Guiana Shield is equally rich and 13,367 species of vascular plants have been found, approximately 40% of which is considered endemic. The shield is overlain by the largest expanse of tropical forest on any Precambrian shield area in the world. Guianan rain forest is similar in nature to Amazonian rain forest and known protected areas include the Iwokrama Forest of central Guyana, Kaieteur, Kanuku National Park of southern Guyana, the UNESCO World Heritage Site Central Suriname Nature Reserve of Suriname, the Guiana Amazonian Park in French Guiana and the Tumucumaque National Park in the Amapá State of Brazil. In Venezuela the forests
East-West Link (Suriname) by Pitou van Dijk, the Linden-Paramaribo section has only secondary priority with IIRSA at the moment. The East-West Link has a ferry connection with Guyana on the western side since 1998, connecting South Drain with Moleson Creek. In the east there has been a ferry between Albina and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni in French Guiana since 1969. Within the framework of the IIRSA, the Suriname Planning Bureau has done some studies on the incorporation of the East-West Link in the Pan-American Highway. Suriname has been part of the Pan-American Highway project since 1982. Apart from the reconstruction of the East West Link as