Usar p⁄gs xvii-134 - ResearchGate

The State of Venezuela’s Forests: A Case Study of the Guayana Region both confirms our findingsfrom previous research, and provides new, previously unpublished data on development activitiesin the country’s largest block of forests. Our Venezuelan partners have documented the rich biologicaldiversity harbored in forests of the Guayana region. However, these forests are under threat fromlarge-scale development activities and population pressures. While a significant proportion of theforests are protected as national parks and natural monuments, uncertainties regarding protectedarea boundaries and overlaps with other areas designated for extractive uses mean that fragileecosystems could be opened for large-scale extractive activities. Our partners sought to compile thebest available data on the forests of the Guayana region. However, information on the Guayanaregion is lacking, and even basic cartographic data are not available for some areas. This lack ofinformation is one of the most serious threats to forest conservation in the Guayana region, as it precludessound planning and management.GFW seeks to make information available rapidly to an ever wider audience by providing forestinformation and maps on-line and developing a state-of the-art website (www.globalforestwatch.org)to post results from its multiple field activities in Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Gabon, Indonesia,Russia, the United States, and Venezuela. Reports, maps, and information from credible sources willbe available for downloading. Anyone with access to the Internet can consult GFW data and contributeby providing information or views directly on-line. We hope that the array of products andactivities will lead to a more constructive dialogue between forest managers and users at the local,national, and international levels.Global Forest Watch would like to thank the following donors for their overall support of GlobalForest Watch activities: AVINA, IKEA, the Turner Foundation, UK Department for InternationalDevelopment (DFID), the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Global Forest Watch Venezuela would also like to thank the Prospect Hill Foundation, the UnitedNations Environment Program, and the Netherlands Committee for IUCN for their specific support ofGlobal Forest Watch activities in Venezuela.Jonathan LashPresidentWorld Resources Instituteviii