Iwokrama and the British Chamber signed a biodiversity conservation pact

Iwokrama and the British Chamber signed a biodiversity conservation pact.
Georgetown, Guyana 15th January, 2025

The Iwokrama Centre (IIC) and the British Chamber of Commerce Guyana (BritCham)
today signed a pact to promote and support conservation and sustainable forest
management in Guyana.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Iwokrama, Dane Gobin, says “the Centre warmly
welcomes this partnership with BritCham as it is testimony to the good intentions of the
chamber’s membership in Guyana to operate in accordance with environmental best
practices. This news is timely and comes a few months after the Centre announced that
King Charles III has renewed the Royal Patronage of Iwokrama”.

The MoU will allow IIC and Britcham to collaborate and promote, through Iwokrama,
projects and activities related to Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS)
including but not limited to sustainable rainforest management and coastal and marine
ecosystems and action on climate change.

The partnership is keen to develop and implement joint initiatives which can include
collaboration on social and biological assessments, education and awareness, livelihoods
initiatives, research, sustainable forest management, and fundraising.

Chairman of BritCham Guyana, Faizal Khan comments “BritCham Guyana is proud to
partner with Iwokrama Conservation through this MoU, reflecting our commitment to
sustainability and responsible business.

This partnership aligns with our mission to balance economic growth with the
preservation of Guyana’s unique biodiversity. Inspired by His Majesty King Charles III,
Britain’s Head of State and Patron of Iwokrama, we are dedicated to promoting
sustainable practices and environmental stewardship across our network.

British High Commissioner to Guyana, H.E Jane Miller notes “the UK has had a very long
relationship with Iwokrama and is delighted by this partnership. The British High
Commission remains committed to working with Guyana to preserve this country’s
stunning nature and biodiversity.

This MOU between BritCham and Iwokrama is another testament to this commitment”.
The parties look forward to fruitful collaborations for 2025 and beyond.

L – R: BritCham Chairman Faizal Khan and Iwokrama CEO, Dane Gobin along with
British High Commissioner to Guyana, Amb Jane Miller at the signing ceremony.
 

Notes to the Editors:

1. 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 Centre, guided by an international Board of Trustees, is unique providing a dedicated well
managed and researched forest environment. The forest is zoned into a Sustainable Utilization
Area (SUA) and a Wilderness Preserve (WP) 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 and donors to develop new approaches and forest management models to enable
countries with rainforests to market their ecosystem services whilst carefully managing their
resources through innovative and creative conservation practices. In more recent years, the
Centre has received support from corporate partners such as Exxon Mobil (Guyana) Limited who
has funded the development of its Science Programme and continues to provide an annual
contribution to the implementation of this Programme.

Iwokrama brings together:

• 20 local communities (approximately 7,000 people) who are shareholders and
  participants in the IIC’s sustainable timber, tourism, research operations and forest
  management activities through complex co-management and benefit sharing
  arrangements;
• Scientists and researchers 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 portfolio of sustainably managed and certified business models using innovative
  governance systems which include 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.

This alliance and the Centre’s work programmes are 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.

2. About the British Chamber Guyana
The British Chamber of Commerce Guyana (BritCham Guyana) is a professional business
support organization working to protect, promote, and encourage trade and commerce
between Guyana and the United Kingdom and, in so doing, improve the quality of
business opportunities across Guyana and the UK.

Read Full Press Release January 15th, 2025.