The Iwokrama International Centre, custodian of 371,000 hectares of Guyana’s rainforest, is alarmed at the spate of illegal activities in its forest.
In a release on Tuesday, the Centre stated that it has noted again with serious concern, the “proliferation of illegal activities” in the Iwokrama Forest including but not limited to fishing, hunting, logging and mining. This in spite of the fact that in November 2019 it conducted an education and awareness activity so the public should now be well aware of the boundaries of the Iwokrama Forest and permitted activities in the forest.
The disclosure was made that again, over the past weekend, the Centre’s staff together with teams from the Corps of Wardens under the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Guyana Police Force, carried out raids in the Iwokrama Forest. Camps with several 4-inch dredges were discovered along with “substantive” destruction of the forest floor.
