CI, IDB launch nature-based Rupununi tourism project

Conservation International (CI), in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), launched a project that seeks to promote equality and social viability among communities within the Rupununi.
Sustainable, community- based enterprises built around nature-based tourism and agriculture will form the basis of the project that will impact about 7500 residents, representing 40 per cent of the Rupununi in Region Nine.
CI Executive Director David Singh, who launched the project at the newly-dedicated Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) in Lethem, explained that it will be undertaken in three phases: research and assessment, implementation, and amplification.
“We will be working on business planning activities and ensuring that there is financing and technical support to ensure that those businesses are realised… and are on the road of sustainability in the line of the project,” Singh explained.
The final component of the project (amplification) is the most critical, according to Singh, as it will seek to develop a “model for low-carbon development within the local environment” that will guide policy issues locally, regionally, and internationally.
With a staff complement of 25 and the input of the government, and other local and international development partners, including the GBTI, Singh was confident that the task at hand will be accomplished.
GBTI, as part of its corporate ventures, handed over a Gy$ 1.5 million cheque to CI during the launch of the project. Presenting the cheque to Singh was GBTI Chairman Robin Stoby.
President Donald Ramotar, who witnessed the launch, said the project identifies with Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). He was confident that it will build on community-based tourism.
The government has been seeking to encourage community-based tourism in areas like the Rupununi with its vast eco-tourism potential, as more than 85 per cent of the tourist dollar is left in the community, President Ramotar said.
“Our challenge has been one whereby we need to ensure that we can strike the right balance between conservation and development, so as to meet the needs of our people, but at the same time, ensure our forests and natural treasures remain intact,” he explained. (GINA)