Biodiversity of the Rewa Head B Zoological Society of London ...

Chapter 4. The Future state of the Rewa Head:
Identification of stake holders
Tour operators and village communities
Ashley Holland and Duane de Freitas both take tourists up the Rewa, running around 3
trips per year to the Lower Rewa and 1-2 trips per year above Corona Falls. Approximately
15 local guides are employed for these trips. This low level ecotourism is sustainable
and not detrimental to the Rewa Head. Integrating this tourism with the Amerindian
villages of Rewa and Yupukari has led to the construction of several purpose-built
lodges for tourists to stay in resulting in a trickle down of revenue into the villages. In
terms of livelihood the Lower Rewa is also an important source of fish and game and
villagers also hold small garden plots in the fertile alluvial soil there.
The Guyanan Nation
In terms of ecosystem services, the protection of Guyana’s headwaters must be
considered as the Rewa is an important limb of the Essequibo drainage. We experienced
firsthand the effect a downpour in the Kanukus immediately has on the river level,
which in turn has a knock-on effect on levels in the Rupununi and subsequently, the
Essequibo. The terrifying fact that 90% of Guyanese live in a narrow coastal region
including Georgetown, which lies 0.5-1m below sea level points to flooding representing
a constant and immediate risk. The pattern of weather seasonality in Guyana appears
to be changing, with shorter dry seasons and prolonged, heavier wet seasons. In 2005
heavy flooding wracked Georgetown affecting over 200,000 people, with open sewerage
presenting a huge public health problem. Preserving the forests of the Essequibo’s
headwaters should be seen as one way of minimising run-off and preventing devastating
flooding from occurring. The covering of dense forest acts to dampen the rush of water
into the rivers and help prevent flooding further downstream.
Small-scale gold dredging
While the substrate under the forests either side of the Rewa reportedly does not
contain gold bearing rock, being chiefly composed of sandy loam and so unlikely to
offer a lucrative large-scale mining opportunity, the accumulation of gold particles and
also diamonds brought down the Rewa from the Kanuku Mountains will have led to
fluvial or ‘placer’ deposits suitable for mining using small two-man dredges. The Rewa
constitutes a succession of mining claims and while travelling to the Rewa Head, we
Figure 36. Use of a hollow tree trunk as a holt by giant otters coincides with the placement of a
gold mine claim board.
26 Biodiversity of the Rewa Head