Three years after gaining formal title to their traditional territory in the
northern Amazon, the Wai Wai people of Guyana have achieved another milestone
when the region was declared the nation’s first Community Owned Conservation
Area.
Under regulations passed by the Guyana parliament, the Wai Wai community
formally designated their land a protected area and adopted a management plan,
developed with the support of Conservation International (CI), for the
625,000-hectare (1.54-million-acre) tract on the northern border of Brazil’s
Pará state.
As managers of a Community Owned Conservation Area (COCA), the 204 Wai Wai of
Konashen District are building a “conservation economy” based on the sustainable
use of their natural resources. The plan will create jobs from conservation
activities, such as newly trained para-biologists working with researchers to
assess the territory’s flora and fauna, and local rangers patrolling the area. ...