The Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development (Iwokrama) has been recognized by FAO’s Global Technical Recognition awards for its work in sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation research and practices at the FAO awards ceremony in Rome, Italy on 15th October 2025.
This is testament to the Centre’s 35 + years of work in sustainable forest management covering areas such as sustainable livelihoods, research and science, forest business development and conservation and monitoring.
Iwokrama’s CEO, Dane Gobin, noted that “the Centre is proud to have received this accolade for Guyana for its work in sustainable forest management practices and I thank the FAO for this recognition.” He continued that “the Centre is considered as one of the leading institutions of its kind in the countries of the Commonwealth where theory and practice of sustainable forest management activities can be explored in one location – the Iwokrama Forest”. “The Centre’s work aligns and supports the Government of Guyana’s innovative Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030”.
This recognition is timely as the Centre is currently undergoing its Annual Forest Certification Surveillance Audit of the Iwokrama Forest.
Dr Raquel Thomas, Director of Resource Management and Training also emphasised that “this achievement celebrates decades of impactful capacity building in practical protected area management which includes the recognition of traditional ecological knowledge working together with western styled science to produce the best results for successful forest management”.
Anne-Marie Ford, Head of the Certification team stated, “This award celebrates not just our achievements, but our dedication to sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation and the collective efforts of our partners including communities who make it all possible”.
Kenneth Rodney, Iwokrama’s Forest Manager stated, “This award recognizes the diligent work of the Iwokrama team. It is a fantastic team achievement”.
The Centre said it is grateful to the Government of Guyana for their valuable ongoing support to the Centre.
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