Press Release 8 July 2005

Twelfth Iwokrama Board of Trustees Meeting held on 7th and 8th July, 2005 in Georgetown, Guyana

The International Board of Trustees (IBOT) of the Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development held their twelfth meeting on 7 and 8 July 2005.

The Chairman advised the Board that the Commonwealth Secretary-General had made a recommendation to H.E the President of Guyana for the appointment of a new Chairman.

The Board appreciates the excellent work being done by the Acting Director General, Dr David Singh and his staff and agreed on the extension of his contract.

Trustees spent considerable time reviewing progress on business development, which is providing a growing proportion of Iwokrama’s income, and will continue to do so. They noted with satisfaction the growth in both tourism and training activities and revenues. They also welcomed the imminent conclusion of negotiations with a potential partner to harvest timber on a sustainable basis, which will provide further substantial income.

The Board wishes to highlight a number of recent significant achievements:

• EPA and Iwokrama are finalizing a training contract funded by the German Government and executed by the Centre, which will support the Guyana Protected Area System.
• The signing of a collaborative management agreement with the NRDDB which will inform the handling of joint activities in future.
• The creation of the ‘Friends of Iwokrama’ as a tax-efficient fundraising organization in the US.
• Significant improvements in Iwokrama’s systems of administration and financial management.

Other major issues discussed by the Board included the implications of a possible transfer of title of land within the Iwokrama programme site to Fairview village. The Centre recognizes the aspirations of the Fairview Community and will support their application. The Centre looks forward to working with the Fairview community, the NRDDB and the Government of Guyana to develop voluntary, collaborative management agreements for any titled lands that may fall within the Iwokrama Programme Site.