Why is Iwokrama in Guyana a prime candidate?
Greenheart, the wood currently used on the Brooklyn Bridge, grows in commercial quantities only in the forests of Guyana’s Iwokrama region. This unique rainforest area is one of the largest and most diverse tropical forests in the world. But due to economic pressure, logging has increased in recent years (much of it illegal). The local government struggles with corrupt operators, forest pirates, and widespread lumber smuggling. If this new model of sustainable forestry can be implemented in Guyana, millions of square miles of old-growth forests will be saved, and local inhabitants can continue to support their livelihoods. Guyana has recently taken significant steps towards sustainable forestry – implementation, research and leadership. The Iwokrama Act of 1996 established the Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development (IIC), a non-profit organization that manages a reserve of 371,000 hectares of rainforest while striving to balance conservation, research
