Press Release 16 January 2004

Memorandum of Understanding Signed Between Iwokrama and the North Rupununi District Development Board

A model for collaborative management and cooperation was signed into existence between the Iwokrama International Centre for Conservation and Development and the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB), through a Memorandum of Understanding on 9 January 2004.

The spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between NRDDB and Iwokrama is fundamentally guided by a shared vision for investing in the wise management of the Iwokrama Forest and the related ecosystems of the North Rupununi.

This milestone was passed at the statutory meeting of the NRDDB held in the Bina Hill Institute in the Annai Amerindian District of Region 9. It affirms the commitment to people-centred development and is mindful of the aspirations, rights and values of the Indigenous peoples and other Guyanese comprising the fourteen community partners and local institutions represented by the NRDDB.

The Memorandum of Understanding was drafted and negotiated during the better part of 2003, maturing the established partnership between Iwokrama and the NRDDB. It paves the way for improving the scope, reach and status of joint undertakings and enterprises and, importantly, to formalize the objectives and relations between the two parties. The MOU is the result of the relationship built between the two entities since 1996 when the NRDDB established itself, partly as a community counterpart to the Iwokrama Board in order to independently monitor Iwokrama, but with a wider mandate to oversee the general development of and represent the interests of the communities of the North Rupununi district. These fourteen communities are located in and around the Iwokrama Forest and are the frontline stakeholders in the Iwokrama Programme.

Essentially, the MOU lays out the general guidelines for partnership arrangements between Iwokrama and the NRDDB and provides a platform for all further agreements and contracts between the two parties. The respective mandates of the Iwokrama Act and the governing constitution of the NRDDB comprise the basis of the MOU and inform the obligations, limitations and mutually agreed upon principles of both parties.

The principle of collaborative and collective decision-making is articulated throughout the document, citing the appointment of a nominee of the NRDDB to serve on Iwokrama's highest decision-making body - the International Board of Trustees and the participation of Iwokrama in the information-sharing and development planning meetings of the NRDDB, which itself serves as the broad-based, decision-making umbrella body of the North Rupununi communities.

Key components of the MOU cite the obligation of Iwokrama and its staff to respect community protocols, customs and traditions, to work with the NRDDB to minimize potential negative social or and cultural impacts from Iwokrama activities, and to guarantee positive benefits and outcomes from business enterprises and other activities.

These obligations are further elaborated, for example, as follows:

"Wherever possible, make every effort to provide support for community business development through initiatives such as product development, joint marketing and training" (2.12); "Recognise traditional skills including knowledge about the forest, waterways, animals and local and social and cultural concerns and provide appropriate remuneration where the Iwokrama International Centre utilizes these skills including the abiding by Iwokrama's Intellectual Property Rights, Access and Benefit Sharing policies and agreements" (2.13);

Both parties also agree not to make any use of or commercial gain from information gained in the course of implementing this agreement without the prior, written consent of either party. Both parties further agree to provide to each other copies of reports, photographs and data collected during collaborative projects implemented under this agreement.

For its part, the NRDDB agrees to remain committed to the effective management of the Iwokrama Forest and the Rupununi, provide support and advice as relevant as well as access to NRDDB facilities, and to integrate Iwokrama, to the extent possible, into the development plans of the NRDDB.

Both parties also agree that the MOU will remain in effect for a period of one year subject to renewal and / or amendment with the consent of both parties and that the stated objectives, validity, construction and performance of the MOU are governed by the laws of Guyana.