Protesting REDD in Guyana

New domestic fault-lines are beginning to emerge in the politics of REDD. On 1 February, in what may be one of the world's first sizeable demonstrations against the introduction of REDD-related regulations, some 4,000 miners blocked access to the town of Bartica in northern Guyana. The miners were protesting proposed new regulations that would require waits of up to six months for the approval of mining permits. Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo has also warned against the continued use of mercury in gold mining. On behalf of the miners, Tony Shields, secretary of the Gold and Diamond Miners Association, told Tierramérica that the rules were "unenforceable" and "ridiculous, to say the least."

Government efforts to tighten control over the gold and diamond mining sectors appear to be related to a Memorandum of Understanding signed with Norway in November, under which Norway will pay Guyana up to $250 million over the next five years for forest conservation.  The protests may be a harbinger of conflicts to come, as REDD programmes come to place increasing restraints on productive  sector activities. An important political challenge for Governments will be to find ways to ensure that REDD payments are used for development purposes including, where appropriate, in ways that compensate or otherwise benefit 'losing' sectors.