WWF calls on Guyanese to observe Earth Hour tonight

…local activities to focus on “Give the Jaguar a Voice”

Today at 20:30h WWF’s Earth Hour calls on individuals, communities, and businesses in over 190 countries and territories to switch off their lights and give an hour for earth, spending 60 minutes doing something positive for the planet. WWF and partners have committed to turning a single Earth Hour into thousands and millions of hours of action and awareness through the world’s largest grassroots environmental campaign, shining an unmissable global spotlight on the twin perils of nature loss and climate change.

Earth Hour in Guyana
In Guyana, Earth Hour events and activities will focus on protecting Guyana’s national animal, the jaguar. In a release, the WWF said that this year’s main activity is the lights-off event slated to be held at the National Park.
The event will bring together various organisations from civil society, NGOs and businesses, with a common objective to raise awareness about the key role of jaguars and provide much-needed education about what is happening with jaguars in Guyana. It added that Earth Hour is one of the only platforms for achieving massive reach, uniting people, and helping Guyanese maintain a positive attitude towards nature.
Additionally, for Earth Hour 2023, WWF will advocate for strengthening national commitment towards species conservation by encouraging the Government to sign onto the Jaguar Roadmap 2030 initiative, which aligns Guyana with the rest of its Latin American neighbours.
According to WWF, the conservation of jaguar habitats is fundamental for the livelihood, and cultural continuity of the people of Guyana.
“The jaguar symbolises our strength as a nation and is a key feature of our national pride. As outlined in the Jaguar Roadmap 2030, conserving the jaguar’s habitat and linking jaguar corridors will significantly contribute to Guyana’s development as it is inextricably linked to Guyana’s national sustainable development agendas stated in the LCDS 2030. The jaguar’s presence indicates the health of the ecosystems it lives in since the jaguar thrives in rich tropical forests, mountain ranges, and wetlands,” WWF said in a release.
The lights-off event in Guyana is supported by the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry, ANSA McAL, A&R Jiwanram Printery, and Teleperformance Guyana. WWF has also partnered with Guyana Youth and Environment Network; Protected Areas Commission; the Environmental Protection Agency; Policy Forum Guyana; Guyana Tourism Authority; Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission; Hyde Park Zoo Sanctuary and Tropical Gardens Inc; Guyana Marine Conservation Society, and Sustainable Wildlife Management.

Jaguar Roadmap 2030
The Jaguar Roadmap 2030 initiative aims to mitigate human-jaguar conflict, connect and protect their habitats, stimulate sustainable development opportunities, and support the well-being of communities, particularly our Indigenous peoples who coexist with jaguars. It focuses on strengthening the jaguar corridor, ensuring the connectivity of 30 priority landscapes to guarantee free movement and long-term survival.
The roadmap was launched in 2018 and is designed to work at the national, regional and transnational levels, and is supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Panthera and Wildlife Conservation Society.
WWF said that it has been working on jaguar conservation for more than a decade across the Guianas, carrying out activities that include monitoring populations and their prey to understand population trends and the ecology of the species. Additionally, it has raised awareness and promoted practices that reduce the human-jaguar conflict.