| A Bill soon be debated in Parliament, proposes that parts of Guyana can be deemed protected areas, and any person or organization would be able to apply for parcels of lands to be so named.According to the Protected Areas Bill that was tabled in the National Assembly on June 23, the objectives of a protected area are to conserve biodiversity and places of spiritual and cultural values; safeguard ecological processes; protect migratory, rare, threatened or endangered species and their habitats; and protect an area of ecological significance that is vulnerable or threatened.“A public authority, a village council, an Amerindian community or any other person may submit a proposal to the Minister requesting the Minister to create a national protected area over an area of public lands,” reads a provision of the bill,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, of which the stated purpose is to protect and conserve Guyana’s national heritage.Protected areas can be classified as a strict nature or wilderness reserve; a national park; natural monument; management zone for habitat or species; a landscape or seascape; or a zone with a managed resource.A Protected Areas Commission will be established as a corporate body to oversee administration of these zones, and applications for lands to be so named are made to it, which in turn makes the recommendation to the responsible minister,Cheap NFL Jerseys, who – with the approval of Cabinet – declares the area protected or rejects such requests. Rejections can be appealed.The Commission itself can identify and recommend to the minister territory that should be Protected Areas.There is to be established a Trust Fund to provide for financing for the national Protected Areas system. This Fund is separate from those of government and is not a government asset.Money for the Trust fund will be derived from a levy placed on a part or parts of a national Protected Area, as ordered by the minister. In making such an order the minister must have consulted with the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, and it was confirmed within that land there are substantial mineral resources or petroleum deposits.Exploitation of such resources must be in the public interest taking into account the ‘principles of ecologically sustainable development’. This move must be advertised in at least two national newspapers telling the public of the reason for the decision for the excision.Financing for the Fund can also come from local or international donors.Whenever such an order is made, the minister is required to establish another protected area,” …In order to maintain the integrity of the national protected areas system”.This fund is to be governed by a Board of Trustees with a maximum of nine members, of which one each must come from the National Toshaos Council; the University of Guyana; the Private Sector Commission; and major donors to the Trust Fund.Management of any protected area may apply to the Board of Trustees of the Trust Fund for fundingIn this Act an Amerindian village may apply – with assistance of the Commission – for a zone to be named an Amerindian Protected Area by the relevant government minister based on a request by the village council. Once the request is approved and gazetted,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, those managing the area are eligible for funding from the Protected Areas Trust Fund to carry out that task.Once declared an Amerindian Protected Area, that zone is then held by the council on behalf of members of that village, and holds sole management authority of the lands.Among things that that those making private proposals for areas to be named protected must do is consult with the minister with responsibility for Amerindian Affairs, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, National Trust, Guyana Energy Agency, Guyana Hydro meteorological Department,and local government. Additionally, consultation must be done with any Amerindian village or community possessing traditional rights within the area.Protected areas can be spread all over Guyana, and some already earmarked for such a label are the Kaieteur National Park, the programme site of the Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Development, the Botanical Gardens,Cheap Authentic NFL Jersey, and Zoological Park in Georgetown.“Where in the opinion of the minister an area of public lands is under the threat of serious or irreversible harm or loss to biodiversity or habitat, or serious or irreversible harm to any ecosystem process, the minister may by an emergency protection order published in the Gazette declare the area to be an interim Protected Area,” the Bill proposes.Park Wardens with powers and immunities of rural constables will patrol these areas, and the Commission can enter arrangements with the police and Coast Guard to enforce this Act.Anyone, except those under the Amerindian Act, entering certain national Protected Areas without the relevant permission commits an offence and is liable to a fine of not less than $10,000 or more than $50,000.This is the lowest of penalties for violating the Act. Other serious offences can attract fines of $500,000 to $2,000,000, or imprisonment of five years. In cases of the offender being a corporate body, all penalties are doubled.Some other offences within Protected Areas include removal, killing, or harming of a wild animal for any purpose except in the exercise of a traditional right; damaging,nfl jerseys wholesale, picking, or removing from a national Protected Area any flora or fauna; introducing to a Protected Area any species that is not indigenous to the zone; destroying, defacing, or otherwise damaging an archaeological find or site; and without permission lighting a fire that destroys or damages flora.The Bill also proposes that any person, except those recognized under the Amerindian Act, found mining, quarrying, drilling, or removing minerals, stone, gravel, earth, sand,Cheap Jerseys USA, other substances; or prospecting commits an offence.Any provision in the National parks Commission Act that are inconsistent with this Bill will be repealed. Also, the minister can order transfers of some assets of the National Parks Commission to the Protected Areas Commission. |
