Iwokrama throws lifeline to Arapaima
-working on range of projects to pay its way
By Johann Earle
Stabroek News
May 31, 2004
Fifteen years after it was first conceptualised, the Iwokrama Rainforest Centre continues on a mission to offer the world a conservation model and in the North Rupununi the endangered Arapaima has been handed a lifeline and aquarium fish and low impact logging could turn into unconventional sources of forest revenue.
With the help of the Centre the status of the endangered Arapaima is beginning to see improvement, with a recent increase in number, although it is still under threat from the influx of persons travelling the road to Lethem.
Under the Fisheries Act, the Arapaima (Arapaima gigas) is a protected species, and this makes the present practice of harvesting them illegal. But some persons are of the view that this law is anachronistic in its application because of the reality existing in the North Rupununi. The Arapaima is also a Convention on Inter-national Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora or Fauna (CITES)-listed species and is protected.
Acting Director-General of Iwokrama Dr Graham Watkins said that Iwokrama has developed a management plan for Arapaima conservation and this plan is with the Ministry of Fisheries, Other Crops and Livestock, where it is awaiting approval.
The plan has the input of the Brazilian Mamiraua Sustainable Development Institute and the US Wildlife Conservation Society. Fur-ther, two conservation contracts funded by the British Department for International Development (DFID) were awarded to facilitate the establishment of river checkpoints to regulate the harvesting of Arapaimas and River Turtles.
According to Watkins, the plan examines the sustainability of local Arapaima harvesting done on a low volume, high value basis. He added that a series of counts done on Arapaima, the largest freshwater fish in South America, indicated that the population is growing, though at least one person in the North Rupununi area begs to differ.
The plan's system relies on determining the number of Arapaimas to be harvested based on the annual counts. According to the plan, the number of Arapaimas is counted in all managed lakes at the beginning of every dry season.
The count is then analysed in relation to count and harvest information from previous years and this would determine whether the population is growing, is the same, or is decreasing. It states too that based on the count and monitoring information a number of Arapaimas to be harvested is determined and they are shared among the fishermen who will sell them.
The most important rules of the management plan are that only adult Arapaimas are harvested when they are not reproducing and that the number of Arapaimas harvested each year is equal to the fishing quota. Stabroek News understands that Fishery Committees will be responsible for enforcing the rules among the community fishermen.
In its 2002 - 2003 report, Iwokrama said that the North Rupununi District Develop-ment Board (NRDDB) spearheaded discussions on the management of Arapaimas and the possible development of the Arapaima harvesting business. And the US-based Conservation, Food and Heath Foundation supported an Iwokrama supervised survey of the Arapaima in the wetlands of the Rupununi.
The report states that in 2002, 1,000 Arapaimas larger than one metre long were counted and that this represented a 100% increase over the previous year. In an effort to conserve the Arapaima, Iwokrama has facilitated discussions with the NRDDB, the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, the Department of Fisheries in the Ministry of Fisheries, Other Crops and Livestock, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Regional Police on the management of Arapaimas.
Stabroek News learnt that as recently as the beginning of 2001, Arapaima rearing in Massara, one of the communities near to Iwokrama, was not sustainable, and with the community realising that fish farming required input, persons have since constructed a small pond. This was as a result of a study that Iwokrama sponsored on the potential for the management of fisheries resources held from January 23rd to 26th 2001. Iwokrama has sponsored several of these studies in the communities.
Roland Prosper is Brazilian by birth and he has settled in Fairview where he raises poultry and other animals. During a visit by Stabroek News last week to the community, he said that he has noticed the increase in the Arapaima population and said that turtles are also getting trapped in nets.
He believes that while the management plan is a good thing, it will not be enough to stop the persons who come from outside of the community and take more than their fair share of Arapaimas.
Prosper, called 'Brazo' said that he does not believe that all the Arapaimas in the North Rupununi have been counted. "I see a lot of them in the river," he said. He stated too that when he catches small ones he would throw them back in the river. "I see plenty big ones in the [Essequibo] river and I was surprised [to see] that there are getting plenty again," he said in his Portuguese accent. He said that he also sees them in Blackwater Lake, near the Siparuni mouth.
Although the fish is being replenished, Prosper feels that something must be done to control people. He is not against them catching one or two and going their way.
Stabroek News understand that some people in the community now have supernumerary powers so that they could arrest those who violate the rules governing the harvesting of the Arapaima.
Prosper is of the view that some people come to the community just for the Arapaima and he feels that that is not right.
He said that after floods pass through the community, the ponds in which the Arapaimas swim usually dry out, causing the fish to die. Because of this, he said, people are faced with the decision whether to leave the Arapaimas and let them die a natural death from the dried out ponds or whether to eat them.
He decried that fact that some people just come and take the fish and they don't ask anything of the villagers. He said that this occurs especially during the dry season.
Tejnarine Geer, Chief Fisheries Officer of the Ministry of Fisheries, Other Crops and Livestock said that the plan attempts to give ownership of fisheries resources to persons in the communities so that they would be more responsible in their extracting of the species.
He said that the plan seeks not only to conserve but also to sustainably utilise the Arapaima population. He said that because of concerns that the Arapaima would have been wiped out, harvesting was banned, but he said that that approach did not work. He said that the plan states that the local communities own the resources and that the plan when approved will allow them to catch only a certain number. He explained that the Arapaima come up to the surface to breathe and when they do the fishermen and other people are able to count them with the training they received from a Brazilian consultant.
He said that the plan is awaiting final approval from the Minister of Fisheries, Other Crops and Livestock, Satyadeow Sawh. That plan, he said, was brought to the Ministry last year.
Rgns Jonas, one of the Village Councillors of Fairview, said that the work of Iwokrama has been positively felt in all of the thirteen
nearby communities, since persons have learnt a lot from the Centre. He said that Iwokrama came and corrected many of the things that they did. "Iwokrama teaches us on wildlife, logging and how to control our river," he said. He added that years ago members of the communities used to conduct their farming activities in a lot of places. "We used to cut logs and not use them. Iwokrama suggested that we farm in areas that we used to years ago."
Jonas, a boat captain working with the Iwokrama Centre, told Stabroek News at Fairview that some of them even used to encourage foreigners to hunt, and people from the village were used as guides to show them where the animals were. In retrospect, Jonas said that when that happened it was as if the villagers were giving away their land and wildlife to the persons who hunted. "When those same people come back they know the area and they don't need us anymore," he said.
He also benefited from the teachings of the consultant from Brazil who came and taught persons in the village how to count the Arapaima and how to replenish its population. He said that now the villagers would harvest the Arapaima only once in a while.
He said too that of late there has been an increase in the population of the Arapaima but this too has been threatened with the intensified traffic on the Linden to Lethem road. He added that it's hard to monitor persons harvesting the Arapaima.
Funding
Though Iwokrama has reduced its middle management staff from 20 to three, it has increased its efficiency and remains focused on the work of conservation, according to the Director-General Dr Watkins.
But Iwokrama's restructuring, due to cuts in donor funding, has taken its toll on productivity, which has reduced by 30%.
In a recent interview, Watkins said that the Centre is slowly rebuilding its middle management and hopes to have a total staff of 75 persons with five directors and 10 middle managers.
He said that the Centre was working with the Government of Guyana to implement a monitoring programme for the ITTO, from which the Centre hopes to benefit from some funding for forest management and monitoring. The Centre should receive funding in the amount of US$750,000.
He said that in the past the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) funded Iwokrama through the Government of Guyana.
Watkins said that the world events of the last three years have had their toll on the donor organisations, which have had to reprioritise in the disbursement of funds. Some of these events, he said, were the terror attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, the war in Afganistan and then the war in Iraq. Added to these, he said, were the slide in the stock market and the 'bursting' of the Internet bubble. "We still want overseas aid but we want to target large foundations and persons to raise money," he said.
He disclosed that Iwokrama's tourism activities bring in about US$100,000 per year and this pays salaries. He said that a further US$200,000 per year comes in in the form of animal conservation grants.
He noted that Iwokrama is seeking to broaden its financial strategy with its main business now being timber, tourism, training and value adding through community involvement.
Aquarium fish
Iwokrama, in partnership with the NRDDB, over the last year has been working to develop a locally owned and operated aquarium fish wholesale business. And the work is beginning to pay off with 5,000 of the ornamental fish already exported to retailers in Europe through the Guyana Aquarium Traders. According to Iwokrama, fish mortality was less than one percent. This, Iwokrama said, demonstrated prudent management practices "that enables the business to effectively compete with other such ventures around the world."
This project focuses on the sustainable use of aquarium fisheries as a non-timber forest product to generate revenue primarily for the indigenous communities of the North Rupununi and is funded by the Netherlands Commi-ttee for IUCN Tropical Rain-forest Programme.
Iwokrama hopes to influence South America's aquarium trade by working to introduce a certified 'green equity' along the South American chain of supply. According to Iwokrama, the South American aquarium fish trade is not regulated and there is limited monitoring to study the impact of harvesting on wild fish populations. Iwokrama is hoping that future growth would lead to an additional 'green equity' supply chain to the US and other markets.
Iwokrama says that the fish targeted for export tend to be low in volume and high in value and are mostly from the Loricariidae family ("armoured" catfish) and these are said to be able to withstand the long, hazardous journey through the supply chain.
Continuous monitoring of the fish harvests is said to be a critical component of the project to ensure the maintenance of healthy populations. And this means that there is a strict limit on the number of fish that can be harvested each season. A five-year management plan for the aquarium fish business will be developed using data collected from the monitoring.
Five of the species found in the Rupununi River and targeted in the 'ornamental' fishing business are Lemon Fin, Red-Tailed Pieco, Bushy Nose, Cochliodon, and White-Tailed Pieco.
Timber harvesting and forest management
Dr Watkins said that the Centre is setting up a model system for harvesting done in an ecological and environmentally sustainable manner. He added that the method must also be socially and economically sustainable and that it would be done through cross-sectoral means. He reasoned that residents in the communities would not want any negative impacts on their lives from the harvesting and their involvement in the planning would ensure this.
According to the acting Director-General, an Environ-mental Impact Assessment was done of the plans to harvest forest products, and the issues contained therein are being discussed with the relevant stakeholders. The Centre is also to outline its Forest Management Plan and Harvesting Plan after the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) would have been approved. According to the EPA, the findings of the EIA would be made known sometime soon.
Iwokrama's Forest Management Plan includes smaller management plans prepared for the Lethem road corridor, wilderness preserve and sustainable utilisation area.
"Iwokrama has a sustainable forest management programme, the aim of which is to demonstrate how tropical forests can be conserved and equally utilised to yield ecological, economic and social benefits. Iwokrama said that the work under this programme in 2002 and 2003 has been funded mainly by the ITTO and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Since March last year, Iwokrama has been focused on developing the timber and tourism businesses in particular," Iwokrama's 2002-2003 annual report said.
Watkins said that the Centre would be working with the Guyana National Initiative for Forest Certification (GNIFC) and the Guyana Forestry Commission with a view to adhering to all stipulations. He said too that Iwokrama would be working according to the codes of practice of both these agencies in harvesting.
According to Watkins, the communities in the North Rupununi district have set up a new cooperative for timber harvesting and this body is working with the GFC to commence harvesting from areas outside of the Iwokrama forest.
He said that generally in Guyana timber harvesting is done with very high impacts and that the harvesting to be done would be low impact, with the application of Reduced Impact Logging (RIL) techniques. He said that RIL improves planning so that the forest is maintained.
Dr Watkins made the point that Iwokrama plans to produce high value, low volume harvesting and value adding through working with the communities.
He said that the Centre is also considering the production of timber products for niche markets after they would have been kiln dried. And one of these products he said that the Centre is considering is 'flooring', where specially treated wood will be made into floorboards.
Assistant Administrative Officer at Iwokrama Michael de Mendonca said that a 100% inventory of the Iwokrama forest is to begin by next month and that would decide where in the forest the cutting would begin. He said that that would also determine felling plans for the trees, skid trails to remove the felled trees, and to assess the terrain. He contended that with a proper inventory being done one could calculate the returns from the plot of forest to be harvested. He said too that the manpower for the harvesting would be provided by the people of the communities of the Iwokrama forest, while the technical part of the exercise would be left to the Iwokrama staff.
In a comment to Stabroek News Commissioner of Forests James Singh said that an inventory of the Iwokrama forest was completed and based on that inventory the centre prepared its Forest Management Plan along with the EIA. He added that the World Wildlife Fund was funding the concession's certification.
Watkins told Stabroek News that the Rupununi is important to bio-diversity since the region has the largest number of bat species anywhere in the world. He said that the region also has over 90 species of fish.
In addition, the region is home to the Black Caiman, the Giant River Turtle, Jaguar, Puma, Tapir, Armadillo, the River Otter and the Harpy Eagle, among others. He said that some of the species found in the North Rupununi are rare in some parts of the South American continent. He called the region "very important for conservation."
He mentioned that honey production and aquarium fish are also considered high value and the centre is looking at how it could enter the market for these commodities. The efforts that were being made in Crabwood Oil have been shelved for now.
Iwokrama is also working on preserving the Jaguar and is conducting surveys with the use of camera traps. These camera traps involve the use of cameras placed in positions where they would be activated when an animal walks by.
But Watkins told Stabroek News that the Guyana forests are not camera trapping- friendly since the heat, combined with moisture, causes them to malfunction.
In addition to these studies, surveys have been done on the Black Caiman and these have found that there were about 50,000 non-hatchlings.
When asked about the full impact of all of the Iwokrama harvesting and other activities on the bio-diversity of the one million acre Iwokrama forest, Watkins said that Iwokrama is all about learning while doing, saying that the only way to know of the effects of economic activities co-existing with nature is to "do" and assess the results.
Linden to Lethem Road
Watkins said that although the Linden to Lethem road, which passes through the Iwokrama forest, is "fundamental", it has to be properly managed.
He said that the road would bring increased accessibility and that would be important for the Centre's tourism and timber businesses. He said that the road is the basis for development.
According to Watkins, traffic on the road has doubled within the last six months and with that comes the increased likelihood of crime and the illegal hunting of animals in the Iwokrama forest. To help monitor the activities of persons traversing the road, the Centre is working with the Government to have the two ranger stations manned by personnel from the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force. The Centre has recently completed two ranger stations at the northern and southern entrances of the Iwokrama forest: one at Kurupukari and the other at Corkwood.
Iwokrama is also continuing to train its regiment of forest rangers, some of whom will be located at the stations to aid the members of the armed forces in the monitoring of the forest.
Forest Canopy Walkway
As for the Forest Canopy Walkway, Watkins said that the Centre would be working to put in more infrastructure and also a campsite so that persons could sleep there and observe the animals and birds very early in the morning. This, he said, the Centre hopes to achieve this year. He said too that the Centre hopes to put in a Jaguar watch and bird trail, which he hopes would be established with the aid of the communities. The walkway was officially opened in November of 2003.
Training
He said that the centre would hold training courses for forest rangers, adding that Iwokrama has reduced the duration of the course from two years to three months. He told Stabroek News that the centre is looking for a partner to sell the course, saying that Iwokrama does not have money to offer the course for free.
Partnerships
In addition to all these activities, Iwokrama is building partnerships with Con-servation International-Guy-ana, the Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society (GMTCS), the Guyana Zoo, the Guyana Forestry Commis-sion (GFC), the Amerindian People's Association (APA), the Guyanese Organisation of Indigenous Peoples (GOIP) and the Amerindian Action Movement of Guyana (TAAMOG).
The Centre has also forged international links and prominent among them is the National Audubon Society. He said too that the Centre has established trusts in the United States and in Britain and that it receives a number of conservation grants for the preservation of certain species. Watkins noted that Iwokrama has partnered with Jacksonville Zoo in Florida where there is an exhibit on the Iwokrama forest. He said that this exhibit gets 600,000 visitors a year and that a shipment of Iwokrama memorabilia was sent from Santa Mission
The Centre is also the recipient of support from the CIDA and the UK's Department for International Development.
Another Fairview resident, Ethel Andries, said that the relationship between villagers and the Iwokrama Centre was a cordial one. She said that Iwokrama would inform them of all meetings and was constantly involving them in its work. She said that villagers were involved in Iwokrama's eco-tourism efforts for the most part.
Raymond Edwards, also from Fairview, said that the Centre's guides would turn over the eco-tourists to guides of the village who would then show them around.
Andries said that it was the villagers who have to look after their forest and their rivers since no one would do that for them. "We have to go out and see what we have in our forest," she said. With that, she mentioned the medicinal plants and timber resources for which the forest is known. She said that the greenheart seed is one of the products that has medicinal value, adding that it is good for loss of appetite. But she said that not all the greenheart trees have the seed since not all of them are "bearing" trees. She added too that crab oil is good for the skin and also for biliousness.
Wetlands Project
This project is officially called the "Sustainable management of the Rupununi: linking biodiversity, environment and people." But it is commonly know as the "wetland monitoring project".
According to Waldyke Prince, Wildlife Biologist at Iwokrama, the aim of this project is to contribute to the effective management of the Iwokrama Forest and Rupununi Wetlands and Savannah ecosystem, which contain a high level of biodiversity and is the home of the Makushi Amerindians. According to Prince, it is hoped that this would be achieved through training, technology transfer and research, which will lend itself to long term monitoring protocols that will be linked into an adaptive management plan for the region.
He said that the partners and organisations involved in the project are the Royal Holloway University of London, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Iwokrama, the Bina Hill Institute of Annai, the NRDDB {Fisheries Committee}, the University of Guyana and the EPA.
He said too that each one of the local agencies has a key role to play in this project. These include as follows:
Iwokrama - conservation and sustainable development interest
Bina Hill/NRDDB - local Amerindian interest
EPA and Fisheries Department - jurisdictional responsibility for natural resource management
UG - education and research interest
Prince said further that each of these three categories plays an essential role in the understanding of the ecosystem:
Species richness - this gives an indication of species present and their temporal use of that habitat.
Water chemistry - the continuous measurement of this gives an indication of the change over seasons and possibilities for changed used of the area.
Land use - this will help in the understanding of the use of the area over the annual season and also over the years.
In terms of what has happened so far 'on the ground' Prince said that over 30 sites from Karanambo to Iwokrama have been selected for surveys for species richness (birds, fish, reptiles/caimans) water chemistry (pH, Dissolved Oxygen, Electronic conductivity, Turbidity) and land use. Sites were selected to represent different habitats - savannah (flooded and non-flooded) and forest (flooded and non-flooded).
The Darwin Initiative is the funding agency behind the wetlands project - one of a variety aimed at entrenching Iwokrama's significance and contribution to conservation efforts.