Ethnoecology, Resource Use, Conservation And Development In A ...

Thorbjarnarson 1991; Ojasti 1991; Thomsen and Brautigam 1991; Vaughan and
Rodriguez 1991; Hoogesteijn and Chapman 1997). Hunting also has considerable
current subsistence value for both Amerindians and non-Amerindians living or working
in the forests. Both of these could be important components of future sustainable
use programmes in Guyana's forests. Steps towards formalising and effectively
regulating animal harvests are being taken. The government plans to embark upon a
nationwide programme of wildlife surveys aimed at providing baseline data on wildlife
populations, though I am not aware of the extent to which forward planning regarding
the implementation of the findings in management programmes has been
incorporated into their design. This thesis advances the case for greater involvement
of Amerindian populations in both planning and implementation of survey, monitoring
and management programmes related to wildlife.
2.5.3 Conclusion
Non-timber forest products of both zoological and botanical origin have a long history
of exploitation in Guyana, and continue to make significant contributions to local
livelihoods and the national economy. However, the above account suggests
economic and conservation potentials far greater than are currently being realised.
Many products of commercial potential are, for a variety of reasons, being harvested
at levels well below their full potential. Those that are currently exploited are subject
to little or no regulation of a nature that is likely to ensure that harvests remain
sustainable, leading to apparent local depletion in some instances. Furthermore, the
evolution and operation of extractive activities is haphazard and unregulated. No
measures are in place at either national or local levels to ensure that possible
negative social consequences of the economic disruption that can accompany the
introduction of new income-generating possibilities are avoided. While opportunities
to earn a cash wage are welcomed in most cash-starved interior villages, they can
expose people to dangers such as declines in living standards resulting from a neglect
of subsistence activities by wage earners, or the introduction of new dependencies on
manufactured goods which can no longer be fulfilled if the source of income vanishes.
On the other hand, in many respects the prospect of a greatly expanded national
market in non-timber forest products, based upon small-scale and local operations
subject to central monitoring and regulation, could be of great benefit to many
sectors of the Guyanese population. Reliable incomes could be provided for
independent producers in Amerindian communities, free to choose their own work
schedule and hence combine these activities with subsistence tasks. Economic