Guyana Launches World’s First Good Practices Checklist for Birding Tours
In November 2008, Guyana’s British High Commission (BHC) launched a new good practices checklist aimed at influencing and helping tour operators, lodges and guides to integrate key environmental and social practices into their birding tours. The Birding Tours Self-Assessment Checklist: A Practical Guide for Good Environmental and Social Practices is the first of its kind in the world, and positions Guyana as an international leader in sustainable birding tourism development.
The BHC developed the checklist in close collaboration with the Guyana Tourism Authority, Guyana Amazon Tropical Birding Society, Rupununi Tourism Association, South Rupununi Conservation Society and Guyana’s top birding guides. It is part of a broader project that also includes workshops on environmentally and socially sustainable practices for tourism businesses operating in tropical forest areas.
This checklist identifies twenty-one good business and environmental practices and provides guidelines for tour operators on key environmental and social practices for birding tours including: visitor education, interpretation and messaging; infrastructure development; health and safety; engaging with local communities; interacting with birds; and protection and conservation of birds and habitats.
The birding tours checklist is meant to be used as a companion to Conservation International’s A Practical Guide to Good Practice for Tropical Forest-Based Tours, a good practices guide and checklist developed to help tropical forest-based operators assess the level of environmental and social good practices of their businesses. The workshops on environmentally and socially sustainable practices were based on this CI guide. The birding tours checklist can be downloaded at www.guyanabirding.com/trellis/BirdingGoodPracticesChecklist.
Surama Eco-Lodge Selected as ETC 2009 Responsible Tourism Showcase Honoree
Surama’s Eco-Lodge and community tourism programs were recognized and honored at the U.S. Educational Travel Conference (ETC), which took place in New Orleans, Louisiana from February 18-21. As the Responsible Tourism Showcase Honoree for 2009, Surama received recognition at the Opening Plenary session as well as press and visibility in front of the tour operators from museums, schools, alumni associations, and other US-based institutions with international travel programs. Surama Eco-lodge will also receive a monetary award and year-round recognition on the ETC website.
On the selection of Surama as the award winner, Sherry Schwarz of the ETC said, “There were some outstanding applications this year and the selection process was quite difficult, which speaks even more highly to the merit of Surama Eco-lodge’s responsible tourism programming. Many of us didn’t know about this Guyana community and were fascinated to learn about its commitment to preserving its indigenous traditions and its environment. It’s really a perfect match for the Responsible Tourism Showcase Award.”The California-based Geographic Expeditions played a leading role in Surama’s success. Geographic Expeditions worked with the GSTI to complete the Responsible Tourism Showcase application and nominate Surama Eco-Lodge for Showcase Honoree. Geographic Expeditions first learned of Surama on a GSTI tourism familiarization trip in 2008.
Jim Sano, Geographic Expeditions CEO, said, “Our clients are looking for opportunities to visit places where their tourism dollars contribute to local communities' own efforts to preserve their culture, land, and traditional way of life. One can support local economies and conservation efforts by choosing to visit communities like Surama in Guyana where every dollar spent contributes to local educational, conservation, and economic development programs. Given the pressing need to develop new conservation models for the world's remaining rainforests, it is vital for communities like Surama to thrive. Surama is a perfect example of this ideal, which is why we were so delighted to nominate them for this award.”
Upon hearing of their award, Sydney Allicock spoke on behalf of Surama: “We all feel very honored to be granted such an award! We are very happy and are now aware that we are at the crossroads with community-based ecotourism, which means getting to the next level in the business. For us it also means more jobs, new young blood, training, planning and executing of the relevant activities that will continue to benefit the entire community. The award means a lot to the Eco-Lodge: more publicity, more clients, and a greater sense of ownership by management and the people of Surama. The years of continued dedication by workers are slowly paying off as a community business.” Mr. Allicock also said the community will be investing the award money in a solar system for the Eco-Lodge.
For more on Surama Eco-Lodge, including the area’s birds, read Birding Sites in this edition of BirdingNews or visit www.suramaecolodge.com. For more information about the ETC and the Showcase, visit www.travelearning.com. To learn more about Geographic Expeditions, and the Guyana trip they recently added to their programs, visit www.geoex.com.
Guyana Media Round-up
Whether they appear in magazines, blogs or websites, we’ve been astounded lately by the plethora of words and photographs touting Guyana’s beauty. For your browsing pleasure, we’ve provided a recap – with links – below.
As a result of GSTI familiarization trips in 2008, several participants are doing their share of work to help tourism in Guyana to grow and improve. Mike Weedon, Assistant Editor of Bird Watching magazine (www.birdwatching.co.uk), has already written two articles for his publication. Mike’s feature on Guyana, “Totally Tropical” is out now in the February issue of Bird Watching, and his monthly column in January was also dedicated to his trip through Guyana. Mike has also posted many photographs (he was the digiscoping master on the trip) and entries about Guyana on his blog, www.weedworld.blogspot.com.
Kevin Loughlin has already added a Guyana tour to Wildside Nature Tours’ itineraries for 2009 and is promoting Guyana through the excellent photographs he took while on the trip (go to www.wildsidenaturetours.com, click on the ‘galleries’ button, then the ‘Guyana’ link). Inspired by fellow trip mate, Julie Zickefoose, Kevin also started a blog with several posts on Guyana (http://blog.wildsidenaturetours.com).
Kevin Loughlin has already added a Guyana tour to Wildside Nature Tours’ itineraries for 2009 and is promoting Guyana through the excellent photographs he took while on the trip (go to www.wildsidenaturetours.com, click on the ‘galleries’ button, then the ‘Guyana’ link). Inspired by fellow trip mate, Julie Zickefoose, Kevin also started a blog with several posts on Guyana (http://blog.wildsidenaturetours.com).
Speaking of Julie Zickefoose, she will be writing an article on her trip to Guyana for Birder’s Digest, and has posted some great photographs and several insightful and entertaining entries about Guyana on her excellent blog, www.juliezickefoose.com/blog.
For more photographs taken during Guyana familiarization trips, visit Michael McCrystal’s photos at http://guysur.masalamedia.net and Erica Gies’ at http://2141.net/guyana. (As a side note, Michael McCrystal attended the April 2008 fam for Geographic Expeditions, who recently launched a new Guyana program (www.geoex.com/adventure-travel/guyana/tribes-species.asp).
We recently came across a great new website called 10,000 Birds (www.10000birds.com). Named after the approximate number of bird species on our fair planet, the site focuses on natural history, science, politics, conservation, travel, and of course, birds. It’s a great site and when we saw they were devoting an entire month to parrots, we approached them about covering those found in Guyana. To our delight, they took the idea and ran with it.
To date, they’ve posted a story on the Parrots of Guyana, which originally ran in this newsletter; an interview with Karen Windsor of Foster Parrots Ltd; and an article on Foster Parrots' wild parrot conservation project in Guyana at the Maipaima Eco-Lodge at the Amerindian village of Nappi. Visit http://10000birds.com/tag/guyana to view the articles on Guyana. Later this year, 10,000 Birds is also planning a Guyana month that will include a series of articles providing information on planning a trip to Guyana, birdwatching in Guyana, and ways of helping and promoting conservation in Guyana. It’s a site that we recommend checking daily.
We have also been working with the new website Traveler.com. They are seeking to help “travel planning to be true to your unique traveling soul.” Sounds good to us, and we’re thrilled that they’ve chosen Guyana as their first Featured Destination. Browse the page at www.traveler.com/featured-destinations/1-guyana and feel free to leave your comments. Elsewhere online, www.couplesbest.com is also running a feature on Guyana in the month of February.
We would also like to point out a great article highlighting Guyana’s wildlife. “Going Wild in Guyana” appears in January-March edition of LiME, the in-flight magazine for the Caribbean airline, LIAT. Not flying through the Caribbean anytime soon? The entire magazine is on the web at http://edition2a.intellimag.com/?id=limeissue2; the Guyana article starts on page 30.
In other media news, we previously reported that following a connection made at the 2008 American Birding Association convention in Snowbird, Utah, the producer and hosts of Birding Adventures and Reel Adventures television shows visited Guyana in October 2008 to film three shows on birding and two on sport fishing.
We’re pleased to announce that the shows are completed and have been airing on FoxSports Net and ComCast in the southeastern United States. The Birding Adventures shows feature the Harpy Eagle (at Surama), Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock (at Wowetta) and Sun Parakeet (at Karasabi). Both shows do a fantastic job of capturing the great birds, fish and wildlife of Guyana, as well as the natural beauty, friendly people and intriguing culture.
Robert Arrington, host of Reel Adventures, was so impressed by Guyana during his visit that he is planning to return in March to film more shows and research the country more. He would like to build a string of lodges in partnership with Amerindian communities that can be used for sport fishing trips and research.
Robert Arrington, host of Reel Adventures, was so impressed by Guyana during his visit that he is planning to return in March to film more shows and research the country more. He would like to build a string of lodges in partnership with Amerindian communities that can be used for sport fishing trips and research.
James Currie, the host of Birding Adventures, recently told us that at the Space Coast Birding Festival in Florida many people were inquiring about Guyana after seeing the TV shows. Due to demand, Birding Adventures will also be producing DVDs of the shows.
In the meantime, you can see portions of the shows steaming on their websites. For Birding Adventures, visit www.birdingadventures.com/video_stream.php?id_vdo=5 and for Reel Adventures, visit www.reeladventures.tv/videos/guyana/guyanap1_video.htm. Or you can become a member online (at no cost) and buy and download the Guyana shows for US$1.99 online; visit their website for more details. For a television schedule for Birding Adventures, visit http://www.birdingadventures.com/tv_schedule.php.
Discovering Guyana Evening at Royal Geographical Society
In December, the UK’s esteemed Royal Geographical Society hosted a well-attended Discovering Guyana evening. Set up in a casual question-and-answer format, the evening offered independent, expert views to those wishing to travel to Guyana. Speakers at the event included author of the Guyana guidebook published by Bradt Travel Guides, Kirk Smock; Director and founding member of Journey Latin America, Chris Parrott; and former Director of Iwokrama, Kathryn Monk. RGS Director, Rita Gardner, chaired the event.
Several booths were also set up in the lobby so tour operators could provide additional information on booking trips to Guyana. Guyana’s Wilderness Explorers were on hand to answer questions, make bookings and distribute Guyana Sustainable Tourism Initiative materials from their booth.
For more information on the Discovering Guyana night, including links to Guyana information; history and exploration; ecology and wildlife; and recommended reading visit www.rgs.org/WhatsOn/Past+Events/Guyana/Discovering+Guyana.htm.
Guyana Receives Glowing Praise from Tourism Familiarization Tour Participants
In November, a group of eight international tour guides, journalists, and optics company representatives toured Guyana on a birdwatching, natural history, and culture tourism familiarization (fam) trip sponsored by the Guyana Sustainable Tourism Initiative (GSTI). Below are some of their thoughts after completing a trip through Guyana.
Terry Moore, Vice President of Leica Sport Optics, said “Guyana was a wonderful experience: pristine forests, warm and friendly people, close encounters with wildlife, and a wonderful diversity of birds. For the adventurous Neotropical birder, Guyana must be at the top of their Bucket List!”
Julie Zickefoose, nature artist, writer and blogger extraordinaire had much to say on her trip: “Guyana stunned me. Somehow, an unbroken blanket of pristine high rainforest has survived our greed and exploitation. Here, cotingas and antbirds, jaguars and howler monkeys live their lives as they always have. This is a place where it is possible to smother in butterflies, to get lost in an antbird flock. Visions of giant otters and anteaters, a cock-of-the-rock like a glowing coal brought to life, will stay with me. I feel that I've been in the hot, humid lungs of the earth.”
Mike Weedon, Assistant Editor of UK’s Bird Watching magazine, was equally excited: “I rate Guyana as one of the top wildlife locations I have ever visited. The richness of the wildlife-watching experience in this relatively pristine country was mind-blowing – never before have I witnessed such high concentrations of kingfishers and herons! Seeing a young Harpy Eagle at close range was one of my most thrilling birding memories – a memory which I will always treasure. And few places can compare with the majesty of Kaieteur – and its attendant Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock, what an awe-inspiring combination!”
Barry Walker, owner of Manu Expeditions, who had been to Guyana previously, said, “Without doubt Guyana is an up-and-coming tourism destination for tourists interested in natural history, indigenous cultures and rainforest; indeed it is already here! Friendly people coupled with Guyana being an English speaking country, makes communication with your hosts easy and an added bonus. Forests and savannas are full of interesting wildlife and birds and accommodations are improving in the more isolated areas all the time. An astonishing country – a must for wildlife enthusiasts and people who want to get off the beaten track.”
Kevin Loughlin, owner of Wildside Nature Tours, had this to say: “Hot, humid and full of birds, Guyana offers birders and nature enthusiasts a new frontier of expansive, pristine forest and savanna habitats to explore!”
The overall wildlife, nature and cultural experience of Guyana once again enchanted, but the group did list off some personal highlights that were spotted during the ten-day trip. These include: Jaguar, wild Giant River Otters, Black Caiman, Giant Anteater, Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock, Harpy Eagle, Blood-coloured Woodpecker, Guianan Gnatcatcher, Rufous-winged Crabhawk, Festive Parrot, Agami Heron, Red Howler Monkeys, and many, many more.
Guyana Tourism Awards
In November 2008, Guyana’s Ministry of Tourism and Commerce and the Guyana Tourism Authority hosted Guyana’s first tourism awards that honored 12 contributors to the growing sector. The United States Agency for International Development/Guyana Trade and Investment Support (USAID/GTIS) project was honored for the “Development and Funding of the Guyana Sustainable Tourism Initiative.” Kirk Smock, Senior Writer for the Guyana Sustainable Tourism Initiative (GSTI), was also given an award for “Travel Guide Initiative” in recognition of his Bradt Travel Guide to Guyana.
Other awardees included GSTI partner Wilderness Explorers (Most Outstanding Tour Operation); Surama (Most Outstanding Contribution to Community Tourism); Karanambu Ranch’s Diane McTurk (Commitment for Protection of Giant Otters); Frank Singh of Rainforest Tours (Outstanding Support to Affordable Domestic Tour Promotion); and Caribbean Airlines (Continuous Air Connection to Guyana).
Congratulations to all winners and our thanks go out to the Ministry of Tourism and the Guyana Tourism Authority for their recognition of our program.
For this issue’s Pick of the Flock we’re recommending a video filmed and produced by a local Guyanese that does a wonderful job of highlighting Guyana’s natural world. Mike Charles has been a helicopter pilot in Guyana for more than 20 years, during which time he has flown into, and taken video of, some of the country’s most remote areas. Mike is also a well-respected bushman and with the help of local Amerindians as guides, he has explored Guyana’s savannahs and forests, both from the air and on the ground. His most recent video, Guyana Yours to Discover – Wild Guyana, has some great footage of various locations throughout Guyana’s interior and some fantastic shots of creatures that lurk in the jungle. DVDs can be ordered on his site, www.mikecharles.biz.
