Guyana Faces Ban on Exotic Birds
10/14/99
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: ENVIRONMENT: Guyana Faces Ban on Exotic Birds
Source: InterPress Service
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: October 14, 1999
Byline: Bert Wilkinson
GEORGETOWN, Oct 14 (IPS) - Unless local authorities quickly prove to a
Geneva-based world wildlife regulatory body that it is putting proper
legislation in place to protect its endangered species, the world
body's recommendation that the international community stops buying
exotic birds and other animals from Guyana will remain in place for
some time.
The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species
of Flora and Fauna (CITES) has issued a recommendation to member
countries not to trade with Guyana because legislation for the
protection of endangered species is non- existent.
To the fast growing sector which directly and indirectly employs
nearly 10,000 people and contributes about 10 million dollars annually
to the economy, this is a serious development as world demand for
wildlife is growing despite tighter regulations by governments around
the world.
The recommendation to treat Guyana as a pariah, at least for a while,
has also come in the midst of the six-month official trapping season
when companies are allowed to hunt and sell a specified number of
snakes and other animals to foreign states.
For its part, the state-run Environment Protection Agency
(EPA) says it has done its share of the compliance work by
successfully getting the Act through parliament and persuading
President Bharrat Jagdeo to sign it last month, but there has been
some delay in publishing it in the official gazette.
"We have been trying to have the state printery to publish or gazette
the new legislation but this has not been done as yet. Once this is
done, we would send all the required material to Geneva by courier and
be in compliance," says the EPA's Schabaraj Ramdas.
Not so, say veteran exporters Lawrence Van Sertima and Louis Martins
who have been in the business for a combined 50 years.
They both accuse the EPA of incompetence and of allowing a high-level
CITES committee to discuss the Guyana issue at a meeting in Portugal
last month without any representation from Guyana.
The two say they are worried that if CITES member states decide to
enforce the ban on Guyana, rival neighbouring countries like Brazil,
Venezuela and Suriname would step in and begin buying smuggled animals
from trappers who need to make a living despite the recommended
restrictions.
"It is a very, very, ugly situation. The only hope we have is if we
send the documents fast, then it is possible we may be able to plead
for leniency, but the committee which recommended the ban meets every
six months and that could present a problem," says Van Sertima.
Then from all appearances too, the EPA and some exporters are always
at loggerheads. Personality clashes have come in the way of rational
decisions, observers say.
This was shown up in the fact that no one from Guyana was represented
at the CITES meeting that suggested the country be placed on the list
of those which are not adhering to the rules.
"We can't get them at the EPA to listen to us. During the previous
administration, the government was at fault in not doing the paper
work. This government came in and improved the situation, but right
now there is too much bungling," says Van Sertima.
The industry has grown steadily in recent years as exporters, some
using the Internet to trade and find new markets, have put more energy
into the industry.
Then too, here they have plenty of land area to scour for exotic
animals - 215,000 sq kms and many trappers, particularly those from
Amerindian communities willing to work and improve their lot have been
putting everything they have into the trade.
Some earn about 300 dollars per month, three times the pay of a
government clerk. (END/IPS/bw/cb/99)