THE UPPER ESSEQUIBO CONSERVATION CONCESSION (UECC) Guyana
 Saving biodiversity is a complex business. But sometimes, conservation solutions are beautifully simple. So it is with the “conservation concession” a project pioneered by Conservation International (CI) with support from the Save Your World Foundation in the South American nation of Guyana. Instead of leasing the land to a logging company, Guyana is leasing 200,000 acres to CI for conservation. This unique and innovative agreement is protecting some of the most pristine rainforest on the planet.
Based on a long-term (30-year), renewable lease, the conservation concession makes protecting the rainforest an easy alternative for Guyana. “By putting conservation on an equal footing with extractive industry, the government and people of Guyana don’t have to choose between conservation and economic development,” says Dr. Richard Rice, Save Your World Foundation President and architect of the concession. “With total annual costs of less than $100,000 per year, this project is a great bargain, given the importance of the area for both conservation and people.”
The UECC contains all the elements of a rich, functioning wilderness ecosystem. All eight of Guyana’s  primate species are present, as are at least three of Guyana’s six cat species – the jaguar, ocelot, and puma. The concession protects critical watershed services: the Upper Essequibo River is Guyana’s largest source of fresh water, and anchors an aquatic system that features some of the highest freshwater fish diversity (more than 400 species) in the world.
The Macushi and Wapishana indigenous groups depend on the region’s natural resources and communities near the concession, including Apoteri, Rewa, and Crash Water, helped to establish its boundaries to ensure that they do not conflict with traditional claims. They now benefit directly from the project’s community fund, which provides $10,000 per year to support a variety of programs including a community owned eco-lodge in Rewa village, and investments in transportation and livestock rearing.
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