New project to help save plants, animals in Guyana

Several environmental bodies in Guyana are working together in a new project – the Amazon Sustainable Landscape Programme – as part of efforts to help save more plants and animals found in the rich Amazon rainforest.

The project is focused on improving the management of the Kanuku Mountains Protection Area and the North Rupununi Wetlands, in Region Nine (Upper Takutu- Upper Essequibo).

Deputy Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Sharifah Razack said the project is designed to preserve the ecological integrity and hydrological integrity of those critical areas within Guyana and other regions.

It will also help to support conservation efforts in vital habitats while supporting Indigenous communities that exist in those areas. It also should help to mitigate carbon emissions and benefit about 700 persons directly.

The EPA is the executing agency but it is supported by other bodies like the Protected Areas Commission (PAC) and the Guyana Forestry Commission.

There are existing projects and efforts geared at protecting biodiversity in Guyana but WWF Guianas Country Manager, Aiesha Williams said the threat the Amazon region faces necessitates this project.

According to her, the Amazon will be badly affected by worsening impacts of the climate crisis.

“We have heard of the term ‘the tipping point’ where currently 34% of the Amazon biome has reached its tipping point. It’s at the point of no return.

“To ensure that the rest of the Amazon doesn’t reach that point, it is important for projects like the Amazon Sustainable Landscape programme to come on board to protect wildlife, biodiversity, the people who live there and the global community,” Williams said.