GUYANA is a big country. Its huge, diverse landscape is habitat to 467 species of fish; 130 species of amphibians; 179 species of reptiles; 814 species of birds; and 225 species of mammals. And those are only the species that scientists have identified; there are also undiscovered species.

The scientists are still arguing about how many thousands of insects and other invertebrates inhabit Guyana’s forests. On the morning of January 12, 2015, Guyana signed the Paris Agreement. That agreement binds our country to conserve our wildlife, preserve their habitats, and reduce carbon emissions; it is the most ambitious environmental document ever conceived by the human species.

On that occasion, President David Granger said, “Guyana, through the pursuit of a green economy, will spare no effort to contribute to both a sustainable future and to an effective global response to climate change.” “Guyana is unique; we have species of animal and plant life which are found nowhere else on earth.”

Scientists have documented 21 species of the largest types of animals that are found only in Guyana: the Arapaima, the Black Caiman, the Bullet Ant, the Capybara, the Bushmaster, the Vampire Bat, the Giant Anteater, the Giant Armadillo, the Giant Neotropical Toad, the Giant River Otter, the Giant River Turtle, the Goliath bird-eating Spider, the Green Anaconda, the Harpy Eagle, the Jaburu Stork, the Jaguar, the King Vulture, the Leatherback sea-turtle, the Lowland Tapir, the West India Manatee, and the Red Howler Monkey.

The experts say that we must work actively to preserve our heritage. If we don’t, those beautiful animals will be lost forever. President David Granger’s vision of a “Green” State includes the conservation of what belongs to the Guyanese people. Nowhere else in the world can anyone say that they have a Giant Anteater, Capybara, or Giant River Otter. Only Guyanese can say that.

As such, it is the determination of the administration that we preserve and foster our national heritage. Guyana’s Green Development Strategy is not only about conserving our animals and forests; it is about human survival. President David Granger said, “It provides environmental services such as the regulation of the water cycle, quality and pollination. Its forests capture and store carbon, thereby mitigating the greenhouse effect. We provide environmental and ecological services that are essential to life on earth.”

President Granger made clear that Guyana is, and will be at the forefront of environmental conservation; he said, “Guyana, through its environmental conservation policies, considers itself one of the guardians of ‘Mother Earth.’ It pledged at the Heads of Government Conference in Malaysia–long before the United Nations Conference and Environment and Development (UNCED) known as the Earth Summit–that Guyana will set aside for posterity and in perpetuity, 371, 000 hectares of our forests as a model of conservation and sustainable forest management.”

President Granger said, and wrote this year, “Guyana has committed itself to preserve its land assets. We are committed to place an additional two million hectares under conservation and to convert the Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation into a world-class biodiversity research facility. President Granger wrote that in his book, “The Green State.” In his book, he headlined the Paris Agreement, the “Green” economy, the Guyana Shield, the Minamata Convention, Environmental Security, Solar Energy, and protection of our patrimony. The fact that we have a Head of State who takes time to write a book about where we intend to go as a nation, is remarkable.