Rupununi Wildlife Festival
In April of 2006, WWF Guianas collaborated with Iwokrama to host the 5th Annual Wildlife Festival in the North Rupununi region of southern Guyana. This collaboration is part of the support provided to 16 wildlife clubs in the area. The primary goal of the WWF Guianas Wildlife Club project is to increase capacity of these rural groups to manage their wildlife resources through effective research, sustainable use, and conservation. The Wildlife Festival was one component of this capacity-building project.
The objectives of the festival were to build an appreciation by youth for wildlife conservation through research, education, and recreation, and to build capacity amongst young indigenous persons to effectively monitor and manage their natural environment, especially the living resources and ecosystems. Over three hundred people from sixteen wildlife clubs attended the festival, with the theme, "Keep an Eye on the Environment and Care for it."The festival was designed to showcase and raise awareness to not only issues of environmental concern, but also issues related to culture, traditions, social welfare, and recreation. The festival was intended to encourage exchange of ideas between wildlife clubs, promote interaction between youth from different communities, and to build confidence in the youth. This will help them identify amongst themselves special community building and leadership skills.
Marie-Louise Felix, the Wildlife Management Officer for WWF Guianas, had this to say about the festival, "What is important is that the Wildlife Clubs have an opportunity to identify their own needs and priorities with regards to species protection in their environment. I am pleased that socio-cultural, economic, and recreational facets of life in the communities have been integrated into the program. Conservation must always be fun, and relevant to social issues."
