Kaieteur National Park
Kaieteur Falls in the Kaieteur National Park
LocationPotaro-Siparuni Region of Guyana
Coordinates5°13′N 59°25′W / 5.217°N 59.417°W / 5.217; -59.417
Area242 sq mi (630 km2)
Established1929
Governing bodyProtected Areas Trust
An Anomaloglossus beebei frog in the Kaieteur National Park

Kaieteur National Park is a national park located in the Potaro-Siparuni Region of Guyana. The Park's boundaries and purpose are defined in the Kaieteur National Park Act, and was created to preserve the natural scenery (including Kaieteur Falls), and its fauna and flora. There are organisms that are unique to this park and cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Of these organisms include the Anomaloglossus beebei, which is a frog that only inhabits the Brocchinia micrantha within this park and no where else in the world. The Act is administered by the Kaieteur National Park Commission.

It is usually considered the country's only national park,[1][2] as the capital's National Park is a not a wilderness reserve.

The top tourist attraction in the park is the Kaieteur Falls, considered the largest single drop waterfall based on the volume of water.[3]

Orinduik Falls is a series of cascading waterfalls in the National Park. There is a swimming hole at these falls that is commonly used by tourists.[3]

The park is in the Guianan moist forests ecoregion.[4] It is served by Kaieteur International Airport, which is at Kaieteur Falls.

There are a number of small tribes of Amerindian people, those that have lived in the Amazon forest for thousands of years.[3]

Boundaries

Original boundaries: Commencing at a point on the left bank of the Potaro River, 200 feet (61 m) below the Tukeit Rest House Compound, then along the trail to the Korume Creek, then up the Korume Creek to its source, then to and including Menzies landing on the left bank of the Potaro River, then across the Potaro River to its right bank, then inland for a 0.25 miles (400 m), then downwards and parallel to the right bank of the Potaro River to an unnamed tributary about 300 feet (91 m) below the foot of Tukeit Falls, then down the left bank of that tributary to the Potaro River, then to the point of origin.

In 1999 the park's area was increased from 5 square miles (10 km2) to 242 square miles (630 km2) by a Presidential Order.

Mining

In 2017, two dozen villagers from the Chenapau community were arrested for illegal mining within the Kaieteur National Park boundaries but were later released without any charges.[5]

In November of 2023, villagers were again accused of illegal mining within the park boundaries, which led to a protest by the villagers voicing their need to mine as a main source of income. The Chief Warden and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) ordered the protesters to leave or face consequences. The villagers claimed to be mining in a buffer zone that was marked as land to be used for mining in accordance with the Amerindian Act.[5]

Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat claimed that the GGMC will help the villagers find another area to mine that does not include boundaries within the National Park.[5]

References

  1. ↑ BBC Wildlife Magazine. Vol. 26. BBC. 2008. p. 86. It is also Guyana's only national park
  2. ↑ Global Biodiversity. Vol. 3–4. The Museum. 1993. pp. 10–11. Kaieteur National Park remains the only national park and the only legally protected biological area in Guyana.
  3. 1 2 3 "Kaieteur National Park". national-parks.org. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  4. ↑ Schipper, Jan; Teunissen, Pieter; Lim, Burton, Northern South America: Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, northern Brazil, and eastern Venezuela (NT0125), retrieved 2017-04-03
  5. 1 2 3 News, Stabroek (2023-11-20). "Chenapau villagers to be allocated other mining areas". Stabroek News. Retrieved 2023-12-11. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
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