The British High Commission yesterday presented a cheque for just over $2M to Iwokrama to support the development of a butterfly production industry at Fair View village in the Iwokrama forest.
According to a press release from the High Commission, the money will be used to purchase UV resistant panels for the roof of a butterfly house. A team of experts from the United Kingdom is also here to lend support to the project and Iwokrama has received expressions of interest from greenhouses in the US and UK which are willing to purchase the butterflies, the release said, noting that the butterflies will be bred and exported when they reach the pupa stage. Butterfly production is seen as a growing business especially for tropical countries and Guyana could likely join a list of countries including neighbouring Suriname which are already benefiting from this market.
The release noted that training for the production of a butterfly guide, identifying caterpillar diseases, butterfly identification and taxonomy have already been carried out and there are plans to build a packing room where the pupas will be packed for shipping and a visitors centre. “These plans will enhance Guyana’s growing ecotourism industry”, the release asserted.
It noted that the project is part of the Darwin Initiative programme through which the UK assists countries to meet their obligations to the International Convention on Biological Diversity by helping them to achieve the conservation of biological diversity; the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits. To date the programme has supported six projects in Guyana, the release added.
