Rapid Biological and Social Inventories Report, Volume 32: Guyana: Acarai-Corentyne Corridor

About this book

Language: English, with summaries in Waiwai, Wapishana, and Trio

A report from indigenous experts and scientists exploring wildlife and conservation strategies in southern Guyana.

In November 2024, local Indigenous experts joined forces with Guyanese and international scientists to explore a vast wilderness of remote rivers and rainforests in southern Guyana. Together, this large multidisciplinary team recorded the complex history and deep ecological knowledge of nearby Indigenous communities, alongside the geology, plants, and vertebrates of this 1.5 million-hectare expanse. Using a variety of time-tested and cutting-edge techniques, they uncovered an abundance of previously undocumented stone carvings, a spectacular diversity of plants and animals, and an undisturbed landscape harbouring dozens of undescribed species.

This comprehensive report synthesises those discoveries, consolidating them into a clear set of ideas about how Guyana can leverage these lands and waters to advance its ambitious conservation goals.

Contents

Permits   4
Participants   5
Institutional profiles   11
Acknowledgments   14

Study area context   18
Mission and approach   20
Rapid Inventory 32 by the numbers   21
Acarai-Corentyne Corridor by the numbers   22
Executive summary   23
      Why the Acarai-Corentyne Corridor?   32
      Color plates   33
      Conservation targets   57
      Assets and opportunities   64
      Threats   66
      Recommendations   68
Executive summary in other languages   73
      Waiwai   73
      Wapishana   77
      Trio   81

Technical Report   85
- Prior biodiversity surveys and expected species lists   85
- Regional panorama and site descriptions   89
- Geology, hydrology, and soils   102
- Vegetation and flora   109
- Fishes   117
- Amphibians and reptiles   121
- Birds   129
- Mammals   138
- Environmental DNA   151
- Local ecological knowledge   159
- Social landscape   170

Appendices   185
      (1) Vascular plants   186
      (2) Fish sampling stations   208
      (3) Fishes   210
      (4) Regional checklist of amphibians and reptiles   226
      (5) Amphibians and reptiles   231
      (6) Birds   236
      (7) Mammals   254
      (8) Environmental DNA   262
      (9) Local ecological knowledge   278

Literature cited   281
Imagery credits   293
Published reports   294
Compendium of geographic data   296

Customer Reviews