At CI, we know that healthy ecosystems are an essential foundation for thriving economies. We provide innovative tools and knowledge to help governments, companies and communities make decisions that will benefit humanity now and for generations to come.
What
Guyana: Resilient and One (GRO) is a programme to advance Guyana’s sustainable economy through investments in education, research, sustainable management and conservation of the country’s vast ecosystems.
Why
Whether you work on a farm, in a factory or in an office, your livelihood depends on nature. So we need to ensure that nature is taken care of so that it can take care of us. This project will focus on building human capital whilst maintaining natural capital, especially in areas that are increasingly vulnerable to climate change impacts.
How
GRO partners will deliver the training, research and retention programmes to ensure that economic growth reinforces Guyana’s environmental development goals while, at the same time, expanding conservation areas in the Rupununi Wetlands, aid mangrove restoration and management and support improvements to community-based fishing on Guyana’s coast.
What we are doing
GRO will invest in people and nature with the ultimate goal of green jobs and livelihood creation for a diversified economy that ensures economic growth while progressing Guyana’s environmental and development goals.
The project currently has two main components:
Component One: Strategic Capacity Building for a Future Diversified Economy to Progress Guyana’s Environmental Development Goals.
This component focuses on education and training programmes that will influence the next generation of Guyanese business, government and civil society leaders. The University of Guyana will work closely with Arizona State University and other partners to develop new and enhance the existing curricula to provide diverse, robust and internationally accredited options for tertiary education to the people of Guyana.
Component 2. Investing in Natural Heritage
This component involves investments to maintain Guyana’s unique natural heritage, with a special focus on the Rupununi Wetlands, coastal mangroves, near-coastal fisheries and opportunities around the government’s commitment to establish an additional 2M ha of Protected Areas.
Our Partners
GRO is a collaboration established between Conservation International (CI), Arizona State University and the University of Guyana (UG) and is funded through a grant agreement between the ExxonMobil Foundation and CI.