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We live in a decade in which global warming and its effect on our environment is of growing concern. Many feel that our natural resources are diminishing too rapidly. Decreasing water supply and the potential extinction of indigenous plants and animals is prompting several countries to look at new and innovative measures to help combat global climate change.

In a new twist on going green, the country of Guyuna is gaining considerable notoriety as the result of a bold maneuver that is geared toward protecting its most valuable resource. So, if you're looking for an investment that is purely speculative but just might pay off in a big way in another ten years, consider investing in rainfall. A London based financial institution is doing just that. The Iwokrama International Centre has just brokered a deal that will lease its almost one million acres of rainforest for the purpose of capitalizing on the renewable resources of the ecosystem's rainfall. Canopy Capital, a new kid on the British investment block, will pay an undisclosed sum of money to the country of Guyana over a period of five years. These funds will be used to subsidize the inhabitants of Guyana's reserve area as well as finance experimental projects geared toward learning about and capitalizing on the renewable resources of the rainforest's ecosystem.

The Iwokrama Reserve is located in the heart of Guyana and is one of four rainforests that remains undamaged by deforestation. The annual rainfall that it produces provides most of the necessary irrigation for farming-centered communities in Northern Latin America and most of the Caribbean. The reserve is maintained by the Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development. This organization has been involved for over ten years in research and development that will lead to the preservation of its rainforest and the biodiversity that exists there. The Reserve enjoys a symbiotic relationship with its over seven thousand inhabitants who work for the reserve and are, in turn, supported by its activities. With the new agreement between Canopy Capital and the Iwokrama Reserve, the people of Guyana will further their efforts to protect their country's most valuable resource while securing the agricultural future of its Latin American neighbors.

This first ever economic venture involving the acquisition of rights to a country's ecosystem opens the door to the imagination. Its inceptors envision innovative approaches to not only preserving

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