Press Release 21 October 2005

Iwokrama Forest Ecologist Publishes Book on Guiana Shield Tropical Forest

“Tropical Forests of the Guiana Shield” covers a very wide range of topics, including the geology, climate, hydrology, soils, nutrient cycling, plant-animal interactions, archeology, colonization and land use history, plant distribution and life-history attributes, forest dynamics, and conservation and management of flora and fauna. It is written from the perspective of biologists with nearly a century of collective research, who have developed a perspective of the history and value of the Guiana Shield after years of research and interaction with the forests and its people. It therefore represents a compendium of information and scientific opinion that is an important reference book for those interested in biodiversity conservation and management.

It also describes the biophysical and socio- economic aspects in the Guiana Shield and will assist students, researchers and policy makers in the region to frame the unique qualities of the forest plant and animal life which occur in this unique part of South America.

In his acknowledgements, Dr Hammond refers to the dozens of researchers and support staff who have worked with the Iwokrama International Centre, along with scientific personnel from the Guyana Forestry Commission, University of Guyana, the University of Suriname, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute - Panama, Utrecht University and Wagingen University from the Netherlands, and the Museums of Natural History in France and UK. Hammond’s research was supported through funding from DFID, the Tropenbos Foundation and European Commission. The book is published by CABI Publishing, and is available for use at various libraries including Iwokrama.

Dr David Singh, Director General  (ag), said that “This book assists in the fulfillment of the mandate of Iwokrama, which is to disseminate the information and knowledge that we gain from management of the Iwokrama Forest. It is a valuable addition to the numerous publications and dissertations that have been stimulated or supported by Iwokrama over the single decade of its existence.”

The Guiana Shield Forest is of great global significance as it is one of only four remaining intact tropical forest eco-regions in the world, the others being the Democratic Republic of Congo, Amazonia and Papua New Guinea. The mainly Pre-Cambrian Guiana Shield, is about 2.2 million square kilometers in size, and stretches from the Brazilian state of Amapa through French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, parts of Venezuela and Colombia. It is the home for over 100 Amerindian cultures, with influences from a large variety of other cultures including Africa, India, Asia, and Europe. Along with rich mineral resources, the Shield supports over 20,000 species of vascular plants of which an estimate of 40% is endemic (only found in this area or the world). The region also contains an astounding species richness, with a high percentage of threatened or endangered species. The Iwokrama Forest alone has over 420 species of fish, over 90 different species of bats, and over 500 different species of birds – the highest species diversity for an area of comparable size anywhere else in the world.

The Guiana Shield also provides an estimate of 10-15% of the world’s fresh water, which is significant as only a quarter of the world’s fresh water is available as the rest is frozen.  The world’s fresh water account for only  about 3 percent of the total water with 97 percent being salt. Three countries of the Guiana Shield, Suriname and French Guiana are among the top ten most water rich countries in the world, with Guyana ranking Number Five.