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

itself and the access road which will make it easier for villagers to travel to Lethem, the
nearest town. However it is of prime concern that the development of the wells should be
monitored by an objective assessor to ensure that environmental standards are kept.
Logging
Simon and Shock International LLC (SSI) is a US based timber company specializing in
expensive tropical hardwoods for high-end markets. In January 2008 the company bought
up 400,000 hectares of logging concessions in the headwaters of the Rewa and Essequibo
rivers with the intention of extracting species such as greenheart (Chlorocardium
rodiei) and purpleheart (Peltogyne sp). The western section of the logging concession
incorporates the entirety of the Rewa Head and includes the right banks of the Kwitaro
and Lower Rewa. The 80,000ha Conservation International concession nestles between
the East and West logging concessions in the Upper Essequibo.
As part of a US$45 million project, SSI announced its intention to build a state-of-the-art
saw mill in Linden, northern Guyana. This mill is purported to be the most technologically
advanced in the world, recovering an estimated 75% of timber from logs as opposed to
30-40% which is typical in Neotropical mills. This is achieved using a network of lasers
and computer-guided saws to make the cuts which optimise output. The aim of the mill,
as explained by Kelly Simon, CEO of Simon and Shock, is to completely eliminate waste.
Sawdust will be used to fire the kilns and ash will be given to farmers as fertiliser. SSI
state that the new laser-guided milling technology at the Linden saw mill will result in
half the number of trees needed to be felled to produce the same volume of timber (SSI
figures 2007). Although doubts have been expressed over the efficacy of the new mill
with tropical hardwoods and the recovery estimates claimed.
In discussions with Kelly Simon, a suite of measures designed to minimise the impact
of logging were mentioned and the company is evidently keen to portray itself as one
of the most sustainable and least environmentally damaging logging firms operating
in South America. At the practical level, measures such as positioning the saw mill in
Linden in the industrialised north, rather than in the forest itself will negate the need for
workers to stay in the forest and prevent a creep in of small-scale exploiters. Foresters
are apparently to be recruited from Annai and bussed in by morning and out by
evening, while Brinks Security on the road entering the concession will check workers
for weapons and game and will have the power to arrest poachers. The use of narrow
forwarders and cable skidders will minimise damage to the ground and surrounding
trees when logs are removed. SSI have stated that they will leave a set-back of 200yds
from streams to protect the drainages, six times the proscribed distance, and intend to
leave ‘biodiversity banks,’ islands of forest within the concession which will be left to
act as reservoirs and fail-safes for biodiversity.
If all measures are carried out as stated, the impact on the forest ecosystem will be
minimised to a degree. However, there are important considerations to take. Namely,
working and making a profit out of 400,000 hectares of forest would require a large work
force, likely larger than the small village of Annai could supply. This would necessitate
bringing in workers, perhaps settling them in Annai. Feeding these workers protein
will then become an issue, and it will be extremely difficult to prevent any poaching
at all from occurring. While armed security at a checkpoint on the road will prevent
vehicles from entering, poachers on foot would simply be able to hike around the
checkpoint. Logging the concession will necessitate creating a network of roads to
bring the forest machinery in and the logs out. Due to the nature of the Parishara area,
the most likely access point to the concession, the roads will have to be substantial.
One estimate suggests they will need to be 10-15ft high. Furthermore transporting
the logs to Linden would most likely be carried out using double trailered road trains
with a gross weight of 110 tons which local sources have pointed out, would require
55 bridges to be rebuilt at an estimated cost of US$1 million per bridge. The Lethem
to Georgetown road would also have to be widened to incorporate the size of these
trucks. That coupled with the 400 miles of road needed to traverse between the SSI
concession and the Linden saw mill may well make the venture uneconomical.
28 Biodiversity of the Rewa Head