Iwokrama International Centre Researchers Programme

The Iwokrama Researchers Programme continues to provide opportunities for persons to contribute to national and international sustainable forest management. The programme promotes and assists in the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of its components, and does not cause damage to biodiversity.

The Researchers Programme also promotes a greater understanding of the problems, challenges and opportunities relating to the conservation and development of tropical rain forests. Over the years, the Centre has had the opportunity and privilege of collaborating with more than thirty (30) researchers. Below, we have highlighted the personnel and their projects that have contributed to research outputs in the fourth quarter of the year 2005.

Researcher Vincent Merckx (Belgium): August 19 – 22nd, 2005: Burmanniaceae Expedition at Iwokrama - Collecting flowering plants around Iwokrama with focus on saprophytes.   Researcher Dr. Pierre-Michel Forget (France): November 17 – December 3, 2005: Collection of leaves or genetic diversity at the continental scale, and exportation of Crabwood oil to be tested for chemical quality by Yves Rocher.   Researcher Lesley De Souza (USA): 24 November – 11 December 2005: The Biogeography of Freshwater Fishes around the Guyana Shield and the movement of Fishes through Portals in the Rupununi Savannah.   Researcher Kampta Karran (Guyana): November 22 – 30, 2005: The Symbiotic Relationship Iwokrama has established between an International Organization, Nature and Amerindian Communities. Researcher Timothy McDowell (USA): November 4 – 8, 2005: Should the neotropical genus Appunia be separated from pantropical genus Morinda: a multi-gene molecular phylogenetic investigation.

Iwokrama has also worked for many years in close collaboration with the local communities living around the forest and requires their participation in
decision-making on issues that affect their land, resource management strategies, and knowledge. In the case of research outside of the forest, researcher-community relationships are designed to protect local communities’ rights over their intellectual property and traditional resources, and promote benefit sharing and the achievement of sustainable use objectives relevant to the community.