Press Release 14 April 2004

Iwokrama Moves Forward with Collaborative Management of the Iwokrama Portion of the Georgetown-Lethem Road

Georgetown, Guyana -- Iwokrama International Centre has announced it is working with several partners including the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Ministry of Public Works to improve safety and reduce ecological impacts along the Iwokrama Forest portion of the Georgetown-Lethem Road. The trans-Guyana road runs through the heart of the Iwokrama Forest from the Kurupukari Crossing, near the village of Fairview, to the turning to the village of Surama. Since 23 March 2004, a police officer has been stationed along the road to work along with Iwokrama Rangers who also function as Supernumerary Constables.

The road has been greatly improved over the last year and offers a much easier, quicker and more reliable transportation route from the coast to Guyana's interior and to Lethem. Over the last few years traffic has increased dramatically, especially in the last 12 months. From May to September 2003 the road carried a monthly average of 104 trucks, 144 4WD vehicles and 22 buses every month. From October 2003 to March 2004 the average monthly traffic jumped to 146 trucks, 211 4WD vehicles, and 66 buses.

While the road will bring many benefits including increased access to markets for tourism, timber and other products, increased traffic will expand the number of road accidents, roadside environmental and solid waste management issues, illegal trafficking and other problems.

The decision to establish a police presence on the road was made by recently appointed Commissioner of Police, Winston Felix, DSM, and fulfils a commitment made by the GPF some time ago. With national security and the safety of road travellers in mind, vehicles may be subject to random searches. Along the Forest road corridor Guyana's laws will be enforced, including speed limits, hunting restrictions and the Iwokrama Act (legislation establishing the Iwokrama Forest).

This new step forward will complement Iwokrama's Ranger Stations at Corkwood and Kurupukari and is part of its strategy for future development of roadside visitor facilities, increased patrolling and new checkpoints. Iwokrama is also continuing to support the new road by providing timber, laterite and sand from the Iwokrama Forest to the private sector company contracted by the Government to maintain the road.

Road management is a particularly difficult issue for tropical rain forests. A major cause of tropical rain forest loss is the opening of interior roads with insufficient consideration of the social, cultural and ecological impacts of new roads. Roads open previously isolated areas for rapid and unregulated development and it is critical to ensure that effective management systems are implemented to avoid negative consequences. In particular, community members and Iwokrama remain very concerned about the potential for illegal natural resource harvesting, increases in HIV and malaria infection rates, and cultural degradation within local communities.