This was disclosed at a press conference held yesterday at Iwokrama’s new location at 77 High Street Kingston.

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) has pledged 100,000 Pounds Sterling to the trust fund, which is not intended to support the organisation itself, but to fund research projects, according to acting Director-General, Dr Graham Watkins.

Stabroek News understands that a proposal is being crafted for submission to the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) for further aid. To this end, an inventory and feasibility study was carried out and actual implementation of a management plan is being discussed with the ITTO. The ITTO is primarily concerned with forest inventory.

Negotiations are also being undertaken with the European Union and the Commonwealth Secretariat for funding. “We want to move away from dependency, we want to find sources that are secure,” said Dr Graham Watkins. He added that the trust fund needed up to 20M Pounds Sterling.

Iwokrama’s present agreement with the Canadian International Development Agency is now under review and will be modified if necessary.

The centre is to embark on a number of strategies to become more self-sufficient. These include the marketing of the Iwokrama brand on items not only produced by the centre’s forest reserve, but also on other items, the aim being to capitalise on the name ‘Iwokrama’, which would suggest to the consumer that the business uses safe and sustainable environmental practices. This would add a premium to products on the international market and would improve tourism in Guyana, officials from the centre said yesterday.

Among the business ventures to be considered are beekeeping, the manufacture of crabwood oil and jet boating, all of which are to be done using sound environmental practices. Iwokrama will also be providing eco-tourists with the opportunity to experience the virgin rainforest.

The centre’s aim is to demonstrate to the world that small-scale community-based forestry is a viable alternative to large-scale logging. The organisation has already sought to demonstrate that communities can earn money by selling live aquarium fish and producing honey for niche markets abroad using simple technology. Chairman of Iwokrama’s Board of Trustees, Professor Ian Swingland, is convinced that a strategy of ‘conservation through use’ will provide sustainable livelihoods for the communities of Iwokrama and retain the forest for future generations. Over the next ten days, Swingland and his colleagues will meet with government officials and with partners in Georgetown and in the Rupununi to initiate business projects that ethically respect the environment.

Iwokrama had to let a number of employees go recently as funds dried up.

Swingland said that the centre was now leaner, with a more business-oriented management structure.