Driven to advance science and ecological services
MORE than two decades ago the Iwkorama rainforests were offered to the world as a model of sustainable forest management and ecological services that drives communities’ socio-economic growth and livelihood. Satisfied with the achievement of that mandate and the worldwide acclaim, the Iwokrama International Centre (IIC) is now repositioning itself to secure long-term financial sustainability, boost science research and development and foster sustainable forestry and tourism.

The Centre is now setting up an Iwokrama Science Committee that will include international, regional and local scientists, to identify and organise an initial five-year Science Programme that is to be sustained in the long term. A core Science Committee is expected to be installed within the next two weeks to begin crafting the science strategy by early January. These are being implemented with a $62 million grant provided by Exxon Mobil, which has committed to Iwokrama, further financial support for the Centre’s science and advanced ecological development initiative.

In an exclusive interview with the Pepperpot Magazine, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dane Gobin explained that focus of the science committee and programme will be on advancing Iwokrama’s research in biodiversity, flora and fauna inventories, and DNA testing to determine species.
“One part that we would also like to include is alternative energy as President Granger has articulated his vision to see Guyana going green with energy…we would like to do it at the community level. There are a lot of riverine communities, for example, there is no reason why we can’t look at a small-scale hydro. I know there is the technology out there so, what we would like to do is test that technology so that the riverine communities can have an alternative energy source,” Gobin outlined.

This, in turn, he noted will influence development of the other social sectors in the area including education, health and general community development and way of life of the indigenous populations.
Additionally, Iwokrama will be looking to implement a collection of science programmes, including retesting its Permanent Sample Paths (PSPs), pre- and post-harvest inventories examining the impact of Iwokrama’s sustainable forestry activities on its reserve, as well as fauna surveys. These activities would be developed in consultation with the communities, building on traditional knowledge of the villagers while ensuing benefit-sharing for involved villages.

According to Gobin, it is expected that the initial tranche of funding will run until June 2018, at which time Iwokrama plans to seek further funding from Exxon to execute the science programme. Iwokrama previously benefitted from the work of a science committee that operated three years ago under an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)-funded project.
However, Gobin pointed out that one of the main problems that have affected Iwokrama over the years is sustenance of the activities after the donor-funded projects would have ended, adding to Iwokrama’s financial woes. Recognising the need to reduce its reliance on donor-funding, Iwokrama back in 2003 started restructuring its financial model to become self-sustaining with new ideas to generate funding.

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AND FORESTRY
“Core funding has always been a challenge…it is estimated to be US$1 million per year. So we started looking at ways to earn some of our keeps. One way is tourism, for example, and it was a natural transition because we had the cabins that the scientists were using,” Gobin noted.
One of the challenges of tourism is the state of the road leading to Iwokrama from Georgetown. However, the Centre is looking to maximise the use of its airstrip that was recently constructed and has the capacity to accommodate small aircraft from the Caribbean.

“We are working on getting groups of people to come from Barbados and Trinidad and fly straight to Iwkorama to experience the rainforests…we will be approaching the government soon to see if we can get some support because you will have to make Iwokrama a port, where you can have Customs and Immigration there. We already have the Police and Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) so we have started it already,” the official stated.
In the meantime, Iwokrama is also pushing its sustainable forestry activities utilising forest resources to produce wood and wood products for market internationally and locally.

Iwokrama’s products are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), including its greenheart lumber that is exported. The Centre’s forestry activities are focused on 21 species of wood produced, using “cut for value” strategy and ensuring quality products.
“We are doing now, we are getting into an expensive piece of software that we will be available to track the log and the wood from the very stump that it was cut in the forest. That is going to be using, for the first time, barcoding so that you can barcode the piece of wood where you can tap on it and know your cost of production, where it came from and how long you have it,” Gobin explained.
He noted that this technology “improves cost, forest management and inherently conservation,” all in keeping with the Centre’s mandate, while at the same time building on existing partnerships with communities. Iwokrama usually purchases the wood and wood products from the communities.

Iwokrama’s long-term plans also include exploring opportunities under the concept of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) which seeks to incentivise the conservation and sustainable management of forests, based on a performance-based mechanism for payments.
Another initiative of the Centre is, to have the donor contribute a certain percentage of funding to cover Iwkorama’s overhead costs. This along with support from the Guyana Government and Commonwealth is expected to position Iwokrama into sustainable operations.

The IIC was established in 1996 with a joint mandate from the Guyana Government 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 Centre is guided by an international Board of Trustees and provides a well-managed and researched forest environment.

Iwokrama brings together 20 indigenous communities totaling approximately 7,000 people who are shareholders and participants in the Centre’s sustainable timber, tourism, research operations and forest management activities through complex co-management and benefit sharing arrangements.

It promotes the involvement of scientists and researchers in groundbreaking research into the impacts of climate change on the forest and measuring the scope and value of its ecosystem services and a portfolio of sustainably managed and certified business models using innovative governance systems. This includes the participation of the private and public sectors and the local communities, earning income from the forest and its natural assets whilst employing international social, environmental and economic best practice, whilst still keeping abreast of the ever-changing thinking on funding for environmental projects in the face of climate change and the perennial scarcity of international finance.