• Extensive tracts of some of the most pristine tropical forest on earth remain within the Guayana Region (south of the Orinoco River). Forests here contain well over half of recorded mammal and bird species found in Venezuela (a country which stands out globally for the biodiversity it harbors).

• With the exception of illegal mining and limited logging, most of the forests of the Guayana region have yet to be subject to timber and mineral exploitation. However, poorly planned and regulated development poses an increasing threat, particularly in the east and along the northern edge of the forest frontier. For example:
• The Imataca forest reserve is subject to conflicting land use interests, with agricultural, mining and indigenous settlements located within and around overlapping logging and mining concessions.
• While industrial-scale mining is still mostly exploratory, Venezuela lacks the necessary regulatory and institutional framework to ensure that responsible mining takes place. Mining concessions records are out of date and do not accurately reflect the companies holding interests in Venezuela. There are no reclamation standards for mine closure nor are environmental performance bonds required.
• One fifth of mining companies with concessions in the Guayana region operate through holding companies headquartered in the Caribbean, making it potentially difficult to seize corporate assets if an accident were to occur.
• Close to half of logging concessions fail to fully comply with regulations regarding local processing of wood, and a fifth are under investigation for failing to comply with management plans.

• Venezuela protects a far greater portion of its forests than the global average, with between one fifth to one third protected for conservation purposes (the global average is less then a tenth of all forest strictly or moderately protected). However, the protected status of close to half of forests in the Guyana region is unclear, with about 4 million hectares of strictly protected forest also zoned for extractive use.

• Although endowed with rich forest resources, limited public information exists on the status of Venezuela's forest resources, and how these are managed. For example, forest cover extent is unknown (published statistics vary by as much as 8 million hectares).