The Kawe Amazonica Butterfly Farm project for promoting sustainable community-based livelihoods in Guyana through butterfly production takes a multi-disciplinary approach to conserving local biodiversity, increasing local community education levels and improving local community employment opportunities.
The project promotes sustainable utilization of the natural resources for communities’ socioeconomic development and supports local people’s desire to keep their natural environment intact. Many aspects of the result of this project are yet to be observed as the farm is fairly new. Still, the farm and the project that led to the establishment of it offers valuable information regarding developing a sustainable venture in tropical rainforest, and is a good example of community economic development that other parts of the world can learn from.
Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFP)
The venture highlights as well as to add to the knowledge of the importance of Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFP) in sustainable development. In forested environments, traditional development models promoted tree harvesting for economic expansion. Logging not only reduces natural vegetation but also disturbs natural habitats. Keeping ecosystems intact by minimizing disturbance to native vegetation is essential for conservation. Furthermore, the promotion of NWFP will result in preservation of the forest in the immediate future, preventing illegal logging and mining and thus helping to put the brakes on climate change. As the Kawe Amazonica Butterfly Farm shows, it is possible to create a market that supports both conservation and reduction of poverty.
The project through Darwin initiative that established the Kawe Amazonica Butterfly Farm contributed in furthering the knowledge on butterflies and provided the baseline on butterfly biodiversity in the region. This will contribute to further developing the similar business in the area with similar environment.
Community-based management models
One of the goals of this project that had successfully been met was to “share the benefits of biological diversity fairly and equitably”. This sustainable butterfly business is run by the local communities, for the local communities. This project had become a good example and contributed for promotion of knowledge in community-based management models that provides direction in other projects that involve sustainability and eco-tourism. In a eco-tourism conference, a community leader of Amerindian, Sydney Allicock , was introduced expressing the importance of supporting both scientific and local understanding. The Kawe Amazonica Butterfly Farm demonstrates the significance of indigenous and other local communities as well as effectiveness of the collaboration in management of sustainable ventures.
Eco-tourism
The Kawe Amazonica Butterfly Farm also contributes to the promotion of eco-tourism. It not only is more environment friendly than traditional form of tourism, but also brings the economic welfare to the community, and demonstrates the importance of sustainable business and the involvement of local people. Ecotourism is viewed as an environmentally friendly way of utilizing the natural environment as stakeholders involved have an incentive for taking care of the environment in that it is essential for the success of their enterprise. Another important element in ecotourism is the consideration of the cultural sustainability and well being of indigenous communities in the various locations. For many indigenous peoples, controlled ecotourism is seen as a way of achieving cultural, political, environmental and economic sustainability for the community. Guyana still have its challenges in developing eco-tourism;