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Wai Wai choose conservation economy for traditional Amazon territory
"We have always been keepers of the forests that support us, and now it is official, recognized by the government and the world."
- Cemci Sose, Kayaritomo of the Wai Wai
Northern Amazon Region, Guyana - Three years after gaining formal title to their traditional territory in the northern Amazon, the Wai Wai people of Guyana have achieved another milestone when the region was declared the nation's first Community-Owned Conservation Area.
Under regulations passed by the Guyana parliament, the Wai Wai community formally designated their land a protected area and adopted a management plan, developed with the support of Conservation International (CI), for the 625,000-hectare (1.54-million-acre) tract on the northern border of Brazil's Para state.