We open in Georgetown, Guyana. The sole English-speaking nation in South America is known for its Amazon rainforest protection. Our host Rafaela is on the hunt to learn more about what Guyana is doing right to prevent climate change and respect the integrity of their culture. 

Kaieteur Falls, which are five times the height of Niagara Falls, one of the largest waterfalls in the world. Its beauty is kept almost pristinely intact, and even the tourist vistas are respectful of the natural beauty. Rafaela tells us that the small Caribbean country of Guyana is becoming one of the largest oil-producing nations in the world thanks to the 2015 discovery of huge offshore oil reserves. While this seems like an economic accelerant, in a world riddled with the aftermath of climate change, this may become more of a curse, than a blessing. Rafaela sits down with a local manager of the EXXON development, to learn more about the discovery. The manager tells us that EXXON’s discovery has set into motion a transformative period for the country. Guyana has been one of the poorest nations in South America as more than 36 percent of its people are living in poverty. By the latest estimates, there could be more than 10 billion barrels beneath Guyana’s waters, which is bigger than Mexico’s reserves, yet Guyana has a fraction of the population to service the wells. 

While seemingly positive, Rafaela wants to see how this drilling can affect the Amazon and the indigenous communities of Guyana. Rafaela starts by talking to a local politician about the promise of billions of dollars in revenue that have been dirtied in corruption scandals and caused a major political crisis in 2018. 

This corruption caused the people of Guyana to head to the polls and opt for better representation. Voting for politicians that would make petroleum contracts publicly available, re-establish the Integrity Commission, and pass whistleblower protection legislation. While the politician is optimistic about Guyana’s future, Rafaela wants to speak to the people to get their take on the issues at hand. 

At Iwokrama Forest Reserve, Rafaela meets with the locals. At over 87% forest cover, Guyana is one of the most heavily forested countries in South America. Guyana’s forests play a key role in regulating rainfall across the entire Amazon basin, making it a critical conservation area to mitigate global climate change. If the basin is disturbed by a potential oil spill, or deforestation caused by the discovery of oil, climate change could radically accelerate the crisis. Rafaela learns that on top of oil industries, conservationists facing an uptick in mining activity. Indigenous conservationists are being accosted by a gang of modern gold miners and were threatened with automatic weapons. 

To stop this, Rafaela meets with an indigenous leader. About 11% of the country’s population remains indigenous. The Amerindian Act, of 2006 formed the indigenous peoples’ governance and natural resource management. Though it is outdated and contains clauses that severely undermine territorial security for indigenous peoples. The biggest combatant for the indigenous people’s resources though isn’t the oil miners, but rather the miners.

Those mining gold, diamonds, and bauxite is currently the largest reason for deforestation in Guyana. Contaminating rivers that folks depend on for drinking, bathing, and cooking. Many of the resources end up leaving Guyana illegally and are intertwined with drug trafficking. CUT TO: a voyage along the Guyanan Amazon basin. 

An indigenous coalition leads Rafaela, sharing their efforts and methods of sovereignty. With indigenous peoples leading the efforts, the focus on balance, by allowing new oil and logging contracts, with public oversight headed by the indigenous communities, sets forth a way to traverse our changing landscape. From policy, to simply hiring indigenous communities as spearheads, Guyana is dead set, on getting this right from the get-go. Rafaela sees this and decides to discuss it with EXXON themselves.