Dr. Lesley de Souza, a research biologist at John G. Shedd Aquarium, writes from Guyana, where she studies the region’s rich aquatic wildlife, including the arapaima, one of the largest freshwater fishes in the world. Feb. 2, 2013  The candle flame flickered as a slight breeze moved through the benab, a thatched roof hut, causing Rudy Edward’s illuminated face to fade in and out of sight. We were gathered around a wooden table listening as he recounted stories of a time when “there were no signs of turtles, birds flying overhead or arapaima rolling.”  A decade ago, the Rewa River was a very different place. Arapaima were illegally hunted and killed. A local delicacy prized for their boneless, meaty fillets, the fish were already endangered. Rudy, one of the top hunters and fishermen in the village, admitted that harvesting local wildlife was the main source of income for him and many families until a conservation workshop transformed him.  He attended the meetings not realizing they were for conservation and confesses that he did not even know what the word conservation meant. Never before had he realized that he was directly having an effect on natural resources. He imagined how it would be if his children never saw an arapaima or some of the other wildlife he harvested and was dismayed. After the workshop, he continued to participate in groups working with conservation and began taking the message back to his village.  “The challenges were great,” he told me. “It was difficult to change their way of thinking and living, in regards to harvesting wildlife, especially as it was a main source of income for many families.” Slowly change became evident. Commercial harvesting was banned in the village and new generations were growing up with the message of the importance of preserving their natural resources.  Today the Rewa River drainage has the highest densities of arapaima populations in all of Guyana, making it the best site for my research.  My crew’s knowledge of arapaima and their behavior, originally gained from hunting animals, is now a vital part of the research that could protect these areas. I attribute the successes of the surgeries to their keen perception and swift action. They guide like hunters and know every contour of the river channel and the arapaima’s preferred habitat. They seem to have a nuanced understanding of the fish’s movement. Rudy even spoke of arapaima behavior in ways I had never seen documented in scientific literature.  Rewa villagers have told me that getting involved in research offers them an opportunity to be directly involved in conserving their resources. Additionally, Rewa villagers have established an Eco-Lodge where the flora, fauna and cultural heritage are the main attraction. Here, the level of tourism is on a small scale. But ecotourism in Rewa is still providing a direct benefit to the community by increasing awareness of its incredible biodiversity and generating a sustainable stream of revenue for its people.  Conservation is occurring at the local level, but in order to continue to protect arapaima the message must expand to the regional and national level. It is critical to have good science to inform governing officials about the proper management of natural resources. For now, good science involves swimming in murky waters wrestling fish as long as I am tall, amid the plethora of other incredible creatures that make Rewa among the wildest places on earth.  The flickering flame is finally extinguished as the candle has melted completely onto the table. Silence envelopes the air as we acknowledge the end of the evening. My eyes adjust to the darkness and I see a shimmer of the flowing river reflecting the stars above; a place so wild that stars illuminate a moonless night.
In Guyana, a place that was once denuded regains some of its former wildness &#8212; with the help of some who used to strip it.