Non-governmental organisation, Conservation Interna-tional (CI) has set up a fund to ensure financial sustainability of protected areas in Guyana which will be kick-started by $2 billion in endowments.
CI has committed to US$5 million ($1 billion) in funding for the Conservation Trust Fund and has already raised US$3.5 million while the German Development Bank (KfW) has committed €4 million ($1.07 billion). The ‘interim’ trust will manage the funds until the Protected Areas Trust Fund is established. The Conservation Trust will then merge into the Protected Areas Trust Fund. The establishment of a Protected Areas Trust Fund is mandated by the Protected Areas Bill which was passed by the National Assembly last year.
The establishment of the fund is a continuation of the work that CI has done in partnership with the government in