Guyana is home to one of the largest, unspoiled rainforest on Earth. Learn more about how this rainforest impacts YOUR world.
Now read more about Guyana and the findings of the scientist who studied this pristine biodiverse area of Earth.
GUYANA - The Upper Essequibo Concession
History
 Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America and thus one of the easiest places for many visitors to vacation without having to learn a new language. At the time of the first European arrival in Guyana, in the early sixteenth century, the area was home to Amerindians, a name for the descendants of the indigenous people of Guyana, not to be confused with your typical American Indian tribes that we think of in the United States, but were named this mistakenly by Christopher Columbus as he thought he had disembarked in the East Indies.
These tribes are formed, named and classified for cultural and linguistic purposes  and according to the land areas that they inhabit. The Arawak, Warao, Carib live along the coastal areas; the interior Amerindians classified into seven tribes: Akawaio, Arekuna, Barama River Carib, Macusi, Patamona, Waiwai, and Wapisiana and the Barama River Carib, Akawaio, Arekuna, and Patamona live in river valleys in western Guyana. Two Amerindian groups live in the Rupununi Savannah region: the Macusi in the northern half and the Wapisiana in the southern half. The Waiwai live in the far south of the country, near the headwaters of the Essequibo River.
Later, in 1616, the Dutch settled in three colonies, Essequibo, Berbice, and Demerara. Near the end of the eighteenth century, the British took control of the colonies, and in 1814 the Dutch formally ceded the land to them. In 1831, the British united the colonies as one, as British Guiana.
When slavery was outlawed in 1834, the subsequent great need for plantation workers led to an influx of immigrants from Portugal, Germany, Ireland, Malta, Scotland, India, and China coming to work on the many sugar plantations in the colony. The majority of these immigrants were East Indian and thus over half the population today remains East Indian with another 36% being of African descent.
In 1966, Guyana, which means “land of many waters” in Amerindian, the language of the Guyanese Indian tribes, attained its independence from the U.K. and changed the spelling of its name. In 1970, the country’s government became that of a republic. Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America.
Culture
 Guyana’s culture is similar to those of Caribbean nations and helped found the Caricom, or Caribbean Community. With a combination of East Indian and West Indian people, the population is similar to that of Trinidad. Guyana and the West Indies are close in culture, sharing food, music, sports, festive events, etc., and Guyana is a contributor to the West Indies cricket team.
Guyana’s population, though, of an estimated 769,095 is comprised of people of all different ethnic backgrounds because that immigration influx from all over the world in the 1800s. Africans, Asians, Europeans, and Amerindians make up this diverse country, whose major religions are Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam.
Geography & Climate
At over 83,000 square miles, Guyana is comparable in size to the state of Idaho. Its location in northeastern South America provides it with 270 miles of Atlantic coastline and borders with Brazil, Suriname, and Venezuela. 90% of the nation’s people live on the low, fertile coastal strip, which makes up only 4% of the land.
Further inland, the white sandy soil holds most of the nation’s mineral deposits, including diamonds, gold, manganese, and bauxite. An enormous rainforest spans the center of the country, while a grassy savannah, the Rupununi, covers the south. Mountains spread to the southern border. The Rupununi River flows between the rainforest and the savannah.
The three major rivers of Guyana are the Essequibo, the Demerera, and the Berbice. The Essequibo, the longest in the country, runs north-south through the rainforest and is home to a vast variety of animals.
Guyana’s tropical climate makes it hot and humid, with two rainy seasons per year. The coastal belt is kept somewhat cooler because of its close proximity to the ocean, but the weather is generally tolerable throughout the country, with average temperatures of 75-87°F.
Rainforest
Over three-quarters of Guyana’s landmass is made up of forest and about 60% of that is classified as primary forest. Guyana's forests are highly diverse: the country has some 1,263 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles, and 6,409 species of plants. According to an assessment by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), the forests in Guyana can be classified as follows: wet evergreen (36%), montane (35%), which is based on altitudes of 400 – 1000 meters above sea level and characterized by more moisture and lower temperatures, swamp and marsh (15%), dry evergreen (7%), seasonal (6%), and mangrove (1%).
There are three main rivers that run through this land of many waters, and these support the ecosystem of many unique and endangered species.
Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus)
 “There was an incredibly abundant population of caiman at the concession. It is anticipated that four possible species occur in the area,” says Amy Lathrop, Herpetology, of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada. “The spectacled, black and two dwarf caiman [Schneider's and Cuvier's].
“All of the caiman from Guyana are listed as CITES [Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species] protected and should be high on the priority list for protection when considering the concession as a conservation area.” She observed caiman in the Essequibo River, small tributaries, as well as a small lake upstream from the concession.
The River Species
Guyana’s Essequibo River and the nearby Iwokrama Forest and Rupununi Wetlands provide a home for a wide variety of plants and animals, including the crocodilian black caiman and endangered giant river otter. Additionally, 400 species of fish, like the carnivorous piranha, live in the Essequibo River, and 800 species of birds, such as the endangered harpy eagle, build their nests in the canopy of this rainforest area.
 Photo by Dr. Phil Willink
Common name: marbled hatchetfish
Scientific name: Carnegiella strigata
The marbled hatchetfish is one of the most distinctive fishes in the Upper Essequibo Conservation Concession. Its deep keel-shaped belly sets it apart from all other species. When threatened by predators, the marbled hatchetfish will use its fins as wings to jump out of the water and skim along the surface of the river, thereby avoiding being eaten.
During a recent visit, in October of 2007, to the Upper Essequibo Concession, Dr. Phil Willink of the Fish Division of the Chicago Field Museum observed, “The aquatic ecosystems of the Upper Essequibo Conservation Concession are one of the most pristine, if not the most pristine, on the planet. The only other comparable places are in the far arctic, Antarctic, and other pockets on the Guyana Shield. This observation is based on the high abundance of large-bodied food fishes.” He further states, “Biodiversity is high with many species unique to the watershed, as well as species new to science. It is imperative that we act quickly as pristine areas are disappearing quickly around the planet, so it is critical to learn about them before they are altered.”
 Photo by Dr. Phil Willink
Common name: lukanani
Scientific name: Cichla ocellaris
This is the most popular food fish in the region, and is highly sought after by both sport and food fishermen. The lukanani is extremely common in the Upper Essequibo Conservation Concession, which is an indication that fishing pressure is extremely low. The large number of lukanani is one reason the area is considered pristine.
Medium Size Mammals
Another unique species is the kinkajou, known as the honey bear or cat monkey. This relative of the raccoon is rarely seen in daylight. Their bodies are 17-22 inches long, with tails adding another 16-22 inches. They use their long tongues to reach into flowers for nectar, thus aiding the pollination process. Using their tails as a fifth hand, they skillfully climb trees like monkeys. Kinkajous communicate with vocalizations and are recognized by their loudest call, a shrill scream that earned them the name la llorona (“the crying woman”). These creatures, despite their sharp teeth, consume mainly fruits and are sometimes kept as pets, living an average 23 years in captivity.
The capybara, the world’s largest living rodent, is a semi-aquatic herbivore that eats mainly river plants and bark, grows to 40-55 inches in length and weighs 75-140 pounds. Resembling guinea pigs, capybaras are great swimmers and can sleep underwater if they keep their noses above the surface. They hide from their predators (anacondas, pumas, jaguars, caimans, and humans) in water and spend most of their time there. Capybaras are often allowed to roam freely in public places and are often friendly with people.
There are also armadillos, which are small mammals with armored shells made of dermal bone and epidermal scales called scutes. These creatures are found in North and South America, particularly in warm climates. The three-banded South American armadillo, with more plates than other armadillos, can roll itself into a ball to prevent predators from getting at its soft flesh. Other species instead flee from predators. Armadillos have sharp claws used for digging for food and making underground dens. They can stay underwater for up to six minutes but will sink because of their heavy armor if they don’t inflate their stomachs with air before going under. The reproduction of nine-banded armadillos results in four identical offspring, which makes them valuable to scientific research.
Small Mammals
Additional preliminary findings by Burton K. Lim, Assistant Curator of Mammalogy of the Department of Natural History at the Royal Ontario Museum, are interesting: "Initial assessments of the small mammal diversity in the area suggest that there is potential for high biodiversity because of the gradually rising species accumulation curve during a 8-day rapid assessment survey. There were 24 species of small mammals documented but it is predicted that the Upper Essequibo Conservation Concession has an equally high biodiversity as that recorded at Iwokrama Forest to the north, which has documented 98 species of small mammals after extensive faunal surveys."
Photo by Burton K. Lim © Royal Ontario Museum
Thomas's long-tongued bat (Lonchophylla thomasi)
Lim adds, "Bats are a very important component of the ecosystem because they are the primary seed dispersers and flower pollinators of many species of plants. Some species like the sooty fruit-eating bat (Artibeus obscurus) are fig-eating specialists that distribute seeds far from the parent tree as the seeds are passed through the digestive system when the bat flies or rests at a different night roosting tree. As implied by its common name, Thomas's long-tongued bat (Lonchophylla thomasi) uses its elongated snout to feed on the nectar of flowers. However, in the process of visiting the next flower, it transfers pollen that gets stuck on the face, which results in pollination. Bats play a vital role in the continued health of the environment and natural forest succession."
Although bats account for over half the species diversity of mammals, Lim states, "The highlight of this fieldtrip was catching only the second record of the Guianan brush-tailed rat (Isothrix sinnamariensis) in Guyana. This species was recently described as new to science about 10 years ago by biologists in French Guiana. Previously, the genus was only known from the Amazon River basin to the south in Brazil.” Coincidentally, Lim caught the first specimen from southern Guyana just before the paper was published. So for a few months he thought he had a new species! “The brush-tailed rat is an arboreal species that lives up in trees. However, its apparent rarity is probably an artifact of collecting bias because it is not as easy putting traps up in trees as it is setting traps on the ground," Lim explains.
Guianan brush-tailed rat (Isothrix sinnamariensis)
Photo by Burton K. Lim © Royal Ontario Museum
Amphibians & Reptiles
This preliminary report was submitted by Amy Lathrop, Herpetology, of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada: “An Initial Assessment of the Diversity of Amphibians and Reptiles collected at Conservation International Concession, in the Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo Region of the Rupununi on the dates of September 14¬-21, 2007, shows that over the course of the 8-day survey, new records for species were made on a daily basis and the discovery rate had not leveled off; two new records were made on the last night of collecting. This suggests that further search effort would continue to yield additional new records.”
Photos by Amy Lathrop © Royal Ontario Museum
Monkey frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor) Tukeit hill frog (Allophryne ruthveni ) Parrot snake (Leptophis ahaetulla)Deforestation
Failing to preserve rainforests and their plants and animals can lead to extinction. These plants and animals may have unknown medicinal qualities that would be lost forever if they died out. The destruction of rainforests over the next 25 years is predicted to wipe out or endanger almost half the world’s animals, plants, and microorganisms. That is why it is so important we do all we can to reverse these actions and take such measures as those implemented in the Upper Essequibo Conservation Concession through partnerships with Conservation International and Save Your World. Although a quarter (25%) of Western pharmaceuticals contains ingredients from plant sources, only 1% of rainforest plants have even been tested for medicinal value. Protecting the rainforest keeps these valuable resources intact and prevents further loss of species. Do your part today and reverse humankind’s acts of destruction by making a purchase of Save Your World products where 1 Product = 1 Acre of Rainforest Saved for 1 Year. It’s just like a carbon calculator only better, as you get great all-natural products while reversing negative effects on the environment by saving rainforest acres.References:http://www.geographia.com/guyana/geninfo.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guyanahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinkajouhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capybarahttp://rainforests.mongabay.com/20guyana.htm
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