Conservation International Guyana

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Conservation International Guyana
AbbreviationCI-Guyana
Formation1989 [1]
TypeCountry office
PurposeBiodiversity conservation and sustainable development [1]
Headquarters Georgetown, Guyana
Region served
Guyana
Parent organization
 Conservation International
Website Official website

Conservation International Guyana (CI-Guyana) is the Guyanese country programme of Conservation International. Conservation International has worked in Guyana since 1989 and maintains offices in Georgetown and Lethem in the Rupununi. [1] Work in Guyana has included support for conservation initiatives in the Wai-wai community of Kanashen in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region, protected-area planning, forest monitoring connected to Guyana's REDD+ programme, and projects on mercury reduction in gold mining and mangrove mapping. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Contents

History

Conservation International began working in Guyana in 1989, and the Guyana programme later established offices in Georgetown and Lethem to support its national work. [1] The programme has worked with government bodies and other partners on conservation planning and implementation in multiple regions of Guyana. [1]

Guyana's National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (2012–2020) documented collaboration involving the Protected Areas Commission, Conservation International Guyana and the University of Kent to develop a methodology using Marxan to spatially map ecosystems and biodiversity areas for protected-area planning. [4] An independent assessment of enabling activities in the Guyana–Norway REDD+ partnership described Conservation International Guyana as a facilitating partner in programme implementation arrangements. [8]

In 2014, CI-Guyana vice president David Singh described Guyana's Low Carbon Development Strategy as intended to serve as a model for carbon-limited development that supports sustainable development, and said that public attitudes in Guyana include strong support for environmental protection. [9]

In 2017, the Guyana Forestry Commission announced that Norway funds were released through Conservation International Guyana to support a second phase of Guyana's forest monitoring work under the Monitoring Reporting and Verification System (MRVS). [10] The MRVS is a national forest monitoring system that tracks changes in forest cover and estimates associated emissions as part of Guyana's REDD+ programme. [5]

In 2018, Conservation International Guyana launched the El Dorado Gold Project, a programme intended to reduce mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining and promote mercury-free mining practices. [6] Miners in Mahdia were briefed on the El Dorado Gold Project during a mining school forum and mini symposium, with the project described as engaging miners in Regions Eight and Nine toward mercury-free mining by 2025. [11]

Activities by location

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Selected programme locations in Guyana (1 Georgetown, 2 Lethem, 3 Kanashen, 4 Mahdia)

Kanashen and southern Guyana

In the Kanashen Indigenous District in Region Nine, the Kanashen Village Council received absolute title to its lands in 2004 and designated them as a Community Owned Conservation Area in 2007 under the Amerindian Act 2006. [2] The Government of Guyana gazetted the area in 2017 as the Kanashen Amerindian Protected Area, with the Kanashen Village Council listed as the management authority; the protected area covers about 648,567 hectares (6,486 km2). [2] [3] A management plan for implementation from 2022 to 2026 set out arrangements involving the community, government agencies and Conservation International Guyana, including community consultations, ranger training and baseline biological surveys. [12]

Lethem and the Rupununi

CI-Guyana maintains an office in Lethem in the Rupununi, in addition to its Georgetown office. [1] Work in the Rupununi and other parts of southern Guyana has included support for community conservation and protected-area management in Region Nine. [2] [12]

Mahdia and interior mining districts

The El Dorado Gold Project has aimed to reduce mercury use in gold mining and promote mercury-free mining practices. [6] A mining school forum and mini symposium in Mahdia included a briefing on the El Dorado Gold Project and involved state and non-state partners, including Conservation International Guyana. [11]

Coastal Guyana

Coastal work has included mangrove cover mapping carried out under the North Brazil Shelf Mangrove Project. [7] In Guyana, the project worked with the Mangrove Department of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute, and Conservation International Guyana was among the implementing partners. [7]

Nationwide

Protected-area planning has included ecosystem and biodiversity mapping using Marxan to support the design and expansion of Guyana's protected-areas system. [4] CI-Guyana has supported implementation of the MRVS, a national forest monitoring system used in Guyana's REDD+ programme. [10] [5] The Guiana Shield Initiative supported national forest monitoring and verification systems used for results-based payments in REDD+ contexts in Guyana and Suriname, coordinated by Conservation International. [13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "About CI-Guyana". Conservation International Guyana.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Kanashen Amerindian Protected Area". Protected Areas Commission.
  3. 1 2 "Konashen to be declared a National Protected Area". Stabroek News. 13 July 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 Guyana National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, 2012–2020 (PDF) (Report). Government of Guyana. p. 34.
  5. 1 2 3 Guyana REDD+ Monitoring Reporting & Verification System (MRVS) Year 7 MRVS Report: 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017 (PDF) (Report). Guyana Forestry Commission. 2019. pp. 2, 10.
  6. 1 2 3 "El Dorado Gold Project aims to achieve mercury-free mining by 2025". Department of Public Information, Guyana. 6 September 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 Mangrove cover of Guyana: Standard Operating Procedures (PDF) (Report). National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI). p. 7.
  8. ↑ Independent Assessment of Enabling Activities of the Guyana–Norway REDD+ Partnership (ID 43777) (PDF) (Report). Indufor. 29 November 2013. pp. 30–31.
  9. ↑ Cannon, John (26 November 2014). "Chinese logging company takes over Guyana's forests". Mongabay.
  10. 1 2 "Guyana gets Norway funds for implementation of second phase MRVS". Guyana Forestry Commission. 8 August 2017.
  11. 1 2 "Mining School forum targets fewer accidents". Stabroek News. 31 August 2018.
  12. 1 2 Kanashen Amerindian Protected Area: Management Plan (Plan B, for implementation 2022–2026) (PDF) (Report). Protected Areas Commission. 2022. pp. 3–4.
  13. ↑ Ex-post evaluation: Guiana Shield Initiative (PDF) (Report). KfW Development Bank. 2017. p. 29.
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