Sustainable, community-based Aquarium Fish

business, Iwokrama Forest – Guyana

Objectives and Goals• Develop a sustainable aquarium fish

business in the North Rupununi as a NTFP and an alternative to tropical deforestation

• Develop a multi-stakeholder management plan and work toward developing regulatory structures that ensure the ecological, social, and cultural sustainability of the aquarium fish trade

• Build stakeholder capacity and awareness of the potential for the trade to contribute to development and conservation in the North Rupununi

Experience Gained: Ecological Sustainability

Catch Per Unit EffortHolding and Health Protocols for

selective key aquarium fish speciesHabitat and distribution and abundance

of key aquarium speciesMigration and breeding behavior of key

aquarium fish species

Experience Gained:Cultural Sustainability

Custom and belief Local community involvement

Decision Making ProcessTrust

Partnership

Experience Gained: Socio-Economic Sustainability

Alternative source of incomeHarvesters expectations

Cultural ShockBusiness Management

$$$ Matters