The FAO-EU FLEGT Programme has supported the Amerindian Peoples Association to design and implement Free, Prior, Informed Consent protocols as part of the Programme’s broader objective to ensure participation of forest communities in national forest governance dialogue. Empowering indigenous and forest-dependent communities to play an active role in national forest governance dialogues capitalizes on their unique knowledge of forest resources.

 The project saw the successful piloting of the protocols in the village of Bethany, where community members were equipped with the skills and knowledge to negotiate with extractive resource companies and monitor their activity on customary land. The project offers a potential new pathway to regulating the use of resources within customary land in Guyana.