From Wild to Web, an ecotourism-based wildlife monitoring project in Guyana’s Yupukari village was announced this year as a winner of the ECOCLUB.com’s annual eco-project competition with the theme, “Their Crisis, Our Communities – Progressive Change through Social Ecotourism,” highlighting “innovative projects that meet urgent needs, help create ‘another world’ at the grass roots level and improve life for all in their communities.”

Ecoclub.com ~ International Ecotourism Club 2009 Ecotourism Awards (Ecoclub.com/awards)

TIES member Judy Karwacki of Small Planet Consulting works with the From Wild to Web as project manager for the Rupununi Learners Incorporated (RLI), a Guyanese nonprofit corporation whose Board and membership are composed entirely of Yupukari village residents. Judy also acts as the Director for the Guyana Sustainable Tourism Initiative, a joint project of the Government of Guyana and the USAID Guyana Trade and Investment Support project.

The project aims to enhance the wildlife monitoring activities of Yupukari Wildlife Club by providing them with dedicated laptops and cameras. Village youth will learn to digitally document field projects, make web pages, and then upload them to the existing RLI website. The Yupukari Village Wildlife Club connects village youth to a synergistic group of learning, scientific inquiry and enterprise activities.

The ECOCLUB.com prize – a micro-grant of €1,000 (approximately US$1,400) to implement the project – will help expand the From Wild to Web project. “This award means that the Wildlife Club will be able to share what we are seeing and learning with our village, our region, and the world!” said an RLI representative. The dedicated equipment purchased with the award money will allow the Wildlife Club to undertake a group project in photographing and publishing Club activities and discoveries.

By adding digital documentation training to Yupukari Wildlife Club’s field projects recently funded by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the From Wild to Web project will enhance the capacity of village youth to participate in developing local, regional, national and international conversation about the future of threatened Rupununi lands and waters.

Since September 2005, the villagers of Yupukari and its satellite communities have been participating in and driving a long-term ecological monitoring program for black caiman (Melanosuchus niger)*, the first study of its kind in Guyana. The initial project quickly seeded a local crew of trained caiman field researchers and an ecotourism venture based on research.

*Caiman: a type of tropical American crocodilians resembling the alligators.

Black Caiman Research, Yupukari, Guyan (Photo by Julie Zickefoose)

Both full- and part-time livelihoods have grown from the new inputs, which have included a four-bedroom guesthouse; the Internet-enabled and computer-equipped Yupukari Public Library; a home furnishings enterprise, Yupukari Crafters; and independent housing for up to four visiting volunteers at a time.

The caiman research has for safety reasons been necessarily closed to participation by youth, but thanks to a herpetologist volunteer and recent funding, a monitoring program for herps and amphibians is underway as a collaboration of the village Wildlife Club and the after-school program in the Public Library. Birdwatching is another area of Wildlife Club activity. Accompanied by an experienced local surveyor, Club members practice and build skills in wetland bird survey while contributing to an ongoing survey undertaken by Guyana Amazon Tropical Bird Society.

Black Caiman Weighing, Yupukari, Guyan (Photo by Kirk Smock)

Yupukari village sits atop a hill located along the Rupununi River, and thanks to the relatively new Caiman House Field Station, the village has been enjoying growth in development projects, new jobs, ecotourism opportunities, and conservation initiatives. The area around Yupukari is rich in many bird and mammal species, and nature hikes and dugout canoe voyages along the Rupununi provide excellent ways to enjoy it.

Additional Information & Links

• For more information on tourism in Guyana, visit Guyana-Tourism.com
• Find Small Planet Consulting on Ecotourism Explorer!
• Learn more about birding in Guyana
• Related article “TIES member in the spotlight: Small Planet Consulting“