Latest update April 4th, 2025 6:13 AM
We must demand more for our forests – Iwokrama Director
Guyana has a strategic opportunity now to strike a number of lucrative deals to use its forests to help fight climate change.
The Iwokrama River Lodge.
In recent weeks, forests fires in Brazil, Australia and the US have brought home the stark reality and value of the standing forests.
On Tuesday, Director of Resource Management and Training of Iwokrama, Dr. Raquel Thomas-Caesar, made it clear that it is no secret now that the value of the country’s forest on the world stage has risen considerably.
In 2009, an experimental programme with Norway saw Guyana striking an arrangement to benefit from a US$250M cash deal in return for the country’s forests being protected.
With 87 percent of Guyana forested, and largely intact, the deal was widely seen as ground-breaking.
While Guyana has not fully met the benchmarks set by Norway, the arrangement has been extended beyond the five years. Since then, there have been talks about a new deal, with more players. But it has been largely that…mere talks.
Director of Resource Management and Training of Iwokrama, Dr. Raquel Thomas-Caesar
Many countries, more developed and industrialised, would have been targeted for a deal similar to Norway. However, there has been little word.
Dr. Thomas-Caesar, well known for activism on conservation, also holds the post of Chairperson for the Protected Areas Commission.
She was a guest on the “Legal Mind” on Kaieteur Radio on Tuesday evening, and was asked about the value of the country’s forests in light of the ongoing fears over rising sea levels, fires, hurricanes and other natural disasters. She said that they have immeasurable value, and went on to detail various aspects of the Iwokrama model.
This year, Iwokrama is celebrating 30 years in existence. It is a conservation project, well known across the globe, after 371,000 hectares of forested area was placed for protection. Under the model, Iwokrama has been working with the Indigenous people in the area, cutting logs in a sustainable manner and even exporting it.
According to Dr. Thomas-Caesar, an outspoken activist and researcher, the Iwokrama model has proven that the forests can be protected and provide a living for its people if managed in a sustainable manner. It is not cheap; the project, which straddles Region 8 and 9, would require up to $300M annually.
Iwokrama has been making do with donor funding and assistance from local businesses and the government.
Dr. Thomas-Caesar posited that with donor funding under threat from the emerging oil and gas sector, there will be a need for a rethink for possible using the oil money to assist projects like Iwokrama.
The preserve is home to some of the world’s largest and most endangered species referred to as the “Giants of El Dorado” and include the Harpy Eagle, the Jaguar, the Giant Anteater, the Giant River Otter, the Arapaima, the Anaconda, the Black Caiman, and the Giant River Turtle.
As for flora, over 1,500 plants have already been identified, including Anatto, greenheart and crabwood and purpleheart trees. There are 500 species of birds including the Cock-of-the-rock, the Harpy Eagle, Crestless curassow, Crimson fruitcrow and Gray-winged trumpeter.
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