Land of Many Waters

Guyana’s rainforest remains largely untouched by deforestation and Guyana’s contribution to global carbon emissions is negligible. The rainforests are a biodiversity hotspot and carbon sink of global importance, and their preservation is essential to limiting global heating. 

Even in paradise though, the climate is changing rapidly. Sea levels are rising faster than the global average and the record for the hottest year has been broken multiple times in the last 5 years. Total rainfall has fallen, while the frequency of extreme weather events has increased. 

Joshua Lammy is a 17-year-old with Guyanese-British heritage. He has been visiting family in Guyana, and specifically the remote rainforest and the Amerindian community of RiversView, Essequibo River, since childhood. Through his lens, as a young person with dual heritage, Joshua has created a short film about the weather in the Guyanese rainforest, which focuses on the changing experience of its Amerindian custodians. Despite tree cover being virtually unchanged since a young David Attenborough visited in the 1950s, the impact of global heating on Amerindian lives is profound. Malena Pollard the Toashao (Amerindian leader) and other locals, Desmond Braithewaite, Newton & Rodwell Mackey speak to Joshua about floods, lost crops and failing fruit trees.Their experiences lay bare the devastating impact global heating is already having on traditional ways of life. 

“I have grown up in North London where half of my age group is very passionate about solving climate change, and the other half don’t care about it at all. This probably reflects the world at large. I wanted to make this film to raise awareness of the Guyanese Rainforest, and help people think about the impact it has on the world. Most people I speak to about Guyana don’t know it’s a country, or they think I’m talking about Ghana. They certainly don’t know it holds the largest in-tact rainforest left on earth, and that it is the world’s carbon fridge. If we lose it my generation will really suffer. I want to help people realise this is a story of hope - we still have a chance to keep it just as it is!” 

“Amerindian people don’t deserve to be displaced or lose their way of life as a consequence of damage caused by others. They have protected and cared for the rainforest for over 5000 years, and, for as long as power is vested in them, they will continue to do so. They will play their role in the fight to limit global heating, and we need to play ours.”
Joshua Lammy, 2023 

Filmed and Directed by: Joshua Lammy
Assisted by: Nicola Green

Music & Sound Design: Peter Adjaye

With assistance from:
Francis Banfield-Nwachi,  Maurice Lange & Audra Noble 

With special thanks to:
Desmond Braithewaite, Field Guide
Rodwell Mackey, Deputy Site Manager
Malena Pollard, Toshao (Village Council Leader)
Newton, Small-holding Farmer 
Sophia Point Rainforest Research Centre

Michael Morris & ArtAngel
Sir David Attenborough & BBC Zoo Quest to Guiana (1955)

Commissioned by Sophia Point Rainforest Centre.

Find out more about the Guiana Shield weather station here.