Iwokrama and US-based University collaborate for exciting bird guide training course

Jan 18, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – The Iwokrama International Centre has been in discussions since 2024 with the Academy of Sciences of Drexel University based in Philadelphia, USA for collaborations in research and training.

The first collaboration kicked off with the six-day training in Birding Tour Guide training course held at the Iwokrama River and Surama Eco Lodges on January 7 to 12, 2024. The training brought together birding naturalists and guides from various organisations, communities and partner lodges including Surama Ecolodge, Atta Rainforest Lodge, Karanambu Lodge, Yupukari-Caiman House, Protected Areas Commission, Guyana Tourism Authority, University of Guyana, Environmental Management Consultants EMC, Kanashen Village,  Katoonarib Village, Toka Village, South Rupununi Conservation Society, Sophia Point Research Centre along with Iwokrama’s guides, rangers and one volunteer.

Expert facilitation of the course was provided by Dr. Jason Weckstein of Drexel University, Dr. Brian O’Shea of North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Mr. Josh Engel of Red Hill Birding and local top birding and tourism guide Waldyke Prince.

Along with intense bird identification sessions, the course also covered aspects such as bird ecology,  bird diversity and  families, tourism aspects such as bird guiding skills, tools of the trade (use of birding apps etc), What makes Guyana an attractive destination for birders, birding tourism business strategies etc.

Dr. Weckstein of Drexel University was very impressed by the passion of the participants for birding that he expressed ‘I had so much fun co-teaching this talented and diverse group of naturalists from around Guyana. Their enthusiasm, knowledge and love for nature were infectious.’

Guyana’s top tier Tour Leader Waldyke Prince aka Wally also added ‘whatever was the original intention of the course, it surpassed that in the objectives due to camaraderie and wealth of knowledge that the participants brought with them. Both the trainees and the trainers learnt a lot from each other, and from Day 2, it was realized that it was a ‘ Train the Trainers’ course for some participants.’

Dr. Raquel Thomas, Director, Resource Management and Training, Iwokrama expressed excitement about the partnership with Drexel University.

She asserted “This is just the beginning of a long-term collaboration with the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University on training and research. In March, we expect an International Course Abroad (ICA) also to be run at Iwokrama and later this month (January) a team to explore research cooperation will visit.”

Dr. Thomas further stated “There was huge interest in this Birding Tourism course but unfortunately we only could accommodate 20 participants.  We will definitely explore the possibility of offering this course again in 2027, funding permitting. This initiative also supports the Guyana Tourism Authority’s accreditation process for Guiding in Guyana.”

Participants expressed that the course not only offered knowledge sharing but also put tour guides from different regions in touch with each other.  There were also discussions about the key need for a Tour Guides Association of Guyana. It is hoped that this Course networking will offer some encouragement to make this a reality in 2026.

The Centre would like to thank the Ministry of Tourism and the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) for its continued valuable partnership in 2026.  Iwokrama has a Memorandum of Understanding with the GTA since 2023.

On another note, this year, 2026, is yet another special year for Iwokrama- Iwokrama will be celebrating 30 years since the passage of the Iwokrama Act, which was assented to by Dr. Cheddi Jagan in 1996.

The media will be kept updated on activities planned to celebrate this important milestone.

Following the acceptance by the Commonwealth of an offer by the Government of Guyana in 1989 by late President Hugh Desmond Hoyte, the Iwokrama International Centre (IIC) was established in 1996 when late President Cheddie Jagan assented the Iwokrama Act of 1996 under a joint mandate from the Government of Guyana and the Commonwealth Secretariat to manage the Iwokrama forest, a unique reserve of 371,000 hectares of rainforest “in a manner that will lead to lasting ecological, economic and social benefits to the people of Guyana and to the world in general”.

The Centre, guided by an international Board of Trustees, is unique providing a dedicated well managed and researched forest environment. The forest is zoned into a Sustainable Utilization Area (SUA) and a Wilderness Preserve (WP) in which to test the concept of a truly sustainable forest where conservation, environmental balance and economic use can be mutually reinforcing. The IIC collaborates with the Government of Guyana, the Commonwealth and other international partners and donors to develop new approaches and forest management models to enable countries with rainforests to market their ecosystem services whilst carefully managing their resources through innovative and creative conservation practices. In more recent years, the Centre has received support from corporate partners such as Exxon Mobil (Guyana) Limited who has funded the development of its Science Programme and continues to provide an annual contribution to the implementation of this Programme.

Twenty  local communities (approximately 7,000 people) who are shareholders and participants in the IIC’s sustainable timber, tourism, research operations and forest management activities through complex co-management and benefit sharing arrangements;

Scientists and researchers engaged in ground breaking research into the impacts of climate change on the forest and measuring the scope and value of its ecosystem services; and

A portfolio of sustainably managed and certified business models using innovative governance systems which include participation of the private and public sectors and the local communities, earning income from the forest and its natural assets whilst employing international social, environmental and economic best practice, whilst still keeping abreast of the ever changing thinking on funding for environmental projects in the face of climate change and the perennial scarcity of international finance.

This alliance and the Centre’s work programmes are committed to showing how a rain forest can be used for real sustainability, real climate change protection and real community benefit.

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• bird guide, Iwokrama, Savannah Birding, training course

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