Private investors pay to save Guyana rainforest

The British based venture capitalist firm, Canopy Capital, has agreed a deal with the Iwokrama reserve in Guyana for the continued protection and maintenance of one million acres of pristine forest.

The initiative follows the offer by the President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, last year, to place the whole of the countries rainforest estate under a British-led coalition in return for development aid.

This deal puts a financial value on the environmental services these 'utilities' provide in the way of rainfall, climate regulation and carbon storage.

The Iwokrama reserve is a real success story in the region having existed since 1989 and protecting over 371,000 hectares of forest - a similar size to Majorca - and is home to some of the world's most endangered species, including the jaguar and anaconda.

Guyana, sandwiched between Venezuela and Brazil, is home to fewer than a million people and four fifths of its land is covered by an intact rainforest larger than England. The Guiana Shield is one of only four intact rainforests left on the planet and at its heart lies the Iwokrama reserve.

Cool Earth has been asking readers to contact their own MPs to back our petition in Parliament, which is asking the Government to take up the offer from the President of Guyana to pay for the protection of the forest.