lifestyle of the Wai Wai community of Kanashen”
Over the years the community has demonstrated astute stewardship of the natural resources and formed partnerships with key stakeholders to improve the management of this Conservation Area. In 2013 the community submitted an application to the PAC requesting to be included in the National Protected Areas System (NPAS). The Protected Areas Act 2011 guides the establishment and expansion of the NPAS and provides for the inclusion of indigenous community land. The Act states that “A village council may apply to the Commission for village lands or any part thereof to be recognized as an Amerindian Protected Area”.
At the signing ceremony Toshoa Paul Chekema and Ms. Denise Fraser, Commissioner PAC expressed gratitude to all the stakeholders and partners that worked over the years to see the process to this point.
The final process will be the signing of the Declaration Order to be done by the Minister of State, followed by a publication of a notice in the Gazette.