Mid-Term Evaluation Of The Amerindian Land Titling Project In Guyana

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Mid-Term Evaluation Of The Amerindian Land Titling Project In Guyana

January 6, 2019

The Amerindian Land Titling Project seeks to enable Amerindians to secure their lands and natural resources with a view towards sustainable social and economic development. The expected outputs are the issuance of Absolute Grants and Certificates of Title to eligible Amerindian communities and land extensions for villages that submit requests to the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs.
This report contains an analysis of the Project in the context of indigenous rights in Guyana and the institutional challenges for its execution.  It describes the land titling process, the role of the project, analyzes the findings and lessons learned from the evaluation activities (bibliography revision, interviews with key informants and field visits), and makes conclusions and recommendations.
In America, indigenous land titling is not a neutral activity. On the contrary, it is very sensitive from the political and economic perspectives. Giving land rights to indigenous peoples in a tropical forest environment frequently means that forest will be conserved and there will be no place for extractive industries. In the context of Climate Change, the importance of indigenous lands is undeniable in mitigating its effects. This is the reason of the singular value given to indigenous land titling by all initiatives related to climate change mitigation, including REDD+. The Amerindian Land Titling Project of Guyana is funded by the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) and makes part of the country’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). The project began in October 2013 and its termination date is October 2016. Various factors, some of them out of the control of the implementing institution, determined a low accomplishment of the original targets. This is why the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) programmed an evaluation which could recommend the necessary adjustments to complete the proposed goals with an extension of the period of execution.