Preserving our biodiversity
Editorial
In September of this year, a rather important biodiversity management project is expected to get underway which will see plans being devised to protect endangered animals. As we reported in yesterday's edition of the Stabroek News the $34M Guianas Forest and Environmental Conservation Project will develop plans for selected species of fauna which are determined to be under threat. Head of the Wildlife Division Bal Parsaud disclosed that the priority list will also identify animals which can be traded. The project is being co-financed by the World Wide Fund for nature and the Guyana government. Output from the project is expected to include the gathering of scientific information, baseline data for long-term management plans and the training of 10 Guyanese in wildlife research. As Parsaud said in the news item, scientific data on Guyana's fauna is extremely limited. This is why the project is of such significance. It will help to put on much firmer footing the decisions on which species are endangered and therefore how the scarce resources available can be spent on protecting them and increasing their numbers. A document for the project says that while Guyana's fauna is relatively rich in species diversity and abundance many of these species are facing pressure from the wildlife trade and the consumption of wild meat. The document suggested that there is over-harvesting of the arapaima and river turtle and there has been a significant decline in the sightings of these. There are also concerns that our Psittacines (parrot-like birds) and similar exotic species are being over-exploited. Of course these suggestions would have to be tested in the cauldron of indepth studies and the gathering of data. Surveys are to be done at Morawhanna, Capoey/Mainstay, Bartica/Bird Island, Surama, Orealla, Rewa, Santa Rosa, Supenaam, Rockstone, Moraikabai, Kamarang and Apoteri and it is hoped that at the end of these a database will exist on which decisions can be taken. The approach to the preservation of Guyana's biological diversity has in the past been an exercise in patchwork and merely a parallel venture to the trade in wildlife. We would make bold to suggest that this project become the germ of a much wider scheme to put the conservation of our biological diversity on the front-burner. It should encompass the Wildlife Division, the Environmental Protection Agency, the biodiversity centre at UG, the Iwokrama project and the protected areas initiative and should map out all species, define those which are endangered and set out plans to restore their numbers. There should also be a national conservation organization with rangers deployed in every region. The policing of the wildlife trade would then come under this body for more effective monitoring. A public awareness campaign to involve the average Guyanese in preservation of our biodiversity is also needed. Clearly the preservation of marine turtles is one issue around which public support for wildlife preservation can be galvanised. It has become an international issue given the migratory patterns over large ocean expanses of these magnificent creatures. A lot of important work is being done locally by the Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society on preserving these endangered chelonians. This is an area where the state could have exercised its interest much more in supplementing the Society's efforts and enabling enough inspectors to be hired to patrol the fullness of Shell Beach. Marine turtle preservation is also a cause ripe with funding possibilities. The biodiversity management project is an important start but even greater emphasis can be placed on the preservation of our fauna which will doubly benefit the country by creating a good conservation record and also by boosting our fledgling ecotourism. We look forward to the results of these endeavours.  Follow the goings-on in Guyana
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