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The following is not meant to be exhaustive, nor do I claim that it
represents the most current situation. As anyone familiar with the
political contexts in Guyana will realize, legislative procedures are
characterized by a great deal of fluidity and ambiguity, making it
difficult to arrive at a clear understanding of requirements at any
given moment.
Background
Until 1997, obtaining a permit to carry out research in Guyana was,
in theory, fairly simple. In practice, the application procedure was
rendered complex by a multitude of factors. In particular, research
in interior locations (pertinent to ethnographic projects in almost all
Amerindian communities, and most botanical or zoological projects
in forest environments) aroused suspicion in the Government,
especially under the Peoples National Congress (PNC) regime. The
PNC, for a variety of historical reasons (the 1969 Rupununi
Uprising, the aborted hydro-electric dam at Waramadong for
examples) was nervous about projects which would bring foreign
researchers into contact with the Amerindian population, possibly
stirring up unrest and dissatisfaction. Moreover, the interior lands
of Guyana have always been too large to practically police, so the
State was anxious about its lack of control. Finally, at least until the
1985 death of Forbes Burnham, Guyana actively embraced an
ideology of isolationism from what were regarded as the forces of
neo-colonialism. So, until 1997 when new legislation was
promulgated, the application procedure was, in theory, as follows:
Non-Guyanese nationals required a permit to visit any interior
location. This was obtained from the Ministry of Home Affairs, upon
submission of letters of recommendation.
All persons, Guyanese and foreign, required a permit to visit
Amerindian communities. This was obtained from the Ministry of
Regional Development, which no longer exists.
Obtaining these permits was not impossible, but ones chances were
much improved if one had access to good high-level contacts in the
Government.
Current Situation
The 1997 legislation, in part a response to the growing interest in
biodiversity, bioprospecting and ethnobotany, was designed to
bring Guyana into line with other Amazon basin countries vis-a-vis
Intellectual Property Rights, ethical research, compensation,
reciprocity etc. It called for the establishment of a body known as
the Environmental Protection Agency, which would, in co-operation
with the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs (established in 1992 by
the newly-elected Peoples Progressive Party Government), handle
applications for research permits. All projects, whether
ethnographic, botanical, zoological or multi-disciplinary, must now
be processed through this channel. The application forms are
standardized, and call for detailed information about the research
team, the nature of the proposed research, the location of the
research, anticipated outputs, the destination of these outputs,
commercial implications, beneficiaries, social and environmental
impacts, funding, local affiliations, and training opportunities for
local personnel. These application forms may be obtained from:
Environmental Protection Agency, Executive Office, Presidential
Secretariat, New Garden Street, Georgetown, GUYANA (Tel: 592-2-54321/78616; fax: 592-2-55285). They must be submitted at least three months in advance of the proposed starting date, to:
Environmental Protection Agency, Administrative and Operations Division, IAST Building, U.G. Campus, Turkeyen, Georgetown, GUYANA (Tel: 592-22-5783/4 or 2277; fax: 592-22-5785).
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