Since 1990, collective use rights areas (ZDUC) have enabled the indigenous populations of French Guiana to benefit from a specific land tenure system that guarantees their free use of the land necessary for their subsistence activities. However, some of these ZDUCs are located within the State’s Permanent Forest Domain (DFP), a vast area of 2.4 million hectares created in 2008 and subject to the Forest Code. In accordance with this legal framework, the ONF is required to draw up forest management documents for these areas, despite the prior existence of these ZDUCs. This overlap creates ambiguities in management guidelines. To overcome this problem, the ONF wishes to initiate a dialogue between Amerindian communities and institutional actors in order to promote consultation on the participatory management of forest areas.
This project, which is at the heart of this approach, targets the Kali’na communities of Kourou (Kuwano and Kourou villages) and Lokono of Matoury (Sainte-Rose-de-Lima and Cécilia villages). It will be rolled out in four phases:
- Presentation of the project and recruitment of representatives from these communities, with the support of traditional chiefs
- Collective consolidation of the intervention logic, methodology and modes of intervention
- Co-organisation and co-facilitation of three participatory thematic workshops and two field visits per village, to identify the issues specific to each use and establish a management plan that reconciles the Forest Code with customary laws and rules
- Drafting of sustainable forest management documents
To ensure a balanced exchange of expertise, ONF advisors and project managers will undergo joint training in participatory consultation methods and will work closely together throughout the project. The project will culminate in the development of a charter of commitment to the sustainability of traditional uses. Beyond this project, the aim is to maintain a lasting and concrete relationship with the communities.
Duration: 36 months
