Government is currently drafting a management plan for the Kaieteur National Park (KNP) along with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Environmental Protection Agency which will include measures for conservation and community involvement.
“The implementation team has engaged several stakeholders and has formulated the management goals for KNP as well as other key components of the plan,” a press release from the Government Information Agency (GINA) said.
At a technical meeting held at the Umana Yana on Thursday, Chairman of the KNP Board Shyam Nokta said one of the strengths of the project is that most of the persons involved in the plan’s development are Guyanese who have been trained in Guyana. He said too the board is working through the challenge of balancing tourism development and managing a location that is home to several plants and animal species that are endemic to the park. In this regard, a precautionary, principled approach was adopted and has so far been successful.
Nokta said the development process of the integrated management plan for the park will help to identify key high-use zones, better understand the eco-systems and the species that must be managed; the income generating opportunities the park presents and the communities that depend on it.
General Manager, National Parks Commission, Yolanda Vasconcellos said the plan will consider all the various resources and uses including tourism, research, biodiversity, infrastructure, establish zones for specific activities and guidelines for how they will be developed. The documents under review were based on stakeholder consultations and will be used to guide the overall direction and vision which serves as a framework for planning within the park.
According to Vasconcellos one of the plan’s primary goals is to ensure that there is clearly defined direction for conserving ecological integrity while allowing appropriate levels of development and continued access for visitors. It should also reflect the changes and initiatives, outline tourism potential while ensuring that the biodiversity landscape and conservation values of the area are protected and maintained; establish criteria for long-term sustainability of both conservation and development initiatives; provide ecological and management information; support more community involvement where possible and create greater awareness and understanding of the park.
WWF Country Manager Dr Patrick Williams said he was satisfied with the planning process thus far since there have been several challenges over the years. “For the WWF our investment to the National Park is based on two main considerations, the first being that the organisation has recognised the existing biodiversity at the park and the splendour of Kaieteur Falls itself,” he said.
The park and the water falls together present the opportunity for the site to become a world-class spot. “The second consideration is that the creation of protected areas is important to efforts by the WWF nationally, regionally and globally. Our vision is that KNP would be one of a network of parks established throughout the Guianas and beyond, even within the Amazon region,” Williams said.
Project Coordinator Odacy Davis presented a status report on the project. Two indigenous communities: Chenapau and Karisparu are directly involved in the consultations for the development of the management plan. At the request of Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Kellawan Lall other communities within Region Eight were also engaged in consultations similar to those held with the other two.
Davis reported that the output from those consultations include the generation of resource maps, rapid rural analysis, drafting of KNP background document, drafting of the vision, principles and goals, management effectiveness, assessment of the park using the WWF’s Manipa-G tool, and development of the first draft of the tourism development and business plans. Currently there are two established protected areas, the Iwokrama Rainforest Reserve and KNP. In addition, a community-owned conservation area is being established in Southern Guyana with the Wai Wai community while work is moving ahead to establish two additional protected areas, Shell Beach and the Kanuku Mountains, she said.
