Iwokrama is an area of tropical rainforest in Guyana, South America, covering an area of about 3710 square kilometres – that’s roughly the size of Cornwall!
The forestismanaged byIwokramaInternational Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development(ICC). Their aim: to manage the forest‘in a manner that will lead to lasting ecological, economic and social benefitsforthe people of Guyana and to the world.’It’s a not-for-profit organisation made up of multiplestakeholders, from local and national government, toforest residents andenvironmentalistsalike.
IIC is the first forest in Guyana to get FSC certification, committing to social, environmental and economic ways of working. As the programme grows and the benefits of certification become evident, local forestry and logging companies will be encouraged to follow suit.
ForIwokrama, the biggest challenge is to continue strengthening cooperation and engagement with the people who live in the forest. To be committed to this, in the form of work, training, consultation etc, is a key part of existing andfuture plans.
Two of Soil Association’s Forestry Certification team, Janette Mackay and Maria Berlango were lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit the forest for a certification audit.After some pre-assessment training, Janette and Maria set out on the two day journey in mid-September, towards the heart of the forest - here’s their story...
An epic journey:
Travelling from the capital Georgetown to the field centre (just 300km) took 8 hours, along pot-holed dirt roads in jeeps. We finally arrived at Essequibo River, boarded a ferry and crossed the river to the edge of theIwokramaForest.
Iwokramais one of the world’s most pristine areas of tropical rainforest, home to some of our largest and most endangered species – the harpy eagle, jaguar, giant otter, anaconda, giant river turtle and more. 30% of species found there are classified as rare and endangered.
As well as thisthree meter longblack caiman, we saw brilliant flashes of red from the green winged macaws in the forest by the road while we were approaching the field centre. Surprisingly hard to spot in the surrounding trees, their raucous calls helped to draw attention to their presence.Though this was all the wildlife we saw, forest sounds – monkeys, frogs, birds, insects – are a constant reminder of what’s out there.
People have lived in the forest for thousands of years – we saw evidence of this in petroglyphs on rocks in the river.
TheIwokramaproject has established long term agreements with the Amerindian communities living in and next to the forest so it was important for us to interview representatives during the audit with the help of an expert for the University of Guyana.
The audit
Following the pre-assessment back in May, theIwokramateam were well prepared for our four-day audit. Everything went to plan, though from our point of view, the high humidity and insect bites were a challenge!
The forest is divided into two sectors. One is kept as a wilderness preserve (50% of the total area). The other is the Sustainable Use Area.
Reduced impact logging techniques are used in the Sustainable Use Area, notably directional felling. This minimises damage to the remaining trees and ensures logs are easily accessible for extraction, which minimises disturbance to surrounding vegetation. Less than 10 trees per hectare are removed and regeneration is left to happen naturally.
As well as many other species, the forest has healthy coverage of the highly prized greenheart (Chlorocardiumrodiei) and purpleheart (Peltogynesp.)trees. Both offer natural density and water resistance that make them useful as pilings and decking in the construction of ships, ports and docks.
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