Iwokrama International Centre is extremely pleased and proud to share its accomplishments in 2004 and priority activities for 2005. Of particular note is the significant past progress and future plans for timber harvesting and ecotourism – two key enterprises to help position Iwokrama for financial sustainability by 2007.
In 2004 Iwokrama decided to begin low volume sustainable harvesting of timber products. Major steps in 2004 toward this enterprise include the submission of an Environmental Impact Assessment to the Environmental Protection Agency and the preparation of a draft forest management plan. By April 2005, Iwokrama will partner with local communities to initiate limited and reduced impact harvesting in Iwokrama Forest.
The number of visitors that Iwokrama hosted more than doubled from 347 in 2003 to over 900 in 2004! Iwokrama also signed an agreement for management of the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway with Community and Tourism Services (CATS), a company formed by Rock View Lodge, Surama Village, and Wilderness Explorers.
To promote itself to both potential tourists and donors in 2004, Iwokrama launched this new web site, produced several new publications, and collaborated on the rain forest exhibit at Florida’s Jacksonville Zoo. In 2005 Iwokrama will continue to send out regular press releases as well as focus on this newsletter, striving to share interesting and timely news.
Perhaps Iwokrama’s most innovative accomplishment for 2004 was the establishment of a US-based non-profit corporation called Iwokrama Friends – USA, Inc. As written about in the last newsletter, this organisation will exclusively raise funds for Iwokrama from private sector donors in the US. (To read the Friends USA article, click here.)
Other notable accomplishments for Iwokrama in 2004 include hosting Guyana’s first major international course in collaborative management and regular patrolling and monitoring systems implemented for the Iwokrama Forest, the Rupununi Wetlands, and the Iwokrama Road Corridor.
In 2005 Iwokrama is working toward a similar level of progress as it develops agreements to enhance human resource capacities for protected area management in Guyana, negotiates a merchandising agreement with Jacksonville Zoo, and implements a social and cultural impact monitoring tool in collaboration with the North Rupununi communities.
>For details, read the home page feature.
|
