Guyana formerly British Guiana

Guyana, officially the Co‑operative Republic of Guyana, isa country on the northern mainland of South America and the capital city isGeorgetown. It is part of the mainland Caribbean region maintaining its strongcultural, historical, and political ties with other Caribbean countriesand the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Guyana isbordered by the AtlanticOcean to the north, Brazil to the south andsouthwest, Venezuela tothe west, and Suriname tothe east. With 215,000 square kilometres (83,000 sq mi), Guyana isthe third-smallest sovereignstate by area in mainland South America after Uruguay and Suriname; it isalso the second-least populoussovereign state in South America after Suriname.

The region known as "the Guianas" consists of the largeshield landmass north of the AmazonRiver and east of the Orinoco River known as the "land ofmany waters". There are nine indigenous tribesresiding in Guyana: the WaiWai, Macushi, Patamona, Lokono, Kalina, Wapishana, Pemon, Akawaio and Warao.Historically dominated by the Lokono and Kalina tribes, Guyana was colonised bythe Dutch before coming under British control in the late 18th century.It was governed as BritishGuiana, with a mostly plantation-style economy until the 1950s. Itgained independence in 1966, and officially became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations in 1970. The legacyof British rule is reflected in the country's political administration anddiverse population, which includes Indian, African, Amerindian, Chinese, Portuguese, otherEuropean, and various multiracial groups. In 2017, 41% of the populationof Guyana lived below the poverty line.^[11]

Guyana is the only South American nation in which English is theofficial language. The majority of the population, however, speak GuyaneseCreole, an English-based creole language, as afirst language. Guyana is part of the Anglophone Caribbean. CARICOM headquarters isin Guyana's capital and largest city, Georgetown. In 2008, the country joinedthe Union of South American Nations asa founding member.

The name "Guyana" derivesfrom Guiana, the original name for the region that formerlyincluded Guyana (British Guiana), Suriname (Dutch Guiana), French Guiana, and parts of Colombia, Venezuelaand Brazil. According to the OxfordEnglish Dictionary,"Guyana" comes from an indigenous Amerindian language and means"land of many waters".

There are nine indigenous tribes residing in Guyana: the WaiWai, Macushi, Patamona, Lokono, Kalina, Wapishana, Pemon, Akawaio and Warao. Historically,the Lokono and Kalina tribes dominated Guyana. Although Christopher Columbus was the first European to sight Guyana during histhird voyage (in 1498), and Sir Walter Raleigh wrotean account in 1596, the Dutch werethe first Europeans to establish colonies: Pomeroon (1581), Essequibo (1616), Berbice (1627),and Demerara (1752). After the British assumed control in 1796, the Dutch formallyceded the area in 1814. In 1831 the three separate colonies became a singleBritish colony known as British Guiana.

Since its independence in 1824, Venezuelahas claimed the area of land to the west of the Essequibo River. Simón Bolívar wrote to the British government warning against theBerbice and Demerara settlers settling on land which the Venezuelans, asassumed heirs of Spanish claims on the area dating to the sixteenth century,claimed was theirs. In 1899 an international tribunal ruled the land belongedto Great Britain.^[16] TheBritish territorial claim stemmed from Dutch involvement and colonization ofthe area also dating to the sixteenth century, which was ceded to the British.

Guyana achieved independence from theUnited Kingdom as a dominion on 26 May 1966 and became a republic on 23February 1970, remaining a member of the Commonwealth. Shortly afterindependence, Venezuela began to take diplomatic, economic and militaryaction against Guyana in order to enforce its territorial claim to the Guayana Esequiba.^[17] The US StateDepartment and the US CentralIntelligence Agency (CIA), along withthe British government, also played a strong role in influencing politicalcontrol in Guyana during this time.^[18] TheAmerican government supported Forbes Burnham duringthe early years of independence because Cheddi Jagan was identified as a Marxist. Theyprovided secret financial support and political campaign advice toBurnham's People'sNational Congress, to the detriment ofthe Jagan-led People'sProgressive Party, which was mostlysupported by Guyanese of East Indian background.

In 1974, the Guyana government leased 1,500hectares (3,800 acres) of land to Peoples Temple, anAmerican new religious movement, led by pastor Jim Jones. Thesettlement, informally called "Jonestown",eventually grew to a population of about 1,000 people, mostly emigrated fromthe United States. In 1978, Guyana received worldwide attention when 909 peopledied in a mass murder/suicide in Jonestown by drinking cyanide-laced Flavor Aid. A dayprior, U.S. congressman Leo Ryan hadvisited and toured the settlement as part of an investigation. As he waspreparing to leave at the Port Kaituma airstrip,a group of Peoples Temple members pulled up and opened fire on the visitingdelegation, killing Ryan and four other people.

In May 2008, President Bharrat Jagdeo was a signatory tothe UNASURConstitutive Treaty of the Union ofSouth American Nations. The Guyanese government officially ratified the treatyin 2010.

The territory controlled by Guyana liesbetween latitudes 1° and 9°N, and longitudes 56° and 62°W, and is one of the world's most sparsely populatedcountries.

The country can be divided into fivenatural regions; a narrow and fertile marshy plain along the Atlantic coast(low coastal plain) where most of the population lives; a white sand belt moreinland (hilly sand and clay region), containing most of Guyana's mineraldeposits; the dense rain forests (ForestedHighland Region) in the southern part of the country; the drier savannah areasin the south-west; and the smallest interior lowlands (interior savannah)consisting mostly of mountains that gradually rise to the Brazilian border.

Some of Guyana's highest mountainsare Mount Ayanganna (2,042 metres or 6,699 feet), Monte Caburaí (1,465metres or 4,806 feet) and Mount Roraima (2,772metres or 9,094 feet – the highest mountain in Guyana) on theBrazil-Guyana-Venezuela tripoint border,part of the Pakaraima range.Mount Roraima and Guyana's table-top mountains (tepuis) are saidto have been the inspiration for Sir ArthurConan Doyle's 1912 novel TheLost World. There are also manyvolcanic escarpments and waterfalls, including Kaieteur Falls whichis believed to be the largest single-drop waterfall in the world.^[19] Northof the Rupununi River liesthe Rupununi savannah,south of which lie the Kanuku Mountains.

The four longest rivers are the Essequiboat 1,010 kilometres (628 mi) long, the Courentyne River at 724 kilometres(450 mi), the Berbice at 595kilometres (370 mi), and the Demerara at 346 kilometres (215 mi).The Courentyne river forms the border with Suriname. At the mouth of theEssequibo are several large islands, including the 145 km (90 mi)wide Shell Beach along the northwest coast, which is also a majorbreeding area for sea turtles (mainly leatherbacks) and other wildlife.

The local climate is tropical andgenerally hot and humid, though moderated by northeast trade winds alongthe coast. There are two rainy seasons, the first from May to mid-August, thesecond from mid-November to mid-January.

Guyana has one of the largestunspoiled rainforests in South America, some parts of which are almostinaccessible by humans. The rich natural history of Guyana was described byearly explorers Sir Walter Raleigh and Charles Waterton and later by naturalists Sir David Attenborough and Gerald Durrell. In2008, the BBC broadcasta three-part programme called Lost Land of the Jaguar whichhighlighted the huge diversity of wildlife, including undiscovered species andrare species such as the giant otter and harpy eagle.

In 2012, Guyana received a $45 millionreward from Norway for its rainforest protection efforts. This stems from a2009 agreement between the nations for a total of $250 million for protectingand maintaining the natural habitat. Thus far, the country has received $115million of the total grant.

Regions and Neighbourhood Councils

Guyana is divided into 10 regionsTheregions are divided into 27 neighbourhood councils.

Boundary disputes

Guyana is in border disputes with both Suriname, which claims the area east ofthe left bank of the Corentyne River andthe New River in southwestern Suriname, and Venezuela which claims the landwest of the Essequibo River, once the Dutch colony ofEssequibo as part of Venezuela's Guayana Essequiba.^{[23][24][25][26]} Themaritime^[27][28] componentof the territorial dispute with Suriname was arbitrated by the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea, and a ruling was announced on 21 September 2007. Theruling concerning the Caribbean Sea northof both nations found both parties violated treaty obligations and declined toorder any compensation to either party.^[29]

When the British surveyed British Guiana in1840, they included the entire Cuyuni River basin within the colony.Venezuela did not agree with this as it claimed all lands west of the EssequiboRiver. In 1898, at Venezuela's request, an international arbitration tribunal was convened, and in 1899 the tribunal issued anaward giving about 94% of the disputed territory to British Guiana. Thearbitration was concluded, settled and accepted into International law by bothVenezuela and the U.K. Venezuela brought up again the settled claim, during the1960s cold war period, and during Guyana's Independence period. This issue isnow governed by the Treaty of Geneva of 1966, which was signed by theGovernments of Guyana, Great Britain and Venezuela, and Venezuela continues toclaim GuayanaEsequiba.^[30] Venezuelacalls this region "Zona en Reclamación" (Reclamation Zone) andVenezuelan maps of the national territory routinely include it, drawing it inwith dashed lines.^[31]

Specific small disputed areas involvingGuyana are Ankoko Island withVenezuela; Corentyne River^[32] withSuriname; and Tigri Area or New River Triangle^[33] withSuriname. In 1967 a Surinamese survey team was found in the New River Triangleand was forcibly removed. In August 1969 a patrol of the Guyana Defence Force found a survey camp and a partially completedairstrip inside the triangle, and documented evidence of the Surinameseintention to occupy the entire disputed area. After an exchange of gunfire,the Surinamese were driven from the triangle.

Environment and biodiversity

The following habitats have beencategorised for Guyana: coastal, marine, littoral, estuarine palustrine,mangrove, riverine, lacustrine, swamp, savanna, white sand forest, brown sandforest, montane, cloud forest, moist lowland and dry evergreen scrub forests(NBAP, 1999). About 14 areas of biological interest have been identified aspossible hotspots for a National Protected Area System. More than 80% of Guyanais still covered by forests, those forest also contains the world'srarest orchids ranging from dry evergreen and seasonal forests tomontane and lowland evergreen rain forests. These forests are home to more thana thousand species of trees. Guyana's tropical climate, unique geology, andrelatively pristine ecosystems support extensive areas of species-rich rainforests and natural habitats with high levels of endemism.Approximately eight thousand species of plants occur in Guyana, half of whichare found nowhere else.

Guyana has one of the highest levelsof biodiversity in the world. With 1,168 vertebrate speciesand 814 bird species, it boasts one of the richest mammalian fauna assemblagesof any comparably sized area in the world. Guyana is home to sixecoregions: GuayananHighlands moist forests, Guianan moist forests, OrinocoDelta swamp forests, Tepuis, Guianan savanna, and Guianan mangroves.^[34] TheGuiana Shield region is little known and extremely rich biologically. Unlikeother areas of South America, over 70% of the natural habitat remains pristine.Guyana ranks third in the world with a 2019 ForestLandscape Integrity Index meanscore of 9.58/10.^[35]

The rich natural history of British Guianawas described by early explorers Sir Walter Raleigh and Charles Waterton andlater by naturalists Sir David Attenborough and Gerald Durrell.

In February 2004, the Government of Guyanaissued a title to more than 4,000 square kilometres (1×10⁶ acres)of land in the Konashen Indigenous District declaring this land as the KonashenCommunity-Owned Conservation Area (COCA), to be managed by the Wai Wai. In doingso Guyana created the world's largest Community-Owned Conservation Area.^[36]

This important event followed a requestmade by the Wai Wai community to the government of Guyana and ConservationInternational Guyana (CIG) for assistance in developing a sustainable plan fortheir lands in Konashen. The three parties signed a Memorandum of Cooperationwhich outlines a plan for sustainable use of the Konashen COCA's biologicalresources, identifies threats to the area's biodiversity, and helps developprojects to increase awareness of the COCA as well as generate the incomenecessary to maintain its protected status.

The Konashen Indigenous District ofSouthern Guyana houses the headwaters of the Essequibo River, Guyana'sprincipal water source, and drains the Kassikaityu, Kamoa, Sipu and Chodikarrivers. Southern Guyana is host to some of the most pristine expanses ofevergreen forests in the northern part of South America. Most of the forestsfound here are tall, evergreen hill-land and lower montane forests, with largeexpanses of flooded forest along major rivers. Thanks to the very low humanpopulation density of the area, most of these forests are still intact. TheSmithsonian Institution has identified nearly 2,700 species of plants from thisregion, representing 239 distinct families, and there are certainly additionalspecies still to be recorded.

The diversity of plants supports diverseanimal life, recently documented by a biological survey organised byConservation International. The reportedly clean, unpolluted waters of theEssequibo watershed support a remarkable diversity of fish and aquaticinvertebrates, and are home to giant otters, capybaras, andseveral species of caimans.

On land, large mammals, such as jaguars, tapirs, bush dogs, giant anteaters,and saki monkeys are still common. Over 400species of birds have been reported from the region, and the reptile andamphibian faunas are similarly rich. The Konashen COCA forests are also home tocountless species of insects, arachnids, and other invertebrates, many of whichare still undiscovered or unnamed.

The Konashen COCA contains a high level ofbiological diversity and richness that remains in nearly pristine condition;such places have become rare on earth. This fact has given rise to variousnon-exploitative, environmentally sustainable industries such as ecotourism,successfully capitalising on the biological wealth of the Konashen COCA withcomparatively little enduring impact.

 Landmarks

·       St George'sAnglican Cathedral: A historic AnglicanCathedral made of wood.

·       DemeraraHarbour Bridge: The world'sfourth-longest floating bridge.

·       Berbice Bridge: Theworld's sixth-longest floating bridge.

·       CaribbeanCommunity (CARICOM) Building: Houses theheadquarters of the largest and most powerful economic union in the Caribbean.

·       Providence Stadium: Situated on Providence on the north bank of theDemerara River and built in time for the ICC World Cup 2007, it is the largestsports stadium in the country. It is also near the Providence Mall, forming amajor spot for leisure in Guyana.

·       Arthur Chung ConferenceCentre:^[37] Presentedas a gift from the People's Republic of China to the Government of Guyana. Itis the only one of its kind in the country.

·       Stabroek Market: Alarge cast-iron colonial structure that looked like a statue was located nextto the Demerara River.

·       City Hall: A beautiful wooden structure also from the colonialera.

·       Takutu River Bridge: A bridge across the Takutu River, connecting Lethem inGuyana to Bonfim in Brazil.^[38]

·       Umana Yana: AnAmerindian benab, that is a national monument built in 1972, for a meeting ofthe Foreign Ministers of the Non-Aligned nations (It was rebuilt in 2016).

·       Shell Beach: Approximately 140 km long beach. In some partsbeach consists of pure shells, very high biological diversity. Importantnesting site for 8 species of sea turtles.