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RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY IN THE RAIN FOREST OF CENTRAL GUYANA
The Iwokrama International Rain Forest Programme offers
facilities for research in a remote pristine forest area 300 km
south of Georgetown. The mission of the Iwokrama Programme is:
To undertake research, training and the development of
technologies which will promote the conservation and the
sustainable and equitable use of tropical rain forests in a
manner that will lead to lasting ecological, economic and social
benefits to the people of Guyana and to the world in general."
The Iwokrama Programme is in its start-up phase and welcomes
researchers who would help improve the scientific foundations of
sustainable utilization of the forest. At present research is
needed in the following fields:
* General characterization of the physical
characteristics of the site
* Characterization of the flora and fauna
* Forest ecology with special emphasis of regeneration of
timber trees
* Forest type classification and mapping
* Identification and development of non-timber forest
products
Iwokrama makes available the facilities of a field station
located near Kurupukari on the left bank of the Essequibo River.
Lodging and meals at the field station, transportation and field
guides can be provided at modest rates.
Researchers must come with all of their own funding.
Iwokrama will evaluate and select proposals on the basis of space
available and relation to the aims of the Programme. There is
special interest in developing long-term collaborative
arrangements with established institutions doing practical
research in tropical forests.
Interested institutions or individuals are invited to send a
profile of their proposed research to:
Director General
Iwokrama International Rain Forest Programme
P.O. Box 1074
41 Brickdam
Georgetown, Guyana
Tel: 592-2-51504
Fax: 592-2-59199
Additional information about the Iwokrama Programme can be sent
on request.
THE ORIGINS OF IWOKRAMA
The Iwokrama International Rain Forest Programme has its
origins in an offer by the Honourable Desmond Hoyte, then
President, on behalf of the people and the Government of Guyana,
of an area of undisturbed forest in central Guyana. This land
was to be used for conservation of biodiversity, for training and
for research leading to the development of techniques for
sustainable and equitable utilisation of forest resources. The
offer was made at the 1989 Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
A Commonwealth Group of experts headed by Dr. Swaminathan,
then President of IUCN, assisted an inter-agency team headed by
the Guyana Natural Resources Agency (GNRA) in developing the
overall concept for the Programme, including the identification
of the forest site. The site which is almost entirely bounded by
rivers, including the Essequibo, also contains the Iwokrama
mountain range after which the Programme is named.
Guidelines for the management of this large site were
subsequently outlined by consultants. The Natural Resources
Institute (NRI), UK, assisted by Guyanese and international
scientists carried out a preliminary survey of fauna and flora,
soil and vegetation types, geology and ethno-botanical aspects of
the site, funded by the British Overseas Development
Administration (ODA) in 1992. Other consultants developed
proposals for short and long term management of the Programme.
In 1993, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) provided a
grant of USS3 million as seed funding to initiate the UNDP/GEF
Project "GEF Assistance to the Iwokrama Rain Forest Programme",
planned to last three years, starting April 1993. These funds
are administered by UNDP. The project is executed by the
Government of Guyana which has contributed funding for
construction of a field station and other logistic purposes. The
Commonwealth Secretariat, through the Commonwealth Fund for
Technical Cooperation, agreed to provide technical specialists,
constituted in the Interim Programme Management Group. This
Group was progressively staffed from February 1994. An Interim
Director General, funded by UNDP/GEF, assumed duties in March
1995. In 1995, the International Development Research Centre
(IDRC) of Canada has become a partner in iwokrama and establish
an information and communications unit.
An Interim Board of Trustees (IBOT), headed by Dr. M.S.
Swaminathan, held its inaugural meeting in Washington D.C. in
July 1992 followed by biannual meetings which have guided the
development of the Programme. With the creation of the legal
framework for the Iwokrama International Rain Forest Programme,
this interim structure will evolve into the much simpler
permanent structure and operating mechanism.
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