September 11, 2001 shifts Iwokrama funding
Guyana: “World Mecca for wildlife and forest”
Kaieteur News
July 18, 2004
The amount of money donor agencies have in the past contributed towards the Iwokrama International Centre, has been reduced after September 11, 2001. Bilateral and multilateral financial supporters have shifted their priorities toward security and terrorism.
For this reason, the Board of Trustees of Iwokrama has transformed formulated strategies to move the organisation from a primarily research-based one to a more business and action-oriented institution.
New Director General of the Iwokrama Centre, Dr. Graham Watkins, disclosed this at a press conference convened by the organization, yesterday at its High Street, Kingston Office.
The press briefing was called after the conclusion of the 11th Iwokrama Board of Trustee Meeting on July 14 and 15 at the Field Station in the Iwokrama Forest.
The meeting, according to Dr.Watkins, was largely focused on examining a business plan for 2004-2006. This plan formulates the organisation’s work activities and fundraising strategies.
The plan outlines, “Iwokrama enters 2004 with a very different perspective; concentrating on a diversified funding strategy, greater efficiency and emphasis on delivering outputs.”
The Director divulged some of the institution’s self-financing ventures which include forming the Iwokrama Timber Harvesting Incorporation.
Iwokrama, he said, would be in charge of harvesting timber and marketing it for commercial purposes in ways that are monitored and sustainable to the conservation of the rainforest.
Feasibility studies to examine the potential gains of this new type of business venture for Iwokrama, have already been completed against sustainability conditions.
Another business initiative being pursued by the organisation is an arrangement with the Jacksonville Zoo in Florida, USA, for the loan of animals specifically those jaguars that can no longer exist in the wild in Guyana.
The loan is a legal arrangement, which has been facilitated through an agreement with the Government of Guyana. This means that the animals although loaned, will still be the property of the Government of Guyana.
While raising funds for conservation in Guyana and the Iwokrama project, the benefits of this cooperation extend to raising awareness of the biodiversity of the rainforest while boosting tourism.
Guyana has a long history of leasing animals to foreign countries.
Information posted on the Iwokrama web site revealed that from the 1800's Guyana’s animals were collected for zoos in Europe and North America.
International conservationists and scientists, including Gerald Durrell and David Attenborough, brought attention to Guyana's wildlife through many books and films. However, during the 1970's Guyana disappeared off the radar screen of wildlife research, conservation and management.
International interest in Guyana's wildlife has undergone a revival in the last ten years and organisations like Iwokrama, Conservation International, and now the Jacksonville Zoological Gardens are at the forefront of that revival.
Guyana's forests are also recognized by World Resources Institute as "frontier forests" and its’ wetlands are renowned as a WWF Global 200 Ecosystem.
Additionally, "The Jeff Corwin Experience" and "O'Shea's Big Adventure", both series on television's Animal Planet, have had episodes on Guyana in the last two years.
The Iwokrama web site stated that there are animals from Guyana at the Jacksonville Zoo but no jaguars as yet.
Last March, the Jacksonville Zoo opened an exhibit of “Range of Jaguar” which showcased such animals as well as insights into the Iwokrama Forest, the Rupununi wetlands along with other conservation projects overseered by local communities.
The exhibit reportedly attracted some 600,000 visitors.
The agreement between Guyana and the Jacksonville Zoo is consistent with international conventions including the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES).
The importation of these animals into the USA requires the Zoo to show that the display of these animals will help the survival of the species in the wild.
The Zoo-Guyana agreement is worth US$120,000 to date, but is likely to blossom as new sources of funds and new markets are found.
This agreement for cooperation between the Jacksonville Zoo and the Government of Guyana according to Director Graham, will serve as a model of sustainable use of the tropical rainforest.
He noted that Guyana has one of the best populations of jaguars in the world. He said that he has seen more than 80 of them to date.
Referring to the richness of the wild, he said that there is an abundance of giant armadillos, giant anteaters, black caimans and other rare animals.
Guyana can be referred to as a “world Mecca for wildlife and forest”, said one of the Board of Trustee, Mr. David Cassells.
Iwokrama has been at the forefront of conservation of wildlife and boosting of tourism to the rainforest.
Dr. Graham noted at the press conference that a major income earner is the attraction of tourists to the Iwokrama Field Site, the Canopy Walkway which is described as one of the best in the world and the commission of Turtle Mountain.
He revealed that the number of tourists visiting the site so far this year has reached over 450, earning some US$80,000 for Iwokrama. Last year the visitor tally was 359.
The Director stated also that there has been increased access to the Iwokrama site via the Georgetown-Lethem road. He added that the number of vehicles using the road has significantly increased from roughly 20 per month to approximately 600 per month.
According to the business plan, the government will gazette a portion of the Iwokrama forest for the management of the Georgetown-Lethem road.
As part of this agreement, Iwokrama has prepared a management plan for the 73 km road corridor through the Iwokrama forest.
Dr. Watkins applauded the improved accessibility the road has provided but he stressed the need for it to be efficiently monitored.
Apart from the press conference Iwokrama also hosted a public meeting at the Georgetown Club last evening.
The need for closer collaboration between Iwokrama and stakeholders drawn from the main core Guyanese population was discussed at the meeting.
Presently, Iwokrama has partnership with 14 local Amerindian communities.
It also has associations with the Guyana Forestry Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency along with other national interest groups.
Iwokrama is 3,700 square kilometers of protected forest areas which sits on the four billion-year-old Guyana Shield of northeastern South America.
The Guiana Shield is one of only four remaining undamaged forested areas in the world. The purpose of Iwokrama is to demonstrate how to develop forest resources in a manner that protects and equitably benefits local and national communities.