THE Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development announced, on Friday, that it had received a Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor (www.TripAdvisor.com), a popular American travel website which provides reviews of travel-related content and interactive travel forums.

The Certificate is a prestigious award that can only be earned through consistently great reviews of a destination published on the world’s largest travel site.

The Centre was extremely elated to have received such an accolade which it said was testament to the sterling service delivered by its hard working and professional staff to guests who visit the Iwokrama River Lodge (www.iwokramariverlodge.com) at Kurupukari, Essequibo River, Guyana.

In 2014 the Centre hosted 1,130 guests at the River Lodge and offered a variety of tours including the famous Iwokrama Canopy Walkway, caiman spotting, trails walks, boat rides, petroglyphs, Turtle Mountain amongst others. The Centre is also working on developing other tours including a day trip to Iwokrama and a day trip to both the Iwokrama River Lodge and Kaieteur Falls.

The River Lodge offers 8 self-contained cabins overlooking the Essequibo River, full restaurant and bar facilities and broad band internet amongst other amenities. Visitors can also access the River Lodge by air by using the Centre’s airstrip located at Fair View village which is a mere 1.6 kms from the River Lodge.

Iwokrama believes in using innovative governance systems which include the private and public sectors and local communities to manage its forest based businesses and relies heavily on the traditional knowledge of the local communities in its conservation and sustainable development efforts.
Like in all of its businesses, Iwokrama’s tourism operation invests heavily in building the capacity of the local communities to deliver tourism services at the River Lodge and in tourism initiatives in their own communities. Approximately 98% of its field based staffers are from the surrounding local communities and are trained guides, drivers, boat captains, rangers, chefs and maintenance personnel, etc.
The Iwokrama International Centre, in a statement to the media, said it will continue to employ protocols and practices that demonstrate how a tropical forest can be conserved and used sustainably for ecological, social and economic benefits to local, national and international communities. In other words, the Centre’s work demonstrates that you can use a forest without losing it and that forests are worth more alive than dead

ABOUT IWOKRAMA

The Iwokrama International Centre (IIC) was established in 1996 under a joint mandate from the Government of Guyana and the Commonwealth Secretariat to manage the Iwokrama forest, a unique reserve of 371,000 hectares of rainforest “in a manner that will lead to lasting ecological, economic and social benefits to the people of Guyana and to the world in general”.

The Iwokrama forest and its research Centre, guided by an international science committee, are unique, providing a dedicated site in which to test the concept of a truly sustainable forest where conservation, environmental balance and economic use can be mutually reinforcing. The IIC collaborates with the Government of Guyana, the Commonwealth and other international partners, developing new approaches to enable countries with rainforests to market their ecosystem services whilst carefully managing their resources through creative conservation practices.

Iwokrama brings together:

• 16 local communities (approximately 7,000 people) who are shareholders and participants in the IIC’s sustainable timber, tourism and research operations through co-management of the forest and benefit sharing arrangements;
• Scientists engaged in ground breaking research into the impacts of climate change on the forest and measuring the scope and value of its ecosystem services; and
• A sustainably managed business operation with innovative governance systems which include participation of the private sector and the local communities, earning income from the forest and its natural assets, while keeping abreast of ever changing thinking on funding environmental projects in the face of climate change and the scarcity of international finance.

This alliance is committed to showing how a rain forest can be used for real sustainability, real climate change protection and real community benefit.

For further details about the Iwokrama International Centre please visit www.iwokrama.org, www.iwokramariverlodge.com or contact Dane Gobin, Chief Executive Officer on dgobin@iwokrama.org.

TURTLE MOUNTAIN CAMP: The adventurous and curious will want to spend a day or two exploring Turtle Mountain and the surrounding rain forest. The head of the Turtle Mountain trail is a 15 minute boat ride from the main lodge. Soaking in the views of horizon-to-horizon canopy cover from atop Turtle Mountain is a classic, unforgettable Guyana experience. The cabins at the base of the mountain make a great base camp for excursions on in the forest or along the Essequibo River.