Kanuku Mountains

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Kanuku Mountains
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)
Lethem Guyana Kunuku Mountains.jpg
Kanuku Mountains as seen from Lethem
Guyana location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Guyana
Nearest city Lethem
Coordinates 3°12′N59°35′W / 3.200°N 59.583°W / 3.200; -59.583 Coordinates: 3°12′N59°35′W / 3.200°N 59.583°W / 3.200; -59.583
Area6,110 km2 (2,360 sq mi) [1]
Established2011 [1]
Governing body Protected Areas Trust

The Kanuku Mountains are a group of mountains in Guyana, located in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region. The name means 'forest' in the Wapishana language, a reference to the rich diversity of wildlife found there. The Eastern Kanuku Mountains and the Western Kanuku Mountains are separated by the Rupununi River. In 2011, the mountains were designated National Protected Area.

Contents

History

The lowland forests sustain 53% of all the known bird species in Guyana, and about 70% of all mammals found in Guyana, live in the Kanuku Mountains. [2] Prominent species include the Giant otter, the Harpy eagle and the Arapaima. [2] The highest peak of the Kanuku Mountains rises to 1,067 metres while the savannah area varies between 120 and 150 metres. [2]

In 2010, concern for the fate of the wildlife of the Kanuku Mountains was raised by the completion of the Takutu River Bridge and matching road system linking coastal Guyana with the interior and the Brazilian frontier. The road passes close to the Kanukus and is a potential source of unsustainable resource exploitation. [3]

In 2011, the mainly uninhabited area was protected, and designated a National Protected Area. [4] It is being maintained by the Kanuku Mountains Project. [5] The conservation area measures 611,000 hectares (6,110 km2). [6] The area around the mountains is inhabited by the Macushi and Wapishana people in 21 communities who use the resources of mountains for their subsistence living. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

Geography of Guyana

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Rupununi River in Guyana

The Rupununi is a region in the south-west of Guyana, bordering the Brazilian Amazon. The Rupununi river, also known by the local indigenous peoples as Raponani, flows through the Rupununi region. The name Rupununi originates from the word rapon in the Makushi language, in which it means the black-bellied whistling duck found along the river.

Rupununi savannah

The Rupununi savannah is a savanna plain in Guyana, in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region. It is an ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome.

Achiwib Village in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Guyana

Achiwib is a village in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana.

Apoteri Village in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Guyana

Apoteri is a village in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana, near the confluence of the Rupununi River with the Essequibo, at an altitude of 53 metres. Apoteri started to develop as the centre of the balatá industry. The population is mainly Amerindian of the Macushi and Wapishana people.

Takutu River

The Takutu River is a river in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana and Roraima in Brazil. It forms part of the boundary between the two countries. The confluence of the Takutu and Uraricoera Rivers forms the Branco River. The Takutu River's sources almost link with those of the Essequibo River; in the rainy season, flooding links the Takutu to the Rupununi River, a tributary of the Essequibo.

Dadanawa Ranch Estate in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Guyana

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Annai, Guyana Place in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Guyana

Annai is an Amerindian village in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana.

Aishalton Amerindian Village in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Guyana

Aishalton is an Amerindian village that is situated in the Rupununi savannah of southern Guyana, in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of the country.

Guyana Country in South America

Guyana, officially the Co‑operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America and the capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the south and southwest, Venezuela to the west, and Suriname to the east. With 215,000 square kilometres (83,000 sq mi), Guyana is the third-smallest sovereign state by area in mainland South America after Uruguay and Suriname; it is also the second-least populous sovereign state in South America after Suriname.

The Kwitaro River is a tributary of the Rupununi River in Guyana.

The North Rupununi District in located in south-west Guyana consisting of a mixture of forest, savannah and wetlands ecosystems and is considered one of the most diverse areas in South America. Located on the eastern margin of the larger savannah system which extends into Brazil and is separated by the Ireng and Takutu rivers that come together to form the Rio Branco. The Guyana Rupununi system is divided into the North and South Rupununi by the Kanuku Mountains.

Wowetta Village in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Guyana

Wowetta is an indigenous village in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region in Guyana. The village is mainly inhabited by Macushi people.

Karinambo village in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Guyana

Karinambo is a village in Guyana. Charles Barrington Brown stayed in the Amerindian village near the Takutu Savanna in the 1870s.

Guianan Highlands moist forests

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Aranaputa Village in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Guyana

Aranaputa is an Amerindian village in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Guyana. It is located in the Pacaraima Mountains.

Rewa, Guyana village in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Guyana

Rewa is an Amerindian village in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region of Guyana.

Yupukari Village in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Guyana

Yupukari is an indigenous village of Macushi and Wapishana Amerindians in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana. It is located between the Kanuku and Pakaraima Mountains along the Rupununi River.

St. Ignatius, Guyana Amerindian village in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Guyana

St. Ignatius is an Amerindian village in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region of Guyana, near the regional capital Lethem and the border of Brazil. It was originally a mission founded by Jesuit priests to serve the Amerindians in the Rupununi savannah.

Karaudarnau Village in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Guyana

Karaudarnau is an indigenous village of Wapishana Amerindians in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana. It is located in the Rupununi savannah on the Rupununi River.

References

  1. 1 2 "Guyana: Protected Area Profile: The Kanuku Mountains Protected Area (KMPA) – 'Mountains of Life'". Guyanese Online. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Hallett, Matthew T.; Kinahan, Anouska A.; McGregor, Rayon; Baggallay, Thadaigh; Babb, Timothy; Barnabus, Howard; Wilson, Asaph; Li, Fernando M.; Boone, Wesley W.; Bankovich, Brittany A. (8 November 2019). "Impact of Low-Intensity Hunting on Game Species in and Around the Kanuku Mountains Protected Area, Guyana". Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 7. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00412 . S2CID   207958426.
  3. ↑ "1991 Guyana West Kanukus RAP" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-12-21.
  4. ↑ Protected Areas Commission 2015, V.
  5. ↑ "Kanuku Mountains Project". Frankfurt Zoological Society. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  6. ↑ Protected Areas Commission 2015, p. 3.
  7. ↑ Protected Areas Commission 2015, p. 1.

Bibliography

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