WWT has been working with partner organisations to enable the local people to monitor, protect and manage the wetlands that they depend upon.
WWT has been working with a community in Guyana, South America since 2003. A terrible incident occurred in 1995 where millions of cubic litres of poisonous waste was dumped into the river Essequibo killing virtually everything in its sight.
With funding from the Darwin Initiative a project team was put together with a number of universities, as well as local government agencies, conservation organisations and community groups. The aim was to empower the local people, and so far the Makushi villagers and partner organisations have been trained in wildlife and habitat-monitoring techniques.
The Makushi are now taking essential skills back into the community which they can use to help ensure the future of their wetlands.
Thirty key wetland sites have now been monitored for two years and a management plan for the region has been produced to contribute to wetland protection for both the wildlife and people depending on them. A huge success of the project so far is that the tribe now has a strong line of communication with the Guyanese government.
Further funding in 2007 will contribute to the development of a masters course on local environmentalism for the University of Guyana, producing a module on the importance of maintaining rich biodiversity for the country’s national curriculum and training more Makushi villagers in monitoring techniques.
The Makushi are now taking essential skills back into the community which they can use to help ensure the future of their wetlands.
Background
In Guyana where the Rupununi river joins the Essequibo and flows out to the sea, lies an area that is one of the world’s greatest biodiversity hotspots. The region’s pristine, primary rainforest is still largely unspoilt while the river itself and the savannah that it floods are home to an extraordinary mix of birds and animals.
Although Guyana is about the size of Great Britain, it has a population of less than a million, and most of them live in the capital Georgetown or along the coast.
Giant River Otters, Caiman, Anaconda, Stingrays and Piranha are all species which live in and around the wetlands of Guyana.
In 1995, something went wrong at the Omai mine on the Essequibo river, and millions of cubic litres of cyanide and metal-laced waste was dumped into the river, killing virtually everything in sight. Industrial mining is big in Guyana, and, in addition, several Chinese and Malaysian companies have logging rights which has had a huge adverse effect on the environment and community.