Guyanese, Brazilian arrested for illegal mining in Iwokrama forest

Two Guyanese and a Brazilian have been arrested for illegally mining within the Iwokrama International Centre’s protected forest area.
The arrest was carried out through the efforts of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, along with the Guyana Police Force and support from the Natural Resources Ministry.
This collaborative mission saw several persons being arrested on February 23.
These illegal miners included a Brazilian national with family ties to a nearby community, who has a long history of illegal incursions in the Iwokrama forest, along with two other Guyanese—from the Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and Paramakatoi Village, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni)
Iwokrama and the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB) have since strongly condemned these illegal operations in the Iwokrama Forest.
The two entities have undertaken to ensure that members of the communities understand that gold mining is illegal in the Iwokrama Forest and that supplying these illegal operations with materials and supplies is also illegal.

In fact, the two entities are working together on a comprehensive monitoring program that will include communication and reporting mechanisms, enabling them to report any suspicious activities in and around their communities and the Iwokrama Forest.
Meanwhile, Iwokrama and NRDDB said on Tuesday that they are grateful for the Government of Guyana’s support in eradicating this major problem and will continue to engage with and support the Government in their efforts to curb this activity.
In a statement on Tuesday, Iwokrama International Centre said that it “would like to once again remind the public that gold mining activities are absolutely not allowed in the Iwokrama Forest. Furthermore, such illegal activities are a threat to the Centre’s international certification and to Guyana’s forest management system as a whole, and will not be tolerated. Iwokrama reserves the right to publish the names and photographs of persons found conducting illegal gold mining activities in the protected area.”

Iwokrama, over the past years, has been besieged by illegal gold mining in the Siparuni area and has issued stern warnings that such intrusions will be forcefully dealt with. Several enforcement activities led by Government’s regulatory agencies have been undertaken to curb these illegal activities, which saw 14 persons arrested in 2024.
Community leaders associated with Iwokrama have also strongly condemned local community members’ involvement in illegal gold mining within Iwokrama and signed a joint communiqué in October 2024.
The Iwokrama International Centre (IIC) was established in 1996 under a joint mandate from the Government of Guyana and the Commonwealth Secretariat to manage the Iwokrama forest, a unique reserve of 371,000 hectares of rainforest “in a manner that will lead to lasting ecological, economic, and social benefits to the people of Guyana and to the world in general.”