The Kanashen (or Konashen) Community Owned Conservation (COCA)[3] is Guyana's first community-owned area that is legally protected; it is primarily inhabited by the Wai-Wai indigenous group.

Three globally threatened species inhabit the COCA: the Giant Armadillo (Priodontes maximus), one of the Harlequin Toads (Atelopus spumarius) and the Brazilian Tapir (tapirus terrestris).

The Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), jaguars (Panthera onca), labba (Agouti paca), peccary (Tayassu spp.)

Some of the birds present in the COCA are the Screaming Piha (Lipaugus vociferans), White-tailed Trogon (Trogon viridis), Painted Parakeet (Pyrrhura picta), Golden-headed Manakin (Pipra erythrocephala), several species of parrots and macaw including the Scarlet (Ara macao), Red Shouldered (Diopsittaca nobilis) and Blue and Yellow (Ara ararauna) Macaws, and species of antbirds (Thamnophilidae) and toucans (Ramphastidae).

The pristine state of the area is due to the extremely low population density (about 0.032 humans/km2) and the difficult terrain, which negatively affects accessibility and the economic viability of potential extractive industries.

It was established in January 2000 when flooding forced the community to move from its previous location at Akotopono, six kilometers northeast of Masakenari.

For instance, hunters do not eat of their own kill because of the Wai-Wai traditional belief that some plants and animals carry the spirit of their hunter/gatherer.

The practice of barter is widely used within the community, although there is a gradual transition to a cash economy in order to purchase items for household use such as clothing, cooking utensils, wares, and certain foodstuffs from businesses outside the village.

Seasonal migration occurs frequently, primarily in the form of men leaving the village to work as laborers in other parts of Guyana or in Brazil.

A large number of households have family members, especially children and siblings, living permanently outside the community in order to obtain employment or to attend secondary school or other educational programs.

Households can and do occasionally supplement their income through craftmaking, sewing, wildlife trading, mining, and the sale of agricultural products such as farine (a staple food made from cassava) and salted fish.