Guyana at a Critical Juncture
Guyana is at an extraordinary crossroads. One of the world's most forested countries — approximately 87% forest cover — it has discovered massive offshore oil reserves that began production in 2019. The resulting oil revenue windfall is transforming this small country (800,000 people) with one of the world's fastest-growing economies. For animal welfare and conservation, this creates both an urgent threat (rapid infrastructure development opening forests) and an opportunity (revenue that could fund world-class conservation).
#1
Fastest growing economy 2023-24
Top 3
Most biodiverse countries/km²
Extraordinary Biodiversity
Guyana's largely intact forests — the Guiana Shield highlands are among the least disturbed ecosystems on Earth — support extraordinary wildlife populations. The country has one of the world's highest vertebrate species diversity per unit area.
Flagship Species
- Harpy eagle: One of the world's largest eagles; Guyana has a healthy population
- Giant river otter: Recovering populations in pristine river systems
- Jaguar: High density population in interior forests
- Giant anteater: Widespread in savannahs and forest edges
- Black caiman: Recovering after historical hunting; indicator species for healthy rivers
- Arapaima: World's largest freshwater fish; important cultural species
- Leatherback sea turtle: Shell Beach is one of the world's most important nesting sites
Shell Beach: Shell Beach on Guyana's Atlantic coast hosts one of the hemisphere's largest leatherback turtle nesting populations. The Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society and WWF have operated protection programs for decades, representing a genuine conservation success.
Oil Boom: Threat and Opportunity
The ExxonMobil-led offshore oil discovery has transformed Guyana's fiscal position dramatically. The challenge is whether this wealth translates into development that destroys Guyana's forests and wildlife, or whether it funds conservation and sustainable development.
Potential Threats
- Infrastructure development (roads, bridges) opening previously inaccessible interior forest
- Accelerated deforestation for agriculture as land values rise and population grows
- Increased bushmeat hunting as interior access improves
- Wildlife trafficking networks accessing new areas
- In-migration pressures on coastal and forest ecosystems
The Infrastructure Paradox: Road building into Guyana's interior — planned as part of development — will open vast areas of previously roadless forest to human pressure. The Amazon-wide research finding that roads are the primary driver of deforestation applies fully to Guyana.
LCDS 2030: Guyana's Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030 represents a genuine government commitment to forest conservation, supported by payments for ecosystem services from Norway. If maintained, this could make Guyana a model for oil-funded conservation coexistence.
Indigenous Communities and Wildlife
Approximately 10% of Guyana's population is indigenous Amerindian, living primarily in the interior. These communities have traditional relationships with wildlife and land that are central to both human rights and conservation.
Conservation and Community
- Community-based conservation programs with indigenous involvement show strong results
- Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development — globally influential model
- Amerindian Land Titling program protects community territories
- Traditional hunting and fishing provide subsistence protein for remote communities
- Growing indigenous ecotourism enterprises create economic alternatives to hunting
Companion Animals and Urban Issues
Georgetown and coastal Guyana have typical Caribbean urban animal welfare challenges, complicated by economic inequality and limited institutional capacity.
Urban Animal Welfare
- Significant stray dog population in Georgetown; limited municipal management resources
- Guyana SPCA operates shelter and advocacy programs
- Rabies vaccination programs with PAHO support
- Animal Welfare Act exists but enforcement is very limited
- Oil boom wealth is not yet translating into improved animal welfare infrastructure
Conservation Organizations and Prospects
WWF Guianas
Iwokrama International Centre
Conservation International Guyana
Guyana SPCA
Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society
World Wildlife Fund
Priority Interventions
- Strategic road planning to minimize forest fragmentation
- Oil revenue allocation for conservation and protected area management
- Sea turtle nesting beach protection expansion
- Indigenous land rights formalization across the interior
- Wildlife trafficking interdiction at Georgetown airport
Guyana's extraordinary natural heritage gives it global conservation significance that far exceeds its small size. The choices made in the next decade — how to manage oil wealth, whether to protect forests from infrastructure pressure, and how to support indigenous-led conservation — will determine whether Guyana becomes a model of sustainable development or another cautionary tale of resource boom-driven environmental destruction.