THE World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Guianas is optimistic that the Kaieteur National Park, along with Kaieteur Falls, has the potential to be a world class tourism destination site, and an area that would be famous for its biological diversity. To this end, the WWF Guianas, the sole donor, has committed G$38 million to fund a five-year Management Plan for the Kaieteur National Park, and is working in collaboration with the National Parks Commission, the implementing agency for the KNP Board. 
WWF Guianas Country Director, Dr. Patrick Williams yesterday outlined that the WWF contribution of approximately G$38 million to the project, will do three things: Support the development of a Management Plan; the preparation of a Business Plan and preparation of a Tourism Plan.
Said Dr. Williams, “We are hoping that when the plan is implemented, it will help to conserve biological resources within the Kaieteur National Park, and also help to enhance Kaieteur Falls itself as a tourism destination.
Optimistic about the prospects for the plan, Williams asserted, “We at WWF believe that the park, along with Kaieteur Falls, has the potential to be a world class tourism destination site, and also an area that would be famous for its biological diversity”.
While acknowledging that the area has not been fully explored, Williams, nevertheless said, “We believe that there are still large numbers of endemic species – both flora and fauna that exist in the Park and we want to see those things protected, but at the same time, we also want nature lovers to enjoy the Park and what it has to offer.”
It is to this end, that the development of a three tier management plan is being rigorously pursued. That plan, according to General Manager of the National Parks Commission, Ms. Yolanda Vasconcellos, is intended to guide, over the coming years, the conservation and management of the KNP and wider ecosystem, including strengthening linkages to local community development.
Vasconcellos said that, to date, the project implementing team has engaged several stakeholders and drafted the core aspects of the Management Plan, Tourism and Business Development and vision and goals for the Park.
Meanwhile, moving another step closer towards making this a reality, the  project implementing team,  yesterday, held a technical workshop  with stakeholders at the Umana Yana in Kingston, Georgetown, to review accomplishments to date, and to obtain feedback as the process moves forward.
Dr. Williams, who addressed yesterday’s forum, said it was a process put together in order to get the views of the stakeholders on the Management Plan, the Business Plan and the Tourism Plan. 
“We believe that the stakeholders are an integral part of the process, and their views are important. Moreover, it is intended that their views be also incorporated into the final process of the project,” he said.
Noting that yesterday’s forum, used to help refine the product in hand, was just one in a series of  consultations held with different stakeholders. As such, he was optimistic that the representatives at the forum yesterday would have been in a good position to make valuable inputs. Some such consultations, used to help refine the product in hand, were held at Chenapau and  Karispara communities, with tourism operators among others.
The next stage, the WWF Guianas Country Director said, would be to look at the Plan, and start examining what needs to be implemented to get it effective. Based on what comes out of the discussions, they will meet again and try to see how these views could be further incorporated into the document, or whether there’s need for additional views to be taken on board.
Yesterday’s meeting comprised about 50 persons drawn from the Environmental Protection Agency, Conservation International, the Guyana Forests Commission, Iwokrama, students from the University of Guyana, tourist operators, and persons from  the Chenapau and Karisparo communities.
The National Parks Commission is the implementing agency for the Kaieteur National Park and  Mr. Donald Sinclair, who heads the technical team, is a private consultant in collaboration with the Kaieteur National Parks Board. 
The Kaieteur National Park was established in 1929 and today covers an area of 627 square kilometers (242 sq. miles). It is situated within the Guiana Shield, one of the world’s oldest geologial formations, in South America’s only English speaking country, Guyana.