What is "kanashen"

The Kanashen (or Konashen) Community Owned Conservation (COCA) is Guyana’s first community-owned area that is legally protected; it is primarily inhabited by the Wai-Wai indigenous group.

Kanashen houses the headwaters of the Essequibo River, Guyana’s principal water source, and encompasses the southern portion of its watershed, which drains the Kassikaityu, Kamoa, Sipu and Chodikar rivers. The main mountains are the Wassarai, Yahore, Komoa and Kaiawakua, with elevations up to about 1200 metres above sea level. Except for its flora, the biology of the Kanashen district is relatively unstudied. Botanically, the area has many species found only in the area and is covered by four general vegetation types, which have remained almost completely intact. The main vegetation types are tall evergreen highland forest and tall/medium evergreen lower montane forest. There are also small areas of tall evergreen flooded riparian forest and lowland shrub savanna. Species such as Manyokinaballi (Geissospermum spp.) and Kakaralli ( Eschweilera) are the most common of the 192 species recorded. The area also contains important fauna such as giant river otters ( Pteronura brasiliensis), the cock of the rock ( Rupicola rupicola), the giant harpy eagle ( Harpia harpyja) and other animals that support the livelihood of the Wais-Wais. Three globally threatened species inhabit the COCA: the Giant Armadillo ( Priodontes maximus), one of the Harlequin Toads (Atelopus spumarius) and the Brazilian Tapir ( tapirus terrestris). The Giant Anteater ( Myrmecophaga tridactyla), jaguars ( Panthera onca), labba ( Agouti paca), peccary ( Tayassu spp.) and forest deer ( Mazama spp.) are also known to occur in the area. Results of community-based bird surveys at three sites recorded 117 species, approximately 16% of the total number of species recorded in Guyana. This number was increased by an additional 100 species identified during a rapid biological assessment study. Some of the birds present in the COCA are the Screaming Piha ( Lipaugus vociferans), White-tailed Trogon ( Trogon viridis), Painted Parakeet ( Pyrrhura picta), Golden-headed Manakin ( Pipra erythrocephala), several species of parrots and macaw including the Scarlet (Ara macao), Red Shouldered ( Diopsittaca nobilis) and Blue and Yellow ( Ara ararauna) Macaws, and species of antbirds ( Thamnophilidae) and toucans ( Ramphastidae).