THE IWOKRAMA CONSERVATION DEVELOPMENT CENTER AND GUYANAS

ZOOLOGICAL PARK AS AGENTS OF BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

Biodiversity conservation can be defined as the protection of the variability within and
between species and within and between ecosystems of living organisms on the earth.
Two agents involved in biodiversity conservation in Guyana are the Iwokrama
Conservation Development Center and the Guyanas Zoological Park. These two
agents of biodiversity conservation use two different methods in order to preserve
biodiversity among organisms. The Iwokrama Conservation Development Center uses
the in situ method of biodiversity conservation, which is on site conservation or the
conservation of genetic resources in natural populations of plant and animal species,
while the Guyanas Zoological Park uses the ex situ method of biodiversity
conservation, which is the conservation of plant and animal species outside of their
natural environment. Both methods of conservation ensure that biodiversity among flora
and fauna species are preserved either outside or within the natural habitat of these
organisms.
In 1989, at a meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government in Malaysia, former
Guyanese President proposed the idea of setting aside a virgin rainforest as a living
laboratory in order to advance the practice in the sustainable management of the
worlds remaining rain forests and to serve as an example to the rest of the world to do
the same. Consequently, the Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest
Conservation and Development implemented the Iwokrama Rain Forest Programme in
1996 which is managed by both Guyana and a group of Commonwealth experts. In
efforts to make this project a success, in 1993 the United Nations Development
Programme donated US$3M to help get the project up and going and as a result, in
1994 the first field station was built in Iwokrama where training and research began.
According to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, The Iwokrama International
Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development shall implement the Iwokrama
Rain Forest Programme by undertaking research, training and the development of
technologies which will promote the conservation and sustainable and equitable use of
tropical rain forests in a manner that will lead to lasting ecological, economic and social
benefits to the people of Guyana and to the world in general. In essence, the project
will focus on the sustainable development of the rainforest while at the same time
preserving its biodiversity.
The Iwokrama Project covers 360, 000 hectares of land and is located in the center of
Guyana, almost 300km south of Georgetown. The Essequibo River flows through the
eastern side of the Iwokrama Project site with several other tributaries of the Essequibo
River flowing through the site. The site contains the Pakatau Hills and the Iwokrama
Mountains along with dense, virgin rainforest that experiences high temperatures and
rainfall year round. The Iwokrama Project has a wide range of flora and fauna contained

in its site. The site has an estimated 2000 different kinds of plants; 480 kinds of birds;
180 kinds of mammals; 500 kinds of fish; and 180 kinds of reptiles and amphibians. The
Iwokrama Project focuses on five main areas: sustainable management; conservation
and use of biodiversity; sustainable human development; forest research; and
information and communication.
The monitoring system that is used by the Iwokrama Project is one that is concerned
with evaluating operations or field parameters in order to maintain the state of health
of the Iwokrama forest which depends on a set of internal and external factors that
needs to be keenly monitored to pinpoint any impacts they may be having on the site of
the Iwokrama Project. The monitoring system operates at three levels namely, the
landscape level; the community or ecosystem level; and the species population level.
The landscape monitoring system monitors factors such as climate, forest cover and
human demography. When monitoring climate changes, hydro met stations in the
Iwokrama Field Centre provide the necessary data to monitor rainfall and temperature
changes in the forest in order to mitigate any effects climatic factors may have on
organisms and their habitats. When monitoring forest cover and human demography,
satellite images and aerial pictures are used to provide information on types of existing
habitats in the forest and changes in these habitats over a period of time and the
amount of land available for growing human populations near the Iwokrama Project site.
The community or ecosystem level monitor factors such as human impacts on the
organisms since humans can have a negative effect on the quantity and distribution of
different species of organisms primarily due to hunting. Therefore, in order to curb
hunting of these animals, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment,
Ministry of Agriculture, Guyana Police Force and the Iwokrama and Surama village
prohibited hunting and fishing of the animals within the boundaries of the Iwokrama
Project and anyone caught will be penalized and be placed before the Court. Finally, the
species population level monitors flora and fauna species population. Unfortunately,
however, the Iwokrama Project has not implemented a system to monitor the
observations of flora and fauna.
On the other hand, the Guyanas Zoological Park uses the method of ex situ
conservation whereby plant and animal species are conserved outside of their natural
habitats due to the fact that some of the animals obtained were rescued from some form
of danger due to destruction of their habitats or since there is no available breeding
programs in Guyana that would be willing to take the animals and as a result, the
animals were brought to the zoo. The Guyana Zoo is home to over 100 species of
wildlife and has four main types of ecosystems namely, birds; cat; caiman; and coastal.
The Guyana Zoo has 30 species of mammals; 40 species of birds; 15 species of
reptiles; and 20 species of fish and each species of animals have at least 34 individuals
of its kind, allowing for genetic variation within each species. When two genetically

different animals within a species reproduce, the offspring that is created has a greater
chance of flourishing and surviving as compared to when two animals that are
reproducing that are genetically identical. The aim of the Guyana Zoo is to raise the
conservation awareness level specifically relating to biodiversity conservation. To be
more specific, the Guyana Zoo attempts to raise awareness of the importance of the
preservation and conservation of natural resources and to protect the environment in
which Guyanese public resides; it attempts to promote the protection and study of
wildlife native to Guyana; and to create a specific point where information can be
obtained and disseminated to the Guyanese public.
In conclusion, the Iwokrama Project and the Guyanas Zoological Park are respectable
initiatives undertaken by Guyanese individuals to promote biodiversity conservation.
Further enhancement to each project will enable more people of the Guyanese public
and international contributors to become more active in raising awareness of the rich
biodiversity that is prominent in Guyana.