World Wildlife Fund Guiana: Protecting what matters

As the world looks to observe World Wildlife Day on March 3rd, WWF Guianas, along with partnering organizations, will join forces to spread awareness on the theme for 2019 – “Life below water: for people and planet”, which aligns with goal 14 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and our area of focus for Earth Hour 2019 – “Water”. This is the first World Wildlife Day to place emphasis on marine life.
WWF Guianas – Guyana Office believes this is a great opportunity to raise awareness among Guyanese about the importance of marine ecosystems to human development and how each can play their part in ensuring future generations benefit from these services. Coastal and marine ecosystems play a key role in the sustenance of human well-being, particularly indigenous peoples, vulnerable groups and poor people who have high dependence on the resources and services that are garnered.
Marine species are injured and killed as a result of plastic pollution, many would ingest, suffocate, drown, starve, become entangled and or develop infection as a result of plastics in the ocean. Oceans provide numerous goods and services and we should do our part in ensuring health Oceans; plastics we use takes decades to degrade. Let’s start now and reduce the use of single use plastics and use biodegradable and reusable materials.
WWF Guianas – Guyana Office has been supporting research and projects around the conservation of marine life in Guyana for several years. Since 2000 WWF Guianas has been supporting the monitoring and protection of nesting sea turtles, including the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), the olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), the hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and the giant leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), which are all on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) endangered species list, along the Shell Beach Protected Area. Threats affecting sea turtles exist both on land and in water. In the Ocean they are in danger of being caught in fishing nets or may eat polluted items for foods. On land they are at risk of being hunted for meat, shells and leather and their eggs are poached.
There have been many efforts by WWF and other national and international conservation organizations to protect these endangered species and their critical nesting habitats. In 2011, Shell Beach was established as a protected area by the Government of Guyana. Protected areas are critically important for conserving the services these ecosystems offer for the biodiversity which inhabit the area and for future generations.
To date, the Protected Areas Commission, Department of Fisheries and WWF Guianas – Guyana Office have been collaborating and raising awareness to the public around conservation measures, engaging particularly fishermen on the ‘No Netting Zones’. The presence of Rangers of the Protected Areas Commission on the beaches has reduced the number of turtles and eggs poached and predated by both humans and animals, such as dogs.
Additionally, WWF Guianas – Guyana Office has been collaborating with the Department of Fisheries in ensuring that fishing is done in a sustainable manner. Fisheries play a pivotal role in Guyana’s development, as it contributes to food, livelihood, employment and revenue generation.
In Guyana, there is room for more work to be done to ensure the sustainability of the fisheries resources. There is the lack of updated data that would be useful to help inform decision making, and insufficient enforcement at sea. WWF Guianas – Guyana Office has been working on providing hands on training/ building of capacities on the identification and reduction of Endangered, Threatened and Protected species caught during fishing activities and assisted with the onboard observer programme for the seabob trawl fishery which is currently under assessment for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Certification.
About World Wildlife Day
On 20 December 2013, at its 68th session, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed 3 March, the day of signature of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), as UN World Wildlife Day to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild animals and plants.
About WWF Guiana – Guyana Country Office
WWF-Guianas is part of one of the world’s leading conservation organizations with a mission to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. The Guyana office is involved in a plurality of site specific objectives, often in partnership with civil society organizations and government institutions. These range from the protection and management of ecological landscapes, to educational and awareness campaigns on climate change and conservation. (WWF-Guyana) (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)