ABSTRACT
The Rupununi is currently caught in a web of conservation politics, ranging from international agreements focusing on the perceived benefits of REDD and REDD+ through to regionally specific cases of environmental nongovernmental organization–initiated protected areas. As a primarily Indigenous territory still engaged in land claim negotiations with the government of Guyana, autochthonous input into the development of these conservation policies and places, often located within traditional lands, should be essential, as any future governance decisions will clearly impact the Indigenous communities living in the area. However, based on recent fieldwork, I argue that Indigenous knowledge is being marginalized in the proposal, creation, development and execution of these protected areas, causing fragmentation of Indigenous epistemologies and often resulting in the complete silencing of Indigenous voices.
The Low Carbon Development Strategy (2010) and the newly created Kanuku Mountains Protected Area (2012) are discussed with regards to this disjuncture, as examples of the ways in which Indigenous epistemologies are being excluded or dismissed, and the potential consequences of these actions. In contrast, I present a customary land management plan initiated by the Wapishana peoples of the South Rupununi (2012), as part of a conscientization movement aiming to free the Wapishana from colonial oppression and to further their goal of self-determination. By presenting these three different projects, I identify contradictions in Guyana’s conservation politics, and help the Wapishana protect their evolving customary practices.
