The Iwokrama brand and climate change

Iwokrama, set up more than ten years ago has two main battles: getting money to runs its

programmes, and even more grave, getting attention. In trying to win on both these fronts,

Iwokrama underscores its relevance in the world climate change debate.

“As the implications of climate change become ever more apparent, the international community

looks towards institutions such as the Iwokrama International Centre to demonstrate, through

scientific research, education and local community relations that it is possible to achieve

environmental sustainability and social responsibility without recourse to actions that may cause

profound ecological damage to the world,” the Prince of Wales is quoted by Iwokrama as saying.

Former United Kingdom High Commissioner to Guyana Mr Edward Glover is not shy to admit that

Iwokrama has been hidden from the people of Guyana and the rest of the world. Glover is in his

last year as chairman of the international Board of Trustees that manages the Iwokrama Centre,

which aims to demonstrate that money can be made from forests, without destroying it.

The Minister of Education Dr. Desrey Fox at a recent meeting of the Iwokrama Board said that

she would seek to work with Iwokrama to get Guyanese schoolchildren to know about Iwokrama

and its work.

President Bharrat Jagdeo has stressed upon Iwokrama the importance of Guyana playing its part

in the international climate change debate. This comes as Guyana braces for torrential

downpours of the May/June rainy season which many get nervous about when remembering the

floods which killed over 20 and destroyed the livelihood of thousands on the coastland in 2005.

The unusual rainfall was as a result of changing weather patterns the authorities believe and the

government recently reinvigorated the National Climate Committee. In addition, through a motion

taken to the 65-seat National Assembly in mid-March this year, the Parliament of Guyana agreed

to examine the possibility of setting up a National Commission on Climate Change and Mitigating

Measures to make recommendations and monitor actions which must be taken to address the

situation.

Opposition parliamentarian James McAllister said sea level rise coupled with an increase in

destructive storms will threaten the existence of small island states and low lying communities.

He posited that since more than 90 per cent of Guyana's population live on the coastland, which

also accommodates a vast majority of the country's agricultural and economic activities, global

warming would a "a significant impact on Guyana."

Minister of Agriculture Mr. Robert Persaud, speaking in the National Assembly during the debate

on the motion warned that the El Nino Southern Oscillation phenomenon that brings extreme

weather impacts to Guyana is evidence of a changing climate and the forecast is of an 85 per

cent probability of an El Nino event this year that is likely to produce drought-like conditions.

According to Glover, the International Board of Trustees has pledged, through facilities available

at Iwokrama, to ensure the Centre is an important element “in this process of responding to

climate change through mitigation and adaptation.”

Glover, in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, said the board of trustees is taking seriously

the President’s charge to highlight Iwokrama in the global discussions on climate change.

“Protecting and enhancing (the Iwokrama) forest, a home to the people who live there and

treasury to some of the world’s endangered species is our major contribution to the

Commonwealth’s response to climate change”, President Jagdeo has been quoted as saying.

Glover noted that Iwokrama’s Trustees, particularly those in London have been working hard to

secure sponsorship and support from major UK companies who are committed to corporate social

responsibility with an emphasis on climate change.

By the end of the year, the establishment of a climate change monitoring unit will commence at

Iwokrama’s management centre at Kurupukari thanks to the good offices of University of New

Castle.

The Commonwealth Secretary General Don Mckinnon has welcomed Iwokrama’s new plan for

greater partnership with the institutions and investors who are committed to playing their own

part in responding to climate change.

The scientific community believes that the global climate is warming because of greenhouse gas

emissions from human activities, including industrial and manufacturing processes, fossil fuel

combustion (gas) and changes in land use, such as deforestation.

The U.S. and Australia have refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol which sets legally-binding targets

for developed countries to reduce greenhouse emissions within seven years, to about five per

cent below 1990 levels.

The Kyoto Protocol is the first international agreement to fight global warming. It was signed by

141 nations, including all European and all other developed industrial nations except the U.S. and

Australia.

The pact went into effect on February 16, 2005, and expires in 2012. The Kyoto Protocol has

been celebrated by its backers as a lifeline to save our planet from disastrous human-caused

effects of a warming global climate.

In Guyana, the National Climate Committee was first set up in 1995 with the primary

responsibility to decide on policies and projects relating to climate change, and was intended to

determine appropriate mechanisms and personnel for implementing and managing climate

change projects and for the allocation of available funds.

Guyana's carbon dioxide removal levels exceed emission under the Kyoto Protocol and it is

classified as a Non-Annex. As such, Guyana is not legally required to reduce emission like many

other countries.

The Government Information Agency (GINA) said focus is currently on developing cleaner

sources of fuel with the construction of a co-generation plant at Skeldon in Berbice while biodiesel

is being explored by the Institute of Applied Science and Technology (IAST).

The government is focused on establishing a Climate Change Unit in the Hydrometerological

Service of the Ministry of Agriculture to act as a precursor to the development of a Climate

Change Centre.

GINA stated that the NCC's revised terms of reference are to examine national conditions relating

to climate change and to make recommendations to the Adviser to the President on Science,

Technology, Energy and Environment, and relevant ministries on appropriate national measures

to address the conditions.

It will advise on developments and the needs for policies and regulations in relation to activities

responding to climate change and promote technical, scientific, technological and financial

cooperation among organizations/agencies dealing with climate change issues, the agency said.

Monitoring the implementation of national policies, programmes and action plans related to

climate change and making recommendations for appropriate changes and revisions are other

functions of the NCC, it said.

Although the NCC was in existence for two years, the experience of El Nino and La Nina in 1997

heightened Guyana's awareness of climate change and the committee became an important

component to address and assist in adaptation measures.

In 1996 La Nina caused heavy downpours, resulting in widespread flooding in all regions of

Guyana, many areas having to be evacuated with the attendant losses of millions of dollars.

The 1997-1998 El Nino effect brought drought to the country. Many areas were declared disaster

areas, brought on by forest fires and salt water intrusion into major rivers, affecting the

extraction of irrigation water and loss of crops was widespread in many areas.

Sea level rise affects Guyana’s coastal defense as the coast is about 1.2m below sea level,

meaning that defenses are necessary to keep out the tidal surges that are sometimes in excess

of 2m. Guyana experiences tidal surges that are sometimes in excess of 3m at high spring tide.

Inundation of low lying areas is often caused by overtopping, breaches of seas defences and

erosion of the near shore area due to shifts of ocean currents due to wind changes.

Minister Persaud has outlined a number of adaptation strategies being pursued by the

government, including increasing the network of data collection stations to guide decision

making, such as the redesign of drainage channels to facilitate the higher intensity of rainfall

being experienced.

Another measure, he said, is the design and construction of sea defenses to accommodate the

projection of sea level rise. He pointed out that the "rip rap" design of the "sea wall" allows for

the raising of defenses to prevent overtopping.

He said research into "disease resistant, high yielding" crops to flower and produce within the

season is also being pursued. He further pointed out that management plans are being

developed in the fisheries, forestry and mining sectors to accommodate climate change impacts.

Further, he said the government is developing and promoting the use of renewable energy, such

as wind, hydropower, and solar, to further reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

Meeting its goal

The Iwokrama Forest is zoned into two sections; a wilderness preserve, and a Sustainable

Utilisation Area, which allows for sustainable use activities, conservation and evaluating the

impacts of such activities on an intact forest.

The experiment, for which Iwokrama was created, that of showing show how tropical forests can

be conserved and sustainably used to provide ecological, social and economic benefits to local,

national and international communities, is finally underway. Glover says this experiment,

Iwokrama’s business venture in sustainable timber harvesting, will test the proposition that

conservation, environmental balance and economically sustainable activities are “not

contradictions, but neutrally enforcing.”

The concept of Iwokrama was born in 1989, when Guyana said it wanted to make available to

the commonwealth an area of land to carry out the fundamental experiment to determine if

tropical rainforests, vital to life continuity on earth, can be conserved, but at the same time

utilized to the benefit of people.

The offer by Guyana came amidst growing anxiety about climate change, global warming, and its

impact on seas level rise in the Caribbean.

The timber harvesting venture is being developed through financing from Timber is Iwokrama's

primary business initiative and has largely been developed through funding from the

International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO).

The five year plan, which can be renewed, has the communities as shareholders, reflecting the

relationship that they have with the Iwokrama Forest.

Through the timber operations, not more than 20,000 cubic metres per annum could be

harvested by the private sector company, Tigerwood Guyana Incorporated.

A monocyclic silvicultural system that involves felling only a few of the commercial trees in an

area (selective logging) will be employed, utilizing a 60-year cutting cycle.

Reduced Impact Logging techniques requires much more planning than conventional techniques,

but results in a more efficient, cost effective operation on the ground, as well as less impact on

the environment and surrounding forest.

Upon completion of harvesting activities, felling blocks will be closed down and the environment

directly affected will be rehabilitated to the extent that is practicable.

Iwokrama and the joint venture company managing the timber harvesting plan is implementing

practices which are in accord with the Guyana National Initiative for Forest Certification (GNIFC),

National Standards for Forest Management (such as the Code of Practice and other GFC

requirements) and those of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), to conserve and protect the

ecosystem.

With this commitment, Iwokrama believes, ecosystem effects are predicted to be mainly

temporary and acceptable.

According to Iwokrama, business operations will be based on detailed research and planning that

included management and pre-harvest forest inventories; marketing and feasibility studies; and

consultations with local communities and potential business partners.

Timber products such as Greenheart squares, prime and select construction material, flooring and

molding will be directed toward green and socially responsible niche markets.

They will be branded with the Iwokrama name, which will indicate social, cultural, ecological and

economic sustainability. Market conditions, low production volumes and high transportation costs

will directly affect the determination of products.

Financial sustainability

The timber harvesting project is one of the means by which Iwokrama hopes to achieve financial

sustainability by 2010.

A five year business plan (2006-10) will hopefully see the center being able to chalk up the

US$600, 000 it needs to meet operational costs.

At the moment, the Centre gets support from the Government of Guyana, the Commonwealth

Secretariat, the International Tropical Timber Organization, the German government and other

donors.

The Iwokrama Centre came into operation in 1996 on the basis of an agreement between the

Commonwealth and Government of Guyana, and after included in the Laws of Guyana, the

agreement paved the way for the establishment of an international board of trustees to manage

the nearly one million acre (371,000 hectares) rainforest.

Glover says at the heart of the business initiatives of Iwokrama is tourism, owing to the rich

biodiversity that Iwokrama possesses.

He admits that in the past, Iwokrama lacked the expertise in marketing, and hence Iwokrama

remained “in the jungle”, hidden from Guyana and the world over.

Now, however, through arrangements with UK companies Glover would only at this time call

“big”, that will hopefully change, and there will be “well packaged” initiatives to sell Iwokrama.

Glover issues high praises to President Jagdeo and his government for constructing an airstrip at

Iwokrama that now makes access to the rainforest much more convenient.

However, it is still far too expensive for locals, and hence Glover is encouraging them to come to

visit Iwokrama overland.

Iwokrama forest's ecosystem is located at a crossroads between Amazonian and Guianan flora

and fauna. As a result, it contains high species richness and several species of animals that are

threatened or extinct across most of their former geographic ranges, like the Giant Anteater.

The Iwokrama forest has the highest species richness for fish (over 420 described so far) and

bats (90) for any area this size in the world. It also has extraordinarily high bird diversity (over

500). Additionally Iwokrama Forest has also been identified as a global hotspot for several plant

families, including Lecythidaceae and Chrysobalanaceae.

Working with communities

Glover says too that another story often not told is of Iwokrama’s partnership with local

communities, which he sees as unique.

Iwokrama currently employs 70 members of staff, of which 70 per cent are the Amerindian

residents of the surrounding communities.

The Iwokrama forest is in the Makushi homeland. The Makushi people are one of the last

remaining Amerindian tribes who are the original settlers of Guyana.

From very early in its history, Iwokrama focused on building strong participatory mechanisms and

partnerships the indigenous communities of the North Rupununi District that adjoins the forest.

Iwokrama was instrumental in the formation of the North Rupununi District Development Board

(NRDDB). The Board represents the communities and takes responsibility for the planning and

coordination of many Iwokrama educational, developmental, cultural and research programmes

in the North Rupununi.

Iwokrama seeks to make this a model partnership that other forest managers and owners may

replicate with local peoples.

The NRDDB, established in 1996, is a locally formed Amerindian community-based organisation

composed of village leaders and other community representatives.

The Board was created by Iwokrama to establish a formal link between the communities,

government agencies, and Iwokrama.

According to Sydney ALlicock, a Makushi from the village of Surama, the NRDDB is progressing

as a fairly successful initiative by the Makushi people to take control of their resources and

developmental processes.

Iwokrama, he said, has affected the residents of the North Rupununi in positive ways.

Allicock noted that Iwokrama started as a political vision that did not take into account the

“views, fears, hopes, or interests” of the Makushi people whose lands and sacred and spiritual

values, as well as modern aspirations were at stake.

Also, at the start, only two communities, Fairview, and Allicock’s own, Surama, were listed to

receive benefits from the venture and suspicions grew.

Though the NRDDB was set up in 1996, it was only until 2002 that an Amerindian representative

began to sit on the Iwokrama Board of Trustees.

The NRDDB has undertaken some unique initiatives, including them the establishment of the Bina

Hill Institute at Annai, which among other things seeks the revival of the Makushi language.

A group of women, who barely completed primary school, pioneered the use of solar powered

portable computers to record date, draft texts, and translate their booklets on fishes, birds,

cassava, the Iwokrama Mountains and the traditional and modern uses of alcohol. Sale of these

books has brought in significant finances for the group.

Today, through the accomplishments of the Bina Hill Institute, the Makushi language is now

being taught in schools in the North Rupununi through the support of the Ministry of Education. ‘

In additions, through the NRDDB, youths, are taking an active role in conservation. There are

Wildlife Clubs in most if not all of the communities of the North Rupununi.

Every year, the wildlife clubs hosts a festival. The events include archery, cotton-spinning and a

quiz competition.

Another effort with which Iwokrama has involved the communities is in the construction of an

canopy walkway in the Iwokrama forest.

The Iwokrama canopy walkway is managed on behalf of Iwokrama International Centre by

Community and Tourism Services Inc (CATS). CATS is a unique partnership formed between the

Makushi community at Surama and two private sector businesses: Rock View Lodge and

Wilderness Explorers. CATS plans to make this partnership a model of how ecotourism can be

financially successful and provide real benefits and ownership to local communities.

The company is equally owned by the three principals and current Chairman of the Board is

Sydney Allicock from Surama.

With all these initiatives, Glover sees Iwokrama poised to meet its mission of “promoting the

conservation and the sustainable and equitable use of tropical rain forests in a manner that leads

to lasting ecological, economic, and social benefits to the people of Guyana and to the world in

general, by undertaking research, training, and the development and dissemination of

technologies.”