What is under threat
The Venezuelan Guyana Shield is an ancient
geological region sweeping across south-eastern
Venezuela (the Bolivar State), Guyana and
northern Brasil. It contains unique and diverse
ecosystems - table top mountains, savannah,
dense tropical rainforest, flooded forest and
wetlands. Clouds blown over from the Atlantic
shed their load as they meet the higher ground of
the shield. The rains feed the immense watersheds
of the Orinoco basin to the north and the Amazon
to the south, spawning hundreds of waterfalls and rivers. The region is characterised by
towering flat topped mountains. Each mountain or tepuy harbours thousands of endemic
species. Some of these rock formations are considered the oldest on the planet.
However this is a fragile landscape as the topsoil throughout most of the region is barely
a metre deep, leaving vegetation susceptible to human interference.
Because of its natural beauty and biodiversity, the region has been designated state
protection as Canaima National Park, containing the Great Savannah and table top
mountains and Imataca Forest Reserve, an area
of dense tropical rainforest. The park was estab-lished
in 1962 and extends over 30.000km2.
Beyond its beauty and biodiversity, its protection
is essential to safeguard the watershed functions
of its river basins. In recognition of its extra-ordinary
scenery and geological and biological
values, in 1994 the park was conceded World
Heritage Status, forming one of a select list of
126 natural and natural-cultural World Heritage
Sites world-wide.
Archaeological sites to the north have unearthed finds proving
human occupation of the region almost 9,000 years ago.
Presently the Savannah is home to Indians of Carib descent,
the Pemon, who are thought to have migrated to the region
possibly six hundred years ago. This more recent colonisation
of the Great Savannah is a thought to be a function of its poor
soils. The total Pemon population is estimated at 20,000,
three quarters living within the boundaries of the Canaima National Park. As with the
majority of the other indigenous peoples of Venezuela, they have no official recognition
their land rights.