In the spring of 2004 Marc and Brian returned to Guyana and began talks with the Amerindian people about the need for a parrot/wildlife protection initiative and the possibility of addressing this issue through the development of an eco-tourism project. Traveling to the Rupununi district of southern Guyana they met with the elders of several Amerindian tribes. It was during this time that they met Guyana Member of Parliament Shirley Melville. An Arawak Amerindian and a strong advocate for Amerindian rights, M.P. Shirley Melville had also been highly active in conservation and environmental protection issues. It was a perfect meeting of minds and motivations. The resulting relationship between Foster Parrots and Ms. Melville created the platform that would support the similar interests of each party, offering an economic alternative to Amerindian tribes while helping to protect thousands of acres of pristine habitat. Ms. Melville was appointed to the Board of Foster Parrots and assumed responsibility as on-site Director of Foster Parrots' Project Guyana. Ms. Melville's tireless efforts on behalf of Project Guyana have won the interest and support of several additional tribes including that of the friendly village of Nappi, located at the base of the Kanuku Mountains. Embracing the project with tremendous enthusiasm, Nappi has dedicated 250 square miles of tribal territory as parrot protected conservation land and was chosen as the site for the first eco-tour lodge complex.

Guyana
The country of Guyana, famously rich in bio-diversity, is one of the least populated tropical countries in the world with a population of only 850,000 inhabitants. With only three percent of its 80,000 square miles inhabited it is, unfortunately, one of only two countries in South America that still legally exports parrots and other wildlife for the pet trade. In fact, Guyana has been one of the top exporters of wild parrots in the world and remains active in trapping parrots, wild cats, primates, reptiles, sea turtles and various other land and sea animals.

Trapping and exportation of native species has been, for generations, one of Guyana's only means of generating income for the indigenous people. However, closer examination of the trade in wildlife reveals grim realities of the animal export trade; decimation of native wildlife species and habitat is leading to irreversible elimination of the very source of income. The native people, who are essential in the harvesting of these resources, earn an abysmal fraction of the value of the exported animals. In a country where the average annual income is little more than $1,000.00, the income derived through the capture of wildlife and habitat destruction remains attractive.

The native Amerindian tribes of Guyana, now becoming aware of the need to protect their forests and wildlife, are expressing the desire to take control of the ecological destiny of their country rather than bow down to the exploitation of animal trades, miners and loggers currently at liberty to devastate Guyana's natural heritage.

Protecting the Treasures of Guyana
Project Guyana enables us to take the first steps towards protecting and preserving Guyana's native parrots and other wildlife by offering a more financially attractive and culturally desirable alternative. Through the development of this viable eco-tourism project entire Amerindian communities can benefit from the income derived from hosting visitors, who are often sympathetic to their needs. Eco-tourism will create sustainable employment opportunities for the indigenous people of Guyana who can bring their acute knowledge of their natural resources and their many skills and crafts to a new and exciting international market. It will not only lend economic strength to participating communities, but will provide a canopy of protection for the native species whose values as wild animals far exceeds the cost of a destructive and self-serving exotic pet trade.

Eco-Tourism
Foster Parrots' Project Guyana, now underway, originates in the country's south central region around the village of Lethem. While an airstrip to the west of the nearby Kanuku Mountains remotely links six Amerindian villages to the more modern civilization of Georgetown, this area remains untouched by industrialization and the villages remain unspoiled and steeped in their cultural heritage and wild savanna settings. Although trapping for the pet trade has impacted the wildlife of this region to some extent, this is an area where relatively abundant native animals still roam and fly freely promising to provide prospective tourists with remarkable opportunities to view wild animals in Guyana's vast natural habitat.

Eco-Tour Attractions
Visitors to Guyana will have a choice of tour itineraries ranging from an ambitious 3 and 4-day Kanuku Mountains hike that will bring them to the realm of the Harpy Eagle, to more leisurely tours that will encompass sightings of Red Bellied, Scarlet, Red and Green, Blue and Yellow Macaws, Giant Anteaters and a wide variety of primates. Horseback and canoe excursions will let tour groups experience the wilds of Guyana at an intimate level. Visitors can also travel to Kaeiteur Falls to witness one of the world's tallest single-drop waterfalls of 741 feet.

Lodges and Camps
Lodges are traditional thatched roof dwellings constructed of hand-made brick and other local materials. Each lodge will offer four bedrooms with two beds per room. Each room will have access to a private shower and toilet. Communal dining areas at each camp will offer visitors the opportunity to congregate at their leisure and experience traditional dishes that will be tailored to the needs of each tour group.

Construction on the first of two planned lodge complexes, located in Nappi Village, will be completed by September 2005, The Quarrie Bird Zone Group, led by Macushi tour guide Paul Farias, has completed construction on a small lodge and camp area located on Eagle Mountain, so named for the presence of Harpy Eagles, the world's largest eagle species.

FUTURE PROJECTS:

Nest Boxes and Observation Structures
Construction on the first observation blind was completed in 2005. Nest boxes will be hand built and established in key areas of the territory. Nesting activity will be carefully monitored from strategically placed observation structures, thereby allowing records to be maintained as to numbers of active nests and successfully fledged chicks. Observation of nesting activity will also provide security against potential illegal nest raiding activity.

Hand Rearing and  Reintroduction Program
This program will further ensure the proliferation of various parrot, reptile and turtle species. In many Macaw species only one chick is raised to adulthood. Second or third chicks are usually killed by a sibling or starved by the parents. These second and rare third chicks would be hand raised and hacked back into the wild, thereby establishing the flocks that once populated this area.

Eté Palm Tree Planting Program
In order to accommodate the diet of the large Macaws a program involving the planting of hundreds of Eté Palms and fruit trees will be implemented. An abundance of mature trees will support the growing Macaw populations and will be a focal point for tourists seeking to observe wild Macaw feeding habits.

Native Handicrafts and Cultural Arts
Preservation of Amerindian culture through the perpetuation of traditional arts and crafts is one of the most valued objectives of the Project Guyana initiative. The project will be influential in reconnecting young Amerindian people with nearly forgotten, but historically important, cultural arts and ceremonial activities. Time is running out as the village elders, the living repositories of the past, are now passing away without transferring these skills. The people with these skills must be given the opportunity to pass this unique knowledge on before it is lost forever.

For more information on Project Guyana and joining an eco-tour to this beautiful earthly treasure, contact Marc Johnson or Karen Lee, directors. You may also donate to this project by clicking on the "Donate Now" button on any page and specifying "Project Guyana."