The government, through the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), will be will be working to develop the infrastructure of the Karanambu Lodge, which President Donald Ramotar last week hailed as a pioneer of sustainable development.
Acting Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali announced the initiative during a courtesy call by Executive Director of the Karanambu Lodge, Diane McTurk, at the Office of the President (OP) last Tuesday.
President Ramotar met with McTurk to congratulate her on winning the Excellence in Sustainable Tourism Award at the recently-concluded Sustainable Tourism Conference in Trinidad.
According to a press release from the GTA, Minister Ali at the meeting said that the government, through the GTA, will be working to improve the infrastructure at the Karanambu Lodge to allow for expansion and development of the project; this will in turn attract additional visitors to the area.
Ali noted that the Karanambu Lodge has been in operation for over 25 years and generates employment for close to 20 persons, while preserving an integral aspect of the country’s biodiversity.
President Ramotar, meanwhile, recognised Karanambu Lodge as a pioneer in sustainable development. “With what the world knows now about the natural environment, it will be irresponsible to cause harm to the environment …it has to be a combination of earning a living, preservation and restoration,” he was quoted as saying in a release from the GTA.
McTurk said that she was honoured by the recognition of Karanambu’s achievement and expressed gratitude to the government for its continued support, and assured that the Karanambu Trust and Lodge will continue in their undertaking to conserve the wildlife and also to support the sustainable use of Karanambu through ecotourism and other activities consistent with conservation.
McTurk is especially known as a conservationist and noted for her work in rehabilitating orphaned and injured giant river otters, and is recognised as an eco-tourism pioneer. In the mid 1980s, she converted her family’s former working cattle ranch and balata collection station—established in 1927 by her father, Tiny McTurk—into an eco-tourist destination known as The Karanambu Lodge.
According to GTA, the area encompasses approximately 110 square miles of savannah, marshy ponds, riparian forest, and a 30-mile stretch of the Rupununi River. The Lodge provides guests with the opportunity to view the wildlife of the Rupununi, including giant river otters, giant black caiman and giant anteaters, and is also an excellent area for fishing and for watching the giant water lily, Victoria amazonica, open in the evenings.
