The Guiana Shield Eco-region covers 2.5 million km2. It extends from Colombia in the west to the Brazilian state of Amapá in the east, including the Venezuelan states of Delta Amacuro, Bolívar and Amazonas, all of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, and continuing into the ecologically associated areas of the Brazilian States of Pará, Roraima and Amazonas.

Conservation of the Guiana Shield Eco-Region is of great importance in the global battle against climate change. Its vast stretches of tropical rainforest sequester carbon dioxide, the main cause of climate change, and store an enormous amount of carbon. The region contains 10-15% of the world’s fresh water reserves and an extremely rich diversity of plants and animals, most of which are unique to this region. Most importantly, the region is still largely inhabited by thriving indigenous communities, whose knowledge and skills are indispensable for proper conservation of the region and a great asset to world culture.

The region as a whole is still mostly intact, but threats, both from the outside and from the inside, are mounting. Oil palm plantations, coca fields and foreign logging companies are moving towards or into the Guiana Shield, the road infrastructure through and inside the Shield is being expanded and there is an urgent need to control the major inside threat: gold mining, with its many environmentally and socially disruptive effects. Therefore, international and regional agencies must cooperate to cope with these threats and to provide the countries and their populations with appealing, sustainable alternatives.

This is exactly what the Guiana Shield Initiative, officially launched in 1996 by IUCN NL, aims to do. One of the main features is setting up financial mechanisms that reward and compensate inhabitants and governments for the conservation of the ecology of the Guiana Shield.

In addition to payments for ecosystem services regarding climate, biodiversity, and watershed management, the Guiana Shield Initiative will promote that income is generated through market-oriented activities such as eco-tourism, sustainable timber harvesting or Non-Timber Forest Products. An innovative monitoring system will verify whether participants live up to the agreements. During GSI - Phase II, which is mainly funded by the European Union, pilot sites will serve as a testing ground to find out how these financial mechanisms can be implemented and replicated throughout the entire Guiana Shield Eco-Region.

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