Press Release 10 April 2006

Media Statement - A New Wind to Face New Challenges

Introduction

The 13th meeting of the Board of Trustees took place in Georgetown on Friday, 7 April.

Firstly, the Board of Trustees wishes to thank the Director General and his staff for their excellent work and arrangements for the meeting.  They have our profound gratitude and admiration for all their hard work since the last Board meeting in July 2005.

Secondly, the Vice-Chairman, Mr. Winston Cox, Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, will be leaving the Board later this year upon his departure from the Secretariat.  The Board of Trustees wishes to thank him for his profound contribution to the Board’s work since July 2001, both as Vice-Chairman and more recently as Acting Chairman from 2003 to 2005.  He will be much missed when he steps down.  We wish him well.

Progress

Last November the Centre celebrated its tenth anniversary since its formal foundation.  The 2005 Annual Report, now available, records the progress the Centre has made across a broad front - sustainable timber harvesting; sustainable tourism; courses, conferences and workshops; resource management; and community relations and development. The Centre now obtains 23% of its operating costs from self-generated income and this proportion is growing rapidly.  But the Centre cannot rest on its laurels.  Much more has to be done in a wind of change.

The Way Ahead

Iwokrama is a unique blend of conservation, sustainable development and local community relations.  These are not opposites but strands of harmony. Because of this, Iwokrama is an even more special gift from Guyana to the world.  As Patron, The Prince of Wales, said in his message on Iwokrama’s tenth anniversary: “the international community looks to institutions such as Iwokrama to demonstrate that it is possible to achieve environmental sustainability and social responsibility without recourse to actions that may cause profound ecological damage to the world”.

It is the task of the Board of Trustees and the Director General and his staff to ensure that Iwokrama becomes even more valuable and relevant and that Iwokrama and its vision enjoy the success and recognition they richly deserve.  At this time of great international anxiety about climate change, the international community needs to hear Iwokrama’s voice and to receive the benefit of its expertise. 

Against this background, we wish to report that, after careful discussion, the Board of Trustees has taken some challenging decisions to ensure this.

The Way Ahead

The Board of Trustees has agreed on a framework of a new five year business plan to take Iwokrama to financial independence by 2010. The plan will focus on three core activities: the development of sustainable timber harvesting in accordance with Iwokrama’s original mandate; the provision of high quality forest management training courses and fresh scientific research activity; and the enhancement of Iwokrama’s eco-tourism facilities, so that more people of all backgrounds can enjoy its tranquillity and satisfy their curiosity.

With increased revenue from these activities and investment income, Iwokrama will at last be able to stand on its own feet; to give the local communities, with whom we work in partnership, a greater sense of well being and pride in the forest they cherish so much; and to open up the Centre and its invaluable work to the wider world.

These resources will enable the Centre to continue to develop innovative new products and businesses, so that the values of the rainforest can better be turned into tangible income flows for the people and the countries that depend on them.

Under the plan, the Board and the Centre have agreed to take immediate steps to improve the Centre’s efficiency, effectiveness and overall standards. This will apply particularly to those who visit the Field Station. We are determined that all visitors should receive a highly professional warm welcome and enjoy a quality service. The Director General leads a good team. Everyone is determined to build on the progress of the past year and achieve new standards of performance.

Expanding Partnerships
One of the hall marks of Iwokrama has been the unique partnership between local communities, the Government of Guyana and the international community.  The work of the Centre has been enhanced by partnership with many organisations ranging from the NRDDB to Conservation International, the World Wildlife Fund and the ITTO. 

To implement the new approach, we will build on these existing partnerships.  In this regard, we are pleased to announce a new high powered investment advisory group in London.

The Board
The Board has taken some important decisions to address its own performance, professionalism and relevance. With the prospect of some fresh appointments in the months ahead, a new streamlined Board will play its part in supporting the Director General and his team and helping them to deliver the demanding business plan we have now adopted.

Airstrip
Iwokrama is the green heart of the globally important Guiana Shield that has been hidden from national and international view for too long. This isolation cannot continue.  The Board of Trustees has therefore asked the Government of Guyana to provide an airstrip that Iwokrama now needs to discharge its task.  I am therefore pleased to announce that President Jagdeo has agreed to this request. 

The airstrip is expected to be completed before October of this year. The President and his government have our profound gratitude. The Director General will follow up with relevant officials and the local communities in the weeks ahead.   There will be full consultation on the site and other related matters.

This means that by the end of this year many more visitors, scientists, officials and others from around the world will at long last have direct access all the year round to all that Iwokrama and its communities have to offer. The international community will now have a new window through which at last they will be able to see close up a precious part of the living Earth.

The Vision

The process of climate change has revealed new and profound risks to which our planet is now exposed.

It is now widely accepted that the Earth now faces a new and unique threat from human population increase, land degradation, resource depletion, waste accumulation, pollution of all kinds, abuse of technology and destruction of bio-diversity in all of its forms. This threat is real - from the polar ice caps to the world’s rainforests.

With the support of the Government and people of Guyana, the Board of Trustees and the Director General and his staff are determined that Iwokrama will become known internationally for its part in monitoring the effects of climate change and in trying with others to find ways to assuage the damage being done to the world eco-balance. It will do so through scientific research, the promotion of good practice in sustainable forestry management and through showing a much greater number of visitors - including we hope many more young people - the beauty and grandeur of the rainforest, its vivacious communities and the part it plays in the world’s ability to breathe; and how much it is at risk if rainforests such as Iwokrama are not protected.

If we succeed in our intentions, and we are determined that we should, Iwokrama will bring much more credit to Guyana, the Commonwealth and wider world.  We want Iwokrama to be a benchmark of excellence.