Wetlands Monitoring Project Update

In January and February 2004 Jay Mistry, Ph.D. (Royal Holloway, University of London), Matthew Simpson, Ph.D. (The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust) and Andrea Berardi, Ph.D. (Open University) visited Guyana to hold start-up meetings with partners for the Darwin Initiative for the Survival of Species in Guyana. They also conducted a training course in wetland and riverine monitoring techniques, selected 33 key sites for regular monitoring, and liaised with a wide range of stakeholders.

The project partnership has managed to secure funding to appoint ten in-country staff to undertake monthly monitoring of the selected key sites. These staff received training in monitoring techniques at the Iwokrama Field Station and then formed part of a team that traveled along the Essequibo and Rupununi river systems to continue the training and monitoring of 33 sites. The Rupununi region has both rainforest and savanna areas so it was important that selected sites reflected the range of water bodies found within both major vegetation types.

The team identified potential sites from satellite images and existing maps and then visited by boat or overland trek. Regions of interest for different vegetation stands were also identified to ground-truth the remote sensed data.

What is Monitored?

• Geomorphic features
• Hydrological features
• Water body features
• Habitat characterization
• Land use
• Species surveys: Black Caiman, Giant Otter, fish and water birds.