Konashen Community Owned Conservation Area
The Wai-Wai people in the Konashen District of Guyana created the nation's first Community Owned Conservation Area (COCA). This area is legally protected under regulations passed by the Guyana parliament. 625,000-hectare is a protected area that was developed with the technical and financial support of Conservation International. The Wai-Wai people were given the formal title to this land in 2004, and has worked with Guyana's Environmental Protection Agency and the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs to develop COCA. The goal is that the area will bring economic benefit to the Wai Wai, and protect a large part of the rainforest. Because the Wai Wai have kept a deep cultural and spiritual relationship with the Earth, protecting natural resources and biodiversity in this region is a main objective.
The COCA community is open to visitors all over the world, and protecting the plants and animals are valuable to the Wai-Wai's everyday life. The Wai-Wai people have said that the rainforest produces the air they breathe, keeps soil in place as not to clog waterways, provides foods (nuts, fruit, fresh fish), is a source for natural medicines, and many more. The Konashen Indigenous District in Southern Guyana is the headwaters of the Essequibo River. This river remains Guyana's main source for water, and drains the Kassikaityu, Kamoa, Sipu and Chodikar rivers.
Read more about this topic: Wai-wai People
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