1 Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

Working with People to 

Conserve Nature in the Americas

An Activities Report for the Wildlife Without Borders 

Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 2

Our regional 

programs facilitate 

sustainable, 

grassroots 

conservation 

emphasizing 

an increased 

in-country 

human capacity 

for long-term 

natural resource 

management.

Working with People to Conserve the Nature of our World

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established its Wildlife Without Borders Program 

to promote, facilitate, and support vital conservation efforts across the globe. With a 

focus on working with people, our program aims to conserve the planet’s rich diversity 

of wildlife for generations to come. 

Wildlife Without Borders (WWB) utilizes a three-pillared approach: Our species 

programs support projects which seek to stem the decline of at-risk wildlife and 

habitats. Our regional programs facilitate sustainable, grassroots conservation 

emphasizing an increased in-country human capacity for long-term natural resource 

management. Finally, our global programs target cross-cutting conservation issues, 

such as climate change and human-wildlife conflict, by working in close collaboration 

with key international partners. 

WWB regional programs currently focus on five geographic areas: Africa, China, Latin 

America and the Caribbean, Mexico, and Russia. This report specifically highlights 

the Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean 

(WWB-LAC), emphasizing fiscal years 2005-2010. 

The following pages provide a program overview, including project highlights which 

demonstrate how the Service and its partners are making a lasting impact in Latin 

America and the Caribbean. By informing, training, and empowering new generations 

of conservation leaders, the WWB-LAC program helps build in-country human and 

institutional capacity to effectively conserve natural resources for the benefit of the 

people of the Americas and the world.

 

Herb Raffaele, Ph.D.

Chief

Division of International Conservation

Wildlife Without Borders Program

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Megan Hill

Chief

Latin America and Caribbean Branch

Wildlife Without Borders Program

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Herb Raffaele (second 

from right) with the 

late USFWS Director, 

Sam Hamilton (third 

from right) and 

participants in the 

RESERVA training 

program in Mexico. 

DUMAC
1 Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

Table of Contents

Working with People to Conserve the Nature of Our World

Foreword 

 

Conservation Across the Americas 2 

Unlike Any Other Place on Earth 2

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s International Commitment 2

Working with People to Conserve Nature 3

Fueling Vital Conservation Efforts 5 

A Proven Track Record 5

Focusing on the Greatest Need 5

Funding History 8

Looking to the Future 8

 

On the Ground Successes 9 

Caribbean 9 

Central America 15 

South America 22 

Legacy Programs 32

 

Appendix 1: List of Partners from 2005-2010 37

Appendix 2: List of Projects from 2005-2010 41

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our deep appreciation to our many grantees and partners in conservation 

who so willingly shared their insights, images, and expertise. Without their dedication and on-theground conservation successes, this document would not have been possible. 

This document was developed by Sarah Gannon-Nagle at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with 

assistance from Jennifer Keyser who volunteered her time to help with editing, photo selection, and 

graphics, and with assistance from Angela Michalek who successfully mapped five years of program 

history – no small accomplishment. Thanks also to Jai Singh, who initiated our first mapping efforts. 

For invaluable review, thanks to Herb Raffaele, Megan Hill, Ethan Taylor, Jenny Martinez, Allison 

LePage, Rachel Penrod, Tamara Ward, and Derek Litchfield. 

A special thanks to all of our grantees who generously donated their images, notably Finding 

Species, the Upper Amazon Conservancy, and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

Graphic design provided by MajaDesign, Inc. (Majadesignvt@comcast.net). Line art provided by 

the Catalog of Botanical Illustrations, Department of Botany, Smithsonian Institution. Maps created 

by MajaDesign, Inc., and Angela Michalek of the School of Natural Resources and Environment, 

University of Michigan. 

Cover Photos from Left to Right: Volunteer Park Guard from the Yurua River Watershed 

in Perú by C. Fagan, Upper Amazon Conservancy; Orange-Winged Amazon Parrot (Amazona 

amazonica), Spix’s Night Monkey (Aotus vociferans), and Scarlet Macaw (Ara Macao) by Finding 

Species; and Women from the Ashéninka tribe of Perú, by C. Fagan, Upper Amazon Conservancy
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 2

The neotropics 

are defined as that 

part of the Western 

Hemisphere 

between the Tropic 

of Cancer and the 

Tropic of Capricorn. 

Unlike Any Other Place 

on Earth

Among the most environmentally 

significant regions on the planet, Latin 

America and the Caribbean (LAC) is 

home to an estimated forty percent of 

the world’s biological diversity. From 

the high elevation forests of Central 

America’s Talamanca mountains 

to the dry woodlands of Bolivia’s 

Gran Chaco, to the fragile island 

ecosystems of the West Indies, the 

complexity and richness of species 

found in the region make it unlike 

any other place on Earth. For 

example, the Amazon River basin 

alone harbors more than 2,500 

species of fish - approximately half 

of the world’s known fish species. Of 

the world’s 10,000 bird species, more 

than 4,000 are from the neotropics. 

And one of the highest concentrations of 

mammals on the planet can be found in 

South America, including iconic species 

such as the jaguar, Baird’s tapir, the 

maned wolf, and the spectacled bear. 

These incredible resources, on which 

people around the globe depend for 

clean air, water, regulation of climate 

systems, and restorative medicines, are 

increasingly at risk. Shifting slash and 

burn agriculture, population growth, 

and consumption are all on the rise, 

leading to greater demand for natural 

resources. As a result, habitat loss 

in Latin America is occurring at an 

alarming pace. The region has one of the 

highest deforestation rates in the world. 

Furthermore, climate change is causing 

unprecedented stress on wildlife and 

ecosystems as local temperature and 

precipitation patterns shift. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service’s International 

Commitment

As early as 1941, the United States 

recognized the international importance 

of conserving natural resources 

throughout the Americas, specifically 

through building locally-based capacity 

to manage and protect key landscapes 

and migratory species. This was 

demonstrated by the U.S. ratification 

of the Convention on Nature Protection 

and Wildlife Preservation in the Western 

Hemisphere (also called the Western 

Hemisphere Convention), which 

emphasizes the protection of habitat 

in order to reduce or avoid the loss of 

animal and plant species. 

Conservation Across 

the Americas

Neotropics of Latin America and the Caribbean

Fast Fact: The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the 

largest cat of the Americas. Historically, it 

could be found from the U.S. to Argentina, 

but today much of its remaining habitat 

is within the Amazon basin. Unlike other 

big cats, jaguars do not avoid water; in fact, they are very good 

swimmers. Their name is derived from the Native American word 

“yaguar,” which means “he who kills with one leap.” Gary Stolz/USFWS
Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

Participants in a wetlands education workshop in Antigua practice a 

vegetation survey. Lisa Sorenson/SCSCB

3

In a 1982 amendment to the Endangered 

Species Act, the Department of the 

Interior was tasked with developing 

human and institutional capacity abroad 

to facilitate the execution of the Western 

Hemisphere Convention. Shortly 

thereafter, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, an agency of the Department 

of the Interior, was awarded a $150,000 

Congressional appropriation to address 

the need for better conservation of 

landscapes throughout the Hemisphere. 

These initial funds were used to develop 

a conservation grants program which 

over time came to be known as the 

Wildlife Without Borders Regional 

Program for Latin America and the 

Caribbean (WWB-LAC). 

Working with People to 

Conserve Nature

One of the core issues of conservation 

is the ever-increasing pressure to 

alter natural environments to sustain 

immediate human needs. Unfortunately, 

poverty is a reality for millions of 

people throughout Latin America and 

the Caribbean. The United Nations 

Development Programme, for example, 

estimates that nearly 50 percent of 

all income generated in the region 

is received by a mere 10 percent of 

the population. In the face of severe 

impoverishment, people will often 

extract what resources they can from 

the land with little or no environmental 

”No conservation 

effort in Latin 

America will be 

successful in the 

long run unless 

it builds the 

capacity of the 

people who live 

and work there.”

—The late Juan 

Pablo Arce, Director 

for Latin America 

and the Caribbean at 

NatureServe 
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas

consideration. These actions often 

result in severe degradation or total 

destruction of natural systems, and 

ultimately the fragile resource base on 

which they depend. 

Growing populations lead to an increase 

in demand for natural resources. In 

1940, when the Western Hemisphere 

Convention was being drafted, Latin 

America supported a population of 

approximately 130 million people. By 

the time the U.S. Congress appropriated 

the first funds for the Convention’s 

implementation in 1983, the population 

had more than doubled. Today, the 

region is home to more than 500 million 

people, with estimates predicting 

that total to exceed 800 million people 

by the year 2050. Rapid growth in 

human population has accelerated the 

destruction of tropical ecosystems at a 

pace unparalleled in the course of 

human history. 

Because conservation is fundamentally 

a human issue, the Wildlife Without 

Borders Program has a strong focus on 

working with people to conserve nature. 

The program is built on the premise that 

investment in training and education 

of people, the region’s single most 

important resource, is the most effective 

way to foster the development of sound 

environmental policies and practices. 

Specifically, the Regional Program 

for Latin America and the Caribbean 

supports conservation training projects 

that are interdisciplinary in nature 

and take into account the local social, 

cultural, and economic contexts. These 

projects provide critical capacity 

building to international and local 

non-governmental organizations, 

LAC government agencies, 

environmental educators, and 

community leaders. By informing and 

empowering local conservationists, the 

program strives to achieve a multiplier 

effect across the region. 

4

The Spectacled 

Bear is the only 

species of bear in 

South America. 

It is named for 

the whitish rings 

around its eyes 

which resemble 

large eyeglasses. 

Spectacled bears’ 

markings on their 

faces, neck, and 

chest are unique 

to each bear like 

human fingerprints.

An Andean bear - also known as the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus).

©Hugo Mogollón/Finding Species 

Fast Fact: The Gran Chaco 

ecosystem is made up of 

grasslands, savannah, and dry 

forest, roughly the size of France 

and Spain combined. It spans four 

countries: Argentina, Paraguay, 

Bolivia, and Brazil. The Chaco is a 

bastion of biodiversity, hosting almost as many large mammals as 

the Amazon tropical rainforest, yet only 1% of it is protected. Silvia Centrón
Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean 5

Fueling Vital Conservation Efforts 

A Proven Track Record

The WWB-LAC program first 

began providing grants to 

conservation partners in 1983, 

making it the longest-standing 

of the Wildlife Without Borders 

programs. Since its inception, 

the program has invested more 

than $15 million in support 

for conservation throughout 

the region. In addition, our 

conservation partners have 

helped us effectively leverage 

this investment by providing an 

estimated $40 million in matching 

financial and human resources. 

By partnering with more than 

100 organizations and institutions 

over nearly three decades, 

the WWB-LAC program has 

supported much needed training 

opportunities for thousands of 

people. From 2005 to 2010, the 

program supported projects in 

34 countries, which provided 

training for over 4,000 conservationists. 

The WWB-LAC program seeks to 

involve people at all levels in wildlife 

and habitat conservation, including 

individual citizens, senior government 

administrators, academic and 

nongovernmental organizations, and 

local communities. These people, and 

others like them, are part of the great 

cooperative effort required to achieve 

the conservation of wildlife and habitats 

throughout the region.

Focusing on the Greatest Need

The ultimate aim of the WWB-LAC 

program is to facilitate the conservation 

of the region’s wealth of biological 

diversity – much of which is at risk. 

WWB-LAC grant awards are directed 

to initiatives which strengthen local 

capacity to effectively manage areas of 

high biological significance. 

Wildlife Without Borders Projects (2005-2010)
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 6

Specifically, the program is designed 

to support projects that benefit high 

priority landscapes or ecosystems by 

providing conservation training targeted 

at enhancing the management of these 

areas. Projects supported by the WWBLAC program must demonstrate a 

positive conservation impact on an area 

of local, national, and/or global priority. 

One widely-recognized method of 

prioritizing landscapes or ecosystems is 

the biodiversity hotspot model. Under 

this approach, hotspots are defined 

as areas that have lost more than 70 

percent of their natural vegetation 

and have a high occurrence of 

animal and plant species that are 

found no where else. Using map data 

Biodiversity Hotspots in Latin America and the Caribbean*

*The hotspot methodology was used to evaluate program investments from the past six fiscal 

years. Note that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service does not endorse the hotspot methodology or 

its sole use in ecosystem valuation. 

“Wildlife Without 

Borders has helped 

us in many, many 

different ways, 

but one of the 

most important 

ways is in training 

professionals. I 

cannot conceive 

of any effort in 

building capacity in 

a country where we 

don’t focus on our 

richest resource, 

which is the human 

resource.”

—Carlos Manuel 

Rodriguez, former 

Minister of the 

Environment, Costa Rica

Rainforest flower, 

Amazonas state, 

Colombia.

Amazon Conservation Team
7 Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

Fast Fact: According to Conservation 

International, the Tropical Andes region 

is the most diverse region on the planet, 

containing 1/6 of all plant species in less 

NASA/WWF

than 1 percent of the earth’s total land area. 

Birding at Great Pond on St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. Lisa Sorenson/SCSCB

“The assistance 

provided by the 

Wildlife Without 

Borders Regional 

Program has 

been of great 

importance as it has 

allowed Paraguay 

to participate 

in a network of 

countries that share 

migratory species 

and to advance 

the efforts for their 

conservation.”

—Dr. José Luis 

Casaccia, Minister 

of the Environment, 

Paraguay

provided by Conservation International, 

the WWB-LAC program recently 

evaluated how well its projects align 

with regional hotspots. 

From fiscal years 2005-2010, the WWBLAC program supported a total of 182 

projects. Of these projects, 86 percent 

(or 156 projects) were implemented 

within a biodiversity hotspot. Of the 

26 projects that occurred outside of 

hotspots, 11 took place within the 

Amazon Basin, which harbors the 

world’s largest tropical rainforest. The 

remaining 15 projects implemented 

outside of designated hotspots took 

place in the grassland/savanna biomes of 

southern South America, in Argentina, 

Bolivia, and Paraguay. These grasslands 

are highly productive systems that 

support a variety of wildlife, including 

many globally threatened endemic and 

migratory birds. 

The WWB-LAC program addresses 

areas of greatest conservation need in 

the region, and it does so by providing 

funding for projects which build incountry human and institutional 

capacity to manage and conserve natural 

resources. In this way, the program 

seeks to achieve a long term impact. 

Priority initiatives incorporate a holistic 

and inter-disciplinary approach to 

conservation with a strong emphasis on 

the local social context. For the purposes 

of our program, capacity building is 

defined as:

“Strengthening the ability of individuals 

and organizations to conserve biodiversity.” 

Where ability refers to enhancing 

knowledge, skills, attitudes, 

empowerment, and enabling 

environments. And conserve refers to 

use and non-use, with the purpose of 

maintaining or increasing the resource 

base over time. 
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 8

Historically, the WWB-LAC 

program has focused on high 

quality training programs 

benefitting priority ecosystems 

and targeted at key audiences 

associated with protected areas. 

These audiences include land 

managers, park guards and 

administrators, environmental 

educators, graduate students, 

and local community leaders 

who influence protected 

areas. More recently, the program has 

broadened its focus to include audiences 

that impact important natural resources 

on landscapes that may not be protected. 

Funding History

In recent decades, funding for the 

WWB-LAC program has gradually 

increased, with a corresponding increase 

in the number of annual grants awarded 

by the program. For example, the 

program provided a total of $1.2 million in 

funding for 88 conservation projects in the 

region during the 1980’s. By comparison, 

today the program awards $800,000 to $1 

million in funding 

annually to support 

an average of 30 

to 40 conservation 

projects. 

In a region which 

contains such a 

wealth of natural 

resources – an 

estimated 40 percent 

of the planet’s biodiversity – the need 

for trained conservation professionals 

is significant. Because the WWB-LAC 

program is one of the few funding sources 

that supports conservation training in the 

region, requests for funds consistently 

exceed the program’s budget. Current 

WWB-LAC funding levels translate 

into grant awards for less than half of 

qualifying applicants (see graph at left). 

One of the strengths of the WWB-LAC 

program is its ability to provide small 

grants that are in turn leveraged by 

partner contributions (see graph 

above). For a modest program grounded 

in local efforts and community 

empowerment, the benefits to 

conservation are extraordinary.

Looking to the Future

In the coming decade, the WWB-LAC 

program will build upon its long track 

record and its commitment to capacity 

building for conservation results in the 

region. For fiscal year 2011 and beyond, 

the WWB-LAC program is designing a 

suite of conservation strategies focused 

on preparing future conservation 

leaders, building and sustaining 

networks of conservation professionals 

for enhanced collaboration and learning, 

and engaging key conservation 

constituencies. Measuring the long 

term effectiveness and impact of these 

conservation investments will also be a 

program priority. For more information 

on the WWB-LAC program, please visit 

us at www.fws.gov/international.

“By training and 

empowering a 

younger generation 

of conservationists 

across Latin America 

and the Caribbean, 

the Wildlife Without 

Borders Program has 

made a tremendous 

contribution to those 

regions which are 

important to the 

people there and to 

the biodiversity of 

the whole world.”

—Bill Millan, Senior 

International Policy 

Advisor, The Nature 

Conservancy
Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean 9

On the Ground Success in the Caribbean

Wildlife Without Borders Projects Funded 2005 - 2010
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 10

Impact: 

The West Indian Whistling-Duck 

(WIWD) and Wetlands Conservation 

Project is reversing the decline of 

the globally threatened duck and the 

continuing loss of wetlands throughout 

the Caribbean. The project raises 

awareness of the many functions 

and values of wetlands and equips 

educators and community leaders with 

the materials, knowledge, skills, and 

commitment needed to teach and inspire 

others to conserve local wetlands. More 

than 3,500 people have participated in 

“train the trainer” wetlands appreciation 

workshops in 19 Caribbean countries. 

Many of these trainees have since 

become involved in local monitoring 

and protection of Whistling-Ducks. 

As a result, the number of ducks has 

increased significantly on several 

Caribbean islands, the range of 

this species has expanded, and 

local mangroves and wetlands have 

been restored.

West Indian Whistling-Ducks (Dendrocygna arborea) on Andros, Bahamas.

Pete Attanasia/SCSCB

“People need to 

know and care 

about something 

before they are 

going to take action 

to conserve it. 

Education at all 

levels is essential 

to securing the 

long-term survival 

of the West Indian 

Whistling-Duck and 

many other unique 

and endangered 

Caribbean birds.”

—Lisa Sorenson, 

 West Indian WhistlingDuck and Wetlands 

Conservation 

Project, SCSCB

The West Indian Whistling-Duck and Wetlands 

Conservation Project

Grantee: Society for the Conservation & Study of Caribbean Birds 

Funded: 1999-present

Location: Caribbean Region
11 Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

Summary: 

Once widely distributed throughout the 

Caribbean, West Indian Whistling-Ducks 

have a small and fragmented range. The 

primary threat to their survival is loss 

of habitat. West Indian Whistling-Ducks 

depend on wetlands, unfortunately a 

declining habitat in the Caribbean. 

Some estimates indicate that as much 

as 50 percent of the Caribbean’s 

wetlands have been destroyed, and 

the pressure to convert wetlands for 

development continues.

Launched by the Society for the 

Conservation and Study of Caribbean 

Birds (SCSCB) in the late 1990s, the 

WIWD and Wetlands Conservation 

Project is a region-wide public education 

and awareness program. By providing 

local teachers and educators with 

training and materials the project 

raises awareness and appreciation for 

the value of local wetlands. Specifically, 

the project has built its unique training 

program around a 276-page workbook, 

the “Wondrous West Indian Wetlands: 

Teachers’ Resource Book” which has 

been distributed in English, Spanish, 

and French. The book provides resources 

for conducting a complete wetlands 

education unit in the classroom, 

including background information 

on ecological concepts and natural 

history, field techniques, and detailed 

instructions for student activities and 

projects. SCSCB works with local 

partners throughout the region to 

implement training workshops on how to 

use the workbook and a related toolkit. 

The training materials provide ideas for 

follow-up student action projects in local 

communities. 

The WIWD and Wetlands Conservation 

Project is an SCSCB partnership 

supported by the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service together with 

Wetlands International, the MacArthur 

Foundation, the GEF Grant Program 

of the United Nations Environment 

Program, the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, BirdLife 

International, The Royal Society for 

the Protection of Birds, and many local 

partners throughout the Caribbean.

Lesson Learned: Partnership 

is the key to achieving 

conservation success. The 

success of the WIWD and 

Wetlands Conservation Project 

is due in no small part to the 

collaboration among conservation 

organizations, government 

agencies, educators, and 

Arlington James/SCSCB

committed individuals. 

Secondary teachers 

in training at 

Pterocarpus Swamp 

on Dominica.

For more information, contact: 

Lisa G. Sorenson, PhD, Coordinator

WIWD and Wetlands Conservation Project

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Biology

Boston University

lsoren@bu.edu

www.whistlingduck.org

www.scscb.org
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 12

Impact: 

The My Island – My Community 

program is creating the first-ever 

radio serial drama to raise awareness 

about the impacts of climate change on 

small island communities in order to 

support human and ecological resilience. 

Specifically, My Island – My Community 

will promote ecosystem-based 

adaptation to climate change, multipleuse marine zoning, and community 

livelihood opportunities by integrating 

these messages into radio serial dramas. 

These dramas will reach nearly 4 million 

listeners in the Caribbean in two years. 

In addition, PCI-Media Impact and 

partners are hosting training workshops 

on how to use radio as a tool for 

conservation. Twelve training workshops 

will be held for coalition members from 

each of the countries, with an estimated 

150 participants. In the spring of 2010, 

more than 60 people received core 

training in communications for change 

methods and background on climate 

change during a two week workshop 

in Saint Lucia.

My Island-My Community: Building Public Awareness and 

Action Around Climate Change in the Caribbean

Grantee: PCI-Media Impact 

Funded: 2010, 2011

Location: Caribbean Region

Latin American youth participating in a PCI-Media Impact campaign.

PCI-Media Impact
13 Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

Ecuador

Peru

Chile

Argentina

Brazil

Bolivia

Paraguay

Cayman Islands

Jamaica

Haiti

Dominican 

Republic

Puerto 

Rico

U.S. Virgin Islands

British Virgin Islands

Anguilla

Antigua 

Montserrat

Guadeloupe

Martinique

St. Kitts & Nevis

Dominica

St. Lucia

Grenada

Barbados

St. Vincent & the

Grenadines

Trinidad 

& Tobago

Aruba

Curaçao

i

Turks & Caicos

Bahamas

Bermuda

St. Maarten

Bonaire

Barbuda

Saba & St.Eustatius

St. Barthélemy

“My idea of climate 

change has been 

expanded from this 

workshop. One 

statement stands 

out in my mind: 

climate change is 

more than just sea 

level rise, climate, 

biodiversity, et 

cetera; it involves 

the impact on 

life styles, social 

changes, land use 

planning and so 

much more.”

—Hazel D. Riley, Office 

of the Deputy Governor, 

Montserrat Summary: 

Small islands are especially vulnerable 

to the impacts of climate change on 

ecosystems, protected areas, economies, 

tourism, and the communities that live 

there. In many places throughout the 

Caribbean, key coastal habitats are 

threatened further by new shoreline 

development projects and invasive 

species. These stressors, when coupled 

with overfishing and land and water 

pollution, are straining the islands’ 

fragile eco-systems. 

While climate change is recognized 

as a serious threat to humans and the 

natural systems on which they depend, 

there remains a critical communications 

challenge: how to effectively engage 

the public, ensuring they have access 

to sound and timely information and a 

clear vision of what they can do to 

help mitigate the challenges posed by 

climate change. 

In January 2010, PCI-Media Impact and 

15 partner organizations launched My 

Island – My Community, an ambitious 

new program committed to building 

public awareness across the Caribbean 

to encourage wide-spread behavior 

change with regard to small island 

community preparedness and adaptation 

to climate change. It brings together 

a unique network of organizations 

committed to using the power of 

communications to enhance knowledge 

sharing, engage the public, and 

support community-based adaptation 

activities across 12 Caribbean countries. 

On an issue as complex as preparing 

for climate change, using a single 

communications vehicle is unlikely to 

produce the widespread and lasting 

changes needed to develop the resilience 

needed for climate change adaption. 

Thus My Island – My Community 

targets multiple target audiences 

– decision makers, opinion leaders, 
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 14

faith-based groups, youth, women, 

government, and other publics – via a 

multi-faceted communications strategy. 

The program will build on the concept 

of a regional radio serial drama to 

weave together relevant information 

on climate change with a compelling 

story. In each partner country, 

national coalitions have been built, 

bringing together local environmental 

organizations, government agencies, 

radio stations, academics, and scientists. 

Each national coalition is in the process 

of developing country-specific climate 

change campaigns to complement 

the radio drama through multi-tiered 

public awareness activities, including 

interactive radio call-in shows, capacity 

development activities, music festivals, 

and community action campaigns.

Through the My Island – My 

Community program, new appreciation 

for the effects of climate change will 

encourage constituents to embrace 

conservation actions including the 

rehabilitation of mangroves and coral 

reefs, implementation of sound coastal 

development practices (ensuring 

that regulations are enforced), 

and citizen involvement with local 

conservation organizations. 

My Island – My Community is a Media 

Impact partnership supported by the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service together 

with U.S. Agency for International 

Development, The Nature Conservancy, 

Global Island Partnership, and the 

GEF Small Grants Programme, 

implemented by the United Nations 

Development Programme.

St. Lucia Landscape. PCI-Media Impact

Lesson Learned: Government engagement is critical to project 

success. To ensure sound involvement from key governmental 

agencies, My Island-My Community was able to build on the 

experience of Alleyne Regis, PCI-Media Impact’s project manager, 

who previously worked with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean 

States (OECS). Through partnership with OECS, nine countries have 

provided input into the design of this project.

For more information, contact: 

Alleyne Regis, Manager

My Island-My Community 

PCI-Media Impact 

aregis@mediaimpact.org

www.population.org
Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean 15

On the Ground Success in Central America

Wildlife Without Borders Projects Funded 2005 - 2010
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 16

“Local people 

appreciate the need 

for the Ometepe 

Fund. FFI is working 

diligently to ensure 

Ometepe becomes 

a self-sufficient, 

effective protected 

area for generations 

to come.”

—Salvadora Morales, 

Ometepe Project 

Coordinator

Impact: 

At 27,600 hectares (68,200 acres) in 

size, the island of Ometepe in Lake 

Nicaragua is one of the world’s largest 

freshwater islands. Ometepe contains 

a suite of habitat types that includes 

every major habitat found in Nicaragua, 

including rain, cloud, and dry forest. It 

is also renowned for its rich archaeology. 

Fauna & Flora International is working 

with local stakeholders to establish 

and manage the Ometepe Biosphere 

Reserve Conservation Fund. The fund 

is a crucial first step towards ensuring 

the long-term protection of Ometepe’s 

biological and cultural resources. As 

a result of this initiative, a tangible, 

steady source of financial support for 

managing the island’s natural resources 

will be established and local expertise in 

developing finance mechanisms will be 

enhanced. The Ometepe Fund will serve 

as a national model with potential for 

replication in other parts of the country. 

Summary: 

In June, 2010, Ometepe Island and its 

surrounding waters were designated 

as Biosphere Reserve by the United 

Nations Education, Scientific and 

Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The 

island – made up of two volcanoes – 

supports a population of approximately 

40,000 people. The local economy is 

based on agriculture and tourism. 

Economic needs must be met while 

also conserving the island’s natural 

resources. This delicate balance presents 

significant challenges for the new 

biosphere reserve. In addition, this 

exciting recognition from UNESCO 

has elevated the profile of Ometepe, 

increasing the need for an integrated 

conservation management paradigm. 

The new Biosphere Reserve includes 

three protected areas: Maderas Volcano 

National Park, Concepción Volcano 

Natural Reserve and the Peña IncultaHumedal Istian Wildlife Refuge. The 

island also has two municipalities, whose 

Building Protected Area Management Capacities through the 

Implementation of Conservation Finance Mechanisms on the 

Island of Ometepe, Nicaragua

Grantee: Fauna & Flora International 

Funded: USFWS: 2010, 2011

Location: Nicaragua

©Fauna & Flora International, German Development 

Service, and the Nicaraguan Ministry of Environment 

and Natural Resources
17 Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

A yellow-naped parrot (Amazona auropalliata) on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua. 

Evan Bowen-Jones

leaders played a crucial role in the 

Biosphere Reserve nomination process. 

Additional leaders in the process 

included the Ministry of Environment, 

a non-governmental organization called 

Fundación Entre Volcanes, and the 

local tourism sector organization, the 

Gabinete de Turismo. 

Fauna & Flora International (FFI) 

is collaborating with each of these 

stakeholders to make biodiversity 

conservation practices more robust 

on the island. Specifically, through 

the adoption of a Biosphere Reserve 

approach, FFI and partners will 

demonstrate a sustainable relationship 

between conservation and economic 

interests. In implementing the new 

reserve, FFI aims to ensure that all 

stakeholders have a clear role and 

shared responsibility in land use 

management and zoning decisions.

While much can be achieved simply 

through collaboration and coordination 

amongst local actors, there is also a 

need for a steady source of funding 

for environmental management of 

the Biosphere Reserve, especially 

for its core conservation areas. FFI 

conducted a feasibility study of 

sustainable financing based on entry 

fees to the island and for visits to 

special sites. Results indicated that 

through entrance fees, 90 percent of 

the necessary funds could be generated 

in five years. The focus of this project 

is the implementation of the Ometepe 

Fund which includes putting in place 

the necessary agreements for its 

management, and building local capacity 

for its administration. 

Lake Nicaragua is 

the largest lake in 

Central America 

and one of the 

largest freshwater 

lakes in the world. 
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 18

To build consensus and facilitate the 

development of the fund, FFI has 

conducted training workshops for 

private sector and governmental 

stakeholders, at local and national levels. 

In addition, FFI has collaborated with 

local governors and the Ministries of 

Environment and Natural Resources 

and Tourism in order to coordinate their 

roles in relation to the establishment of 

the fund.

Ometepe Island’s local municipalities 

– Altagracia and Moyogalpa – have 

publicly committed to establishing 

the biosphere reserve conservation 

fund. In addition, the mayors of each 

municipality organized the collection 

of five thousand signatures of local 

residents in support of the Ometepe 

Biosphere Reserve law. The petition was 

presented to Nicaragua’s Minister of the 

Environment, Juanita Argeñal. 

The Ometepe Fund will be formally 

established through the same national 

legislation that will recognize Ometepe 

as a Biosphere Reserve. The process 

is slow and requires significant efforts 

to build public awareness and support. 

However, a well-thought out approach 

will ensure a solid foundation for the 

fund while eliminating any potential legal 

contradictions. FFI has collaborated 

with local municipalities to host more 

than 20 meetings and workshops on the 

draft legislation. Over 900 participants 

have attended, including community 

leaders, students, and managers in land 

use decisions. 

To build positive support for successful 

implementation of the reserve and the 

Ometepe Fund, FFI has implemented 

a local and national campaign to 

generate awareness of the cultural and 

biodiversity value of the island. The 

campaign included the production of a 

short video, distribution of 2,500 posters 

and 3,000 brochures, and a two-day 

festival organized with the support of the 

Nicaraguan Government. The festival 

culminated with a concert featuring 

eight national musical groups, and ninety 

stands showing sustainable Ometepe 

products from honey to hotels. At least 

20 different Nicaraguan news media 

outlets covered the event. 

With significant public support, draft 

legislation is moving forward. In 

anticipation of its approval, FFI and 

local stakeholders actors are working 

diligently to put in place management 

procedures for the fund. 

For more information, contact: 

Salvadora Morales

Ometepe Project Coordinator

Fauna & Flora International

Salvadora.morales@fauna-flora.org 

www.ometepebiosfera.com 

Lesson Learned: Thoughtful communication is essential to 

building good will among local stakeholders. This project 

is a challenge in every sense of the word. Establishing a 

conservation fund has required much raising of awareness, 

negotiation and inter-institutional coordination across all levels, 

from local to national. In order to change how people perceive 

and manage their environment requires a great deal of patient, 

well-planned communication. 
19 Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

Living fences act as 

barriers the way a 

typical fence would, 

but because they 

are created with 

live vegetation, 

they also act as 

biological corridors 

for birds.

Volunteers on the CATIE farm plant a new living fence. Sarah Gannon-Nagle/USFWS

Impact: 

Mixing the Matrix is a participatory 

avian biodiversity monitoring program 

focused on the role of agroecosystems in 

the conservation of birds. The program 

utilizes citizen science as an outreach 

tool targeted at audiences which impact 

the landscape within the Volcánica 

Central Talamanca Biological Corridor 

(VCTBC) of Costa Rica. As citizens from 

these target audiences – ecotourism 

guides, park guards, coffee growers, and 

cattle ranchers – come together to collect 

data on occurrence of a set of “indicator” 

birds on the landscape, this information 

is in turn used to assess the health of 

the biological corridor across different 

land uses. Through training workshops 

in the VCTBC project area, a network 

of over 120 local citizen monitors was 

created. An additional 40 people were 

trained in how to launch avian citizen 

science programs in Guatemala and 

Nicaragua, and training manuals were 

created. Finally, the project expanded 

to create an educational program, called 

Life in Flight or “La Vida en Vuelo” 

(for its meaning in Spanish), using 

birds as a hook to generate interest in 

conservation. More than 100 teachers, 

students, and volunteers will participate 

in the Life in Flight program during its 

inaugural year.

Mixing the Matrix: Parks, Pasture, and Coffee 

Grantee: Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) 

Funded: 2008, 2010

Location: Costa Rica
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 20

Summary: 

Biodiversity conservation on 

the Mesoamerican 

landscape continues to 

be threatened by the 

expansion of agricultural 

activities. As land around 

protected areas is 

increasingly developed, 

the conservation value 

of these reserves 

is dependent upon 

management of their 

surrounding landscapes 

– the matrix within which these 

protected areas operate. Protected 

areas in Costa Rica are increasingly 

becoming dependent on the surrounding 

agricultural matrix to provide secondary 

habitat and connectivity between 

reserves. The main challenge in 

achieving landscape level conservation 

lies in coordinating efforts across public 

and privately managed lands, focusing 

on the “matrix” as well as the protected 

areas that lie within them. 

Costa Rica’s Volcánica Central 

Talamanca Biological Corridor (VCTBC) 

represents a mosaic of eight protected 

areas as well as privately owned 

coffee plantations, forest 

lands, cattle ranches, 

indigenous territories, and 

residential areas. 

The VCTBC plays an 

important ecological 

role in linking Costa 

Rica to the broader 

Mesoamerican Biological 

Corridor, established 

to connect habitat from Mexico to 

Panama for the benefit of more than 100 

endangered species. As development 

pressures increase within this corridor, 

known to be important to resident and 

migratory birds alike, it has become 

increasingly important to bring together 

the conservation and production sectors 

within the Corridor. 

In response to this need, the Mixing 

the Matrix project specifically targeted 

both the conservation sector and the 

production sector. Using birds as an 

indicator of the general health of the 

landscape, scientists from the Centro 

Agronómico Tropical de Investigación 

y Enseñanza (CATIE) worked 

with participants to select 15 easily 

identifiable bird species that are also 

indicators of change on the landscape. 

These species formed the basis of the 

field identification training workshops 

for volunteers. The bird monitoring 

program has successfully established a 

baseline of data on bird diversity across 

different land uses in the Volcánica 

Central Talamanca Biological Corridor, 

including agroforestry coffee plots, 

agroforestry cacao plots, living fences 

(within pastures), sugar cane plots and 

forest. Equally important, the bird 

 “I was wondering 

why we could not 

do the same for 

mammals...you 

know I work with 

Jaguars and I think 

this is something we 

could work together 

on to complement 

bird information 

with mammal 

information.”

—Roberto Salom, 

Mesoamerica Coordinator, 

Panthera

Lesson Learned: Seek partner opportunities across sectors to 

effectively leverage conservation outreach efforts. One of the 

most important lessons while implementing Mixing the Matrix 

was the importance of partnership. Recruiting participants for 

the bird monitoring program proved to be an initial challenge. By 

collaborating with local partners, Mixing the Matrix achieved a 

multiplier effect with its outreach messaging. This in turn allowed 

the project to leverage the collective networks of all partners to 

successfully enroll over 100 participants. 
21 Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

monitoring program – 

(locally referred to as the 

Programa Monitoreo de 

Aves, or simply PMA) 

has had a great impact 

on the community. 

Participants indicated that 

this workshop and the participatory 

monitoring activities filled a need that 

had not been served in the Biological 

Corridor. In addition, CATIE has hosted 

several “train the trainer” workshops on 

how to create participatory monitoring 

programs in Nicaragua and Guatemala. 

Building on the success of the bird 

monitoring program for adult volunteers, 

CATIE recently expanded the project 

to launch a new educational program 

for schoolteachers and children. Life in 

Flight (or La Vida en Vuelo in Spanish) 

has been a tremendous success – 

providing a rare hands-on opportunity 

to connect kids to nature throughout the 

VCTBC. A minimum of 50 teachers and 

500 students are expected to participate 

in the program within the first two years.

Mixing the Matrix is a CATIE 

partnership supported by the U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service together with 

Optics for the Tropics, 

The Tropics Foundation, 

Idea Wild, Lighthawk, 

the Institute for Bird 

Populations, and the 

University of California at 

Los Angeles. Additional 

funding was provided by the following 

two CATIE projects: CAFNET with 

funds from the European Union) and 

PCP (Agroforestry with Perennial 

Crops with funds from Cirad France).

For more information, contact: 

Fabrice DeClerck, PhD

Community & Landscape Ecologist

CATIE

fadeclerck@catie.ac.cr 

www.catie.ac.cr 

and

Alejandra Martínez-Salinas

Lead Ornithologist

Mixing the Matrix Project, CATIE

amartinez@catie.ac.cr 

web.catie.ac.cr/pma

Fabrice DeClerk of CATIE demonstrates bird monitoring. CATIE
22 Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas

On the Ground Success in South America

Wildlife Without Borders Projects Funded 2005 - 2010
23 Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

“Working with 

communities is 

important to us. 

To be effective, 

conservation 

must start at the 

community level. 

The only way to 

know whether a 

species will be 

protected is to 

learn whether the 

community values 

it – if the answer 

is yes, then the 

species will be 

conserved. We 

work to create 

the ‘yes.’

—Hugo Mogollón, 

Executive Director, 

Finding Species

Impact: 

The Andean Tapir Conservation Project 

is enhancing the protection of tapirs –one 

of the world’s most endangered large 

mammals–within their last remaining 

stronghold in Ecuador. 

Finding Species has 

reached more than 

1,300 local people 

through its education 

and conservation 

campaigns targeting 

park staff at Sangay and 

Llanganales National 

Parks, government 

authorities, and local 

communities. As 

a result, rangers in both parks are 

monitoring tapir populations for the 

first time, reports of tapir poaching in 

the area have decreased significantly, 

communities are adopting tapir-friendly 

land use practices, and local authorities 

are evaluating new conservation policies 

for the parks’ buffer zones. 

Summary: 

Fewer than 2,500 Andean tapirs 

(also known as mountain tapirs) 

are thought to remain in the wild, 

and the International Union for the 

Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 

estimates that the total population is 

decreasing. Hunting, habitat destruction, 

and ranching are the major threats to 

the survival of this species, which makes 

its home in the cloud forests and high 

elevation páramo of Colombia, Ecuador, 

and northern Perú. Ecologically, the 

mountain tapir plays an important role 

as a seed disperser, helping to maintain 

high plant species diversity throughout 

its habitat. 

While mountain 

tapir populations 

are very low on the 

western slopes of the 

Ecuadorian Andes, the 

species is still present 

in some areas on the 

eastern slopes. Within 

the Tungurahua 

Province, there are two 

large national parks, 

Llanganales and Sangay. These parks – 

and the corridor that runs between them 

around the city of Baños – represent 

the Ecuador’s largest remaining area 

of habitat for the Andean tapir. Because 

Lesson Learned: Distribute ownership of the project across all 

key participants in order to ensure its long-term success. In order 

for a project to succeed, it must not be dependent on any one 

organization or institution. By distributing ownership of the project 

at the local level by involving the community and seeking their 

input, the project becomes something the community views as its 

own. One way Finding Species worked to ensure the Andean Tapir 

Conservation Project did not become associated with any specific 

organization was to create a logo for the project with feedback 

from local partners. 

Andean Tapir (Tapirus 

pinchaque). ©Finding Species

Conserving the Andean Tapir in the Central Andes of Ecuador

Grantee: Finding Species

Funded: 2009, 2010

Location: Ecuador
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 24

of the high quality of tapir habitat in 

this area, Sangay and Llanganales have 

become the focal area for conservation 

efforts. By bolstering the last viable 

populations of tapirs in Ecuador, it may 

be feasible for the species to recover in 

the future. 

The main obstacle to Andean tapir 

conservation is a lack of recognition 

by national and local government, 

communities, and park officials about 

the dire status of the tapir and the 

importance of the habitat contained 

within these two parks. Local 

communities and governments around 

the parks, prior to the Andean Tapir 

Conservation Project, were not engaged 

in any kind of conservation effort. 

The Andean Tapir Conservation Project 

has three components: research, 

community education, and on the ground 

conservation. Regarding research, 

Finding Species worked closely with 

the Tapir Specialist Group of IUCN to 

photograph and monitor the status of 

mountain tapir populations within the 

project area (see map on the following 

page). Prior to this project, little was 

known about local tapir distribution, 

habitat, and areas of greatest local 

threat. Information collected during 

the research phase of the project has 

informed Ecuador’s National Strategy 

for the Conservation of Tapirs, published 

in September, 2010. In addition, Finding 

Species photographers used stunning 

images of tapirs and their habitat 

as an important educational tool for 

community outreach. 

Through compelling visual materials 

and storytelling, Finding Species 

created an education campaign aimed at 

increasing knowledge and pride in the 

mountain tapir among elementary school 

students. Local partner organizations 

Searching for mountain tapirs 

in the páramo. ©Finding Species 

Lesson Learned: Distribute ownership of the project across all 

key participants in order to ensure its long-term success. In order 

for a project to succeed, it must not be dependent on any one 

organization or institution. By distributing ownership of the project 

at the local level by involving the community and seeking their 

input, the project becomes something the community views as its 

own. One way Finding Species worked to ensure the Andean Tapir 

Conservation Project did not become associated with any specific 

organization was to create a logo for the project with feedback 

from local partners. 

The Andean tapir 

(also known as 

the mountain or 

woolly tapir) can 

be found in high 

elevation areas, 

where temperatures 

often drop below 

freezing. Tapirs 

have adapted to 

this climate by 

developing a thick, 

woolly coat. 
25 Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

– the Oscar Efren Reyes Foundation 

and the Technological Center for 

Amazon Resources – worked with 

Finding Species and the Tapir Specialist 

Group to successfully deliver this tapir 

conservation education program to 

over 450 students in eleven different 

schools associated with park buffer 

zone communities. Complementary 

seminars were held for parents, reaching 

220 adults in these same communities. 

The campaign culminated in a “Tapir 

Festival” held in the town of Baños.

To increase the knowledge of Andean 

tapirs within the target national parks, 

Finding Species implemented Ecuador’s 

first training workshop for park rangers 

(community leaders were also invited) 

on how to monitor for tapir presence and 

abundance. At the end of this workshop, 

more than 60 rangers and community 

leaders were trained in management 

of equipment and data collection 

techniques (e.g. the use of GPS, camera 

traps, identification of 

animal tracks, and radio 

telemetry). In addition, 

each park committed to 

implementing a long-term 

tapir monitoring program. 

The next steps for Finding 

Species include working 

with local authorities (and former tapir 

workshop participants) to develop 

conservation land-use policies for the 

parks’ buffer zones. Using the tapir as 

a local flagship species, Finding Species 

hopes to improve the protection wildlife 

habitat through the implementation of 

new legislation. 

For more information, contact: 

Hugo Mogollón, Executive Director

Finding Species, Quito, Ecuador

mogollon@findingspecies.org

www.findingspecies.org

Andean Tapir Conservation Project Area. ©Finding Species
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 26

The Purús River, 

for which the 

Alto Purús area is 

named, is one of the 

largest tributaries 

of the Amazon. It 

flows through Brazil 

and Perú, drains 

an area of 24,000 

square miles (15 

million acres). 

Impact: 

The Alto Purús region of southeastern 

Perú is arguably the best-preserved and 

most important wildlife corridor in the 

entire upper Amazon, 

where intact plant and 

animal communities 

sustain some of the last 

nomadic, uncontacted 

indigenous tribes left 

on earth. The Alto 

Purús Protection 

Initiative is providing 

much needed training 

for Alto Purús 

National Park guards 

in effective protected 

areas management. The initiative is 

also strengthening the capacity of local 

communities to participate in and benefit 

from conservation efforts so they can 

become effective stewards of the region. 

As a result, 17 guards, eight of whom 

were just recently 

hired received 

training in protected 

areas administration, 

patrolling for illegal 

activities, working 

with isolated 

indigenous tribes. 

Training was also 

provided to the 

voluntary community 

guards. For example, 

a workshop on 

the Yurua River included eighty 

community representatives – including 

the Presidents of the Purus and Yurua 

indigenous federation as well as chiefs 

of several local tribes. Volunteers are 

organized into patrol committees, and 

have successfully completed patrols for 

illegal activities along the Alto Purús, 

La Novia, Inuya, and Yurua Rivers. 

As a direct outcome, illegal mahogany 

logging activities have been discovered 

inside the park, and this information 

has been shared with the Peruvian 

government, the U.S. government, and 

has been distributed to the international 

news media. Consequently Perú’s 

protected areas agency has launched a 

special follow-up investigation of 

logging in the Park. 

An Amahuaca youth standing in 

front of a felled mahogany tree. 

©Chris Fagan/Upper Amazon Conservancy 

Alto Purús Protection Initiative

Grantee: *Upper Amazon Conservancy 

Funded: 2009

Location: Perú

Lesson Learned: Adequate training resources must be made 

available to protected areas staff to ensure the viability of these 

reserves. The Park experienced significant, unexpected turnover 

among its guards; 8 of the 12 guards stationed in the Purús sector 

of the Park were replaced in early 2010. The new guards are from 

local communities and lacked any formal training in protection 

activities like patrolling, or working with the community volunteers 

to protect endangered species and respond to threats. In February, 

the Upper Amazon Conservancy responded by holding a training 

workshop specifically for the new guards. Having adequately 

trained guards is critical to the viability of the Park. In 2011, we will 

increase efforts to build capacity among the official guards as well 

as the community volunteers. 

*In partnership with Round River 

Conservation Studies.
27 Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

Logging settlements on the lower Mapuya River. ©Chris Fagan/Upper Amazon Conservancy 

Bigleaf mahogany 

(Swietenia 

macrophylla) is 

a highly valued 

evergreen tree 

which is the most 

commercially 

valuable mahogany 

species. It is a 

giant, typically 

emerging above 

the canopy layer at 

heights of up to 60 

meters (nearly 200 

feet). Commercial 

exploitation 

threatens this 

species, considered 

vulnerable to 

extinction by the 

International Union 

for the Conservation 

of Nature (IUCN). 

Summary: 

The Alto Purús region of southeastern 

Perú is a vast, roadless frontier of 

relatively undisturbed tropical forest 

that has been spared from oil and 

gas exploration and the expanding 

agricultural frontier so prevalent in 

other parts of the Amazon. It is arguably 

the best-preserved and most important 

wildlife corridor in the entire upper 

Amazon, where intact plant and animal 

communities sustain some of the last 

nomadic, uncontacted indigenous tribes 

left on earth. 

Recognizing its extraordinary ecological 

and cultural value, in 2004 the Perúvian 

government protected the region’s core 

as the Alto Purús National Park, which, 

at 2.5 million hectares (6.2 million acres), 

is Perú’s largest park. It is also the 

central link in one of largest networks 

of strictly protected land in the Amazon 

basin. Adjacent to the Park is roughly 

300,000 hectares of titled indigenous 

lands divided among approximately 40 

small communities representing ten 

distinct ethnic groups. The Park and 

surrounding lands support numerous 

rare and endangered species and hold 

world record levels of mammal and 

bird diversity. It is truly one of 

the wildest places left on earth, an 

international conservation priority of 

the highest magnitude. 

The Alto Purús region is the last place 

in Perú with large stands of bigleaf 

mahogany, one of the world’s rarest and 

most valuable timber species. Recently 

loggers have targeted the region for 

extraction of mahogany trees using 

tractors and illegal roads to pull giant 

logs out of the park and nearby areas. 

In addition to being detrimental to the 

ecosystem, it is an immediate threat to 

the survival of the uncontacted tribes. 

In communities outside the park, income 

opportunities are severely limited, 

so leaders have been willing to trade 

mahogany trees for food and other 

goods, creating an exploitative debtpatronage system between indigenous 

groups and loggers. 

The Peruvian Park Service, like many 

natural resource management agencies 

in the region, lacks sufficient funding 

and technical capacity to effectively 

monitor and protect the park. In 

addition, most communities, especially 

those in the most remote areas nearest 

the park, suffer from poor nutrition, 

inadequate health care, and lack of 

schools or teachers.
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 28

Led by the Upper Amazon Conservancy, 

the Alto Purús Protection Initiative 

focuses on improving the effectiveness 

of the national park in order to prevent 

illegal activities, protect uncontacted 

tribes, and maintain ecosystem health. 

Similarly, the project also has a strong 

focus on strengthening the capacity of 

local communities to participate in and 

benefit from conservation efforts. By 

working with local communities around 

the park via the voluntary park guard 

training program, the initiative has 

created eight Vigilance Committees that 

work with the park to patrol the area, 

resulting in an improved relationship 

between the communities and the park 

and an increased sense of stewardship 

among the local population. 

Through the Alto Purús Protection 

Initiative, the UAC is making significant 

strides in increasing local awareness 

of conservation issues, including the 

protection of endangered species, and the 

sustainable use of community resources. 

Having worked in the region since 2002, 

UAC cultivates the emergence of a new 

generation of conservation and cultural 

leaders in indigenous communities of the 

Alto Purús.

The Alto Purús Protection Initiative 

is a project of the Upper Amazon 

Conservancy (UAC) initiated with 

logistical support from Round 

River Conservation Studies, and 

supported by the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service together with the 

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation 

and the Blue Moon Fund.

For more information, contact: 

Chris Fagan, Executive Director

Upper Amazon Conservancy

chrisfagan33@gmail.com

www.upperamazon.org

Alto Purús Protection Initiative Project Area. ©Upper Amazon Conservancy
29 Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

“I can live with 

bears; however, one 

needs assistance...

In my opinion, we 

have invaded their 

territory. They have 

not invaded my 

land, because 

they have always 

lived there.”

—Patricio Arce, 

Affected Landowner in 

the community of Mazar

Impact: 

This partnership between the 

Carnivore Coexistence Lab (CCL) of 

Wisconsin and Fundación Cordillera 

Tropical (FCT) of Ecuador is reducing 

retaliatory killings of the Andean Bear 

(Tremarctos ornatus) by identifying 

and promoting methods to deter bears 

from approaching human settlements. 

Through a combination of field research, 

conservation training for communities, 

and conflict mitigation workshops for 

landowners, this initiative has resulted 

in outreach to 50 landowning families 

around Sangay National Park. As a 

result, 10 local community members 

are now contributing to field research 

on human-wildlife conflicts in the area, 

and four families which experienced 

recent bear attacks have been trained 

in practices to reduce conflicts between 

livestock and carnivores. In addition, 

FCT has pre-enrolled 168 landowners 

on 50 properties in a Payment for the 

Protection of Environmental Services 

(PPES) program, making 5,260 hectares 

(or nearly 13,000 acres) available to 

Ecuador’s new national private land 

conservation program, Socio Bosque. 

Summary: 

Ongoing human-wildlife conflicts 

threaten the integrity of wild animal 

populations and habitats 

found within southern 

Sangay National Park 

(SNP), Ecuador. Far 

ranging animals, like 

the Andean bear and 

large cats, frequently 

foray onto private lands 

where they encounter 

people and livestock. 

People often retaliate 

against the offending 

animals or clear 

habitat preemptively, 

negatively impacting 

these species, many of 

which are threatened. 

Long-term solutions to 

these conflicts require 

community engagement, training, and 

collaborative management.

Community Engagement and Training Local Parabiologists for 

the Protection of Globally Threatened Species in and Around 

Sangay National Park

Grantee: Carnivore Coexistence Lab - University of Wisconsin-Madison 

with Fundación Cordillera Tropical

Funded: 2009

Location: Ecuador

Fast Fact: Parabiologists are local community members who 

have been trained in field research methods, especially for 

conservation purposes. Typically a parabiologist works in high 

priority habitats with a focus on reporting conservation threats or 

monitoring for wildlife.

Project area shown in red.

©Fundación Cordillera Tropical
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 30

“Conservation 

should be 

understood as 

a participatory 

process in which 

learning is part of 

the experience. In 

conjunction with 

our neighbors, FCT 

and CCL seek to 

identify innovative 

solutions to existing 

human-wildlife 

conflicts in the 

Nudo del Azuay 

region of southern 

Ecuador.”

—Lucas Achig, 

Research and 

Monitoring Coordinator, 

Fundación Cordillera 

Tropical

The partnership between the FCT and 

the University of Wisconsin has focused 

on field research, local capacity building, 

and environmental education to identify 

site-specific solutions to human-wildlife 

conflicts. The primary objective of this 

collaboration has been to provide local 

landowners with the tools and knowledge 

to live alongside these far-ranging 

populations of wild animals in southern 

Sangay National Park. Specifically, 

FCT and CCL have focused intensively 

on training landowners, park guards, 

and FCT staff to respond nimbly to 

human-wildlife conflicts and to document 

successful stewardship of endangered 

species on private and communal lands.

Community parabiologists trained in 

wildlife monitoring techniques (such 

as the use of camera traps and GPS), 

have contributed greatly to the success 

of this project as liaisons to their home 

communities. Parabiologists conducted 

50 informal household interviews in 

communities around SNP to identify 

landowners affected by bear attacks 

during the past twelve months. Five 

affected landholders were identified. In 

response, FCT led a conflict mitigation 

workshop for these landowners from the 

Mazar and Llavircay sub-watersheds. 

Prior to the workshop, landowners 

indicated a limited knowledge of 

mitigation techniques. Training focused 

on fencing, increased patrol, noise, or 

visual deterrents. 

This training has taken place in 

the context of a larger biodiversity 

monitoring project to verify landholder 

compliance with a new national payment 

for the protection of environmental 

services (PPES) initiative in Ecuador 

called Socio Bosque. FCT has worked 

to establish a local PPES initiative that 

would link downstream water users to 

upstream providers for nearly five years. 

However, in August, 2009, Socio Bosque 

approached FCT with a proposal to work 

together on its national conservation 

initiative which will provide funding 

for 20-year conservation contracts on 

qualifying private land. 

CCL and FCT to complement each other 

with the following division of labor: CCL 

provides wildlife monitoring expertise 

Lesson Learned: Combine external technical knowledge with local expertise at every stage. Just as outside 

experts benefit from understanding the local context, local experts similarly benefit from an outside perspective. 

This synergy should exist not only at the training and design phases of a project but should be integrated 

throughout. In training community parabiologists, for example, this approach resulted in high quality monitoring 

data, local participation and acceptance of field activities, and effective dissemination of results locally, 

regionally, nationally, and internationally. CCL and FCT achieved this continuous and complementary mix of 

expertise at different times and in different places. Specifically, CCL brought lessons, methods, equipment, 

and funding from several disciplines and countries via quarterly, intensive training and planning visits. FCT 

supported a pair of trained biologists to transfer knowledge to community monitors (parabiologists). Community 

members, in turn, contributed their knowledge of local people, wildlife, and the landscape to inform continuous 

surveillance and systematic surveys of patrol routes.
31 Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

Fast Fact: Payment for the Protection of Ecosystem Services (PPES) 

represents a transaction between buyers and sellers of a given 

environmental service. Consumers provide monetary or in-kind 

incentives for landowners in exchange for managing their land in a 

way that continuously provides for the protection and provision of a 

given ecological service. In the case of Ecuador, the Socio Bosque 

program of the Ministry of Environment administers this kind of 

voluntary PPES agreements. 

CCL trains a Sangay National Park guard in the use of camera trapping.

University of Wisconsin

For more information, contact: 

Dr. Adrian Treves, Director, Carnivore Coexistence Lab University 

of Wisconsin-Madison

atreves@wisc.edu

www.nelson.wisc.edu

and

Catherine Schloegel, Director, Fundación Cordillera Tropical

director@cordilleratropical.org

www.cordilleratropical.org

with respect to carnivores and large 

vertebrates, training and technical 

support in human dimensions of wildlife. 

FCT coordinates with participating 

stakeholders, provides training and 

logistical support in the field, and critical 

on the ground project implementation. 

For example, CCL brings to the project 

experience with carnivore recovery 

in agro-ecosystem mosaics of private 

and public lands and research on 

wildlife threats to humans around 

park edges in six countries. Combining 

FCT’s local expertise with the depth 

of CCL’s international experience has 

brought a highly complementary mix 

of perspectives to the conservation 

challenges in southern SNP.

This conservation initiative is a 

University of Wisconsin-Madison 

and Fundación Cordillera Tropical 

partnership supported by the U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service together 

with the Land Tenure Center, the 

Electric Corporation of Ecuador - 

Hidropaute, and the U.S. Agency for 

International Development through the 

TRANSLINKS agreement.
32 Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas

On the Ground Success: Legacy Programs

The WWB-LAC program has a long history 

of providing funding support for training 

for wildlife conservation professionals in 

the Latin America and Caribbean region. 

An early focus of the program was to 

support the creation of regional centers of 

excellence to provide practical training for 

professionals who would become leaders in 

the conservation field. Graduate programs 

that for wildlife biologists and managers 

were developed with partners in Costa 

Rica, Brazil, and Argentina, including:

• National University of Costa Rica 

• Federal University of Minas Gerais 

• National University of Córdoba 

All programs offer master of science 

degrees, and some also offer a Ph.D. 

These programs provide training for future 

conservation professionals, local leaders, 

and policymakers. In addition, a fourth 

program called RESERVA, designed to provide professional field training for protected areas managers, 

recently celebrated more than 20 years of partnership with the WWB-LAC program. 

Specifically, WWB-LAC provides funding for scholarships, field courses, thesis work, and visiting 

professors. This financial commitment has generated great dividends for wildlife conservation. In 

contrast to the mid-1980s when no such graduate level education programs existed in the region, today 

more than 500 highly skilled graduates of these local programs work as conservation professionals in 

their home countries.

As countries within the region expand their conservation efforts, the demand for trained conservation 

professionals continues to grow. The following pages highlight each of the four legacy training programs 

which collectively represent 89 years of WWB-LAC partnership. 
33 Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

“In ICOMVIS, 

we are creating 

new generations 

of conservation 

leaders, not just 

from within Costa 

Rica, but at the 

regional level that 

includes leaders 

from across Latin 

America.”

—Grace Wong Reyes, 

Professor of Biology, 

ICOMVIS 

Roció Polanco Ochoa 

(at right) works with 

indigenous tribes 

in Colombia, 

Ecuador, and Perú.

National University of Costa Rica

Launched in 1984 as the first Master 

of Science program in Wildlife 

Management in Latin America, today 

the International Institute for Wildlife 

Conservation and Management 

(ICOMVIS, by its Spanish acronym) is 

a model program. Since its inception, 

the WWB-LAC program has provided 

financial assistance in the form of 

scholarships, support for thesis 

work, and field courses throughout 

Central America. 

In 1995, ICOMVIS was awarded 

the prestigious Rainforest Alliance 

Award in recognition of the program’s 

contribution to natural resource 

conservation. In the fall of 2009, the 

program celebrated its 25th anniversary. 

More than 150 students from 19 different 

countries throughout Latin America 

and the Caribbean are graduates of 

the program. These professionals have 

gone on to have a multiplier effect in the 

conservation community as directors of 

wildlife agencies in their home countries, 

non-profit program managers, biology 

professors, and political leaders. 

For example, Roció Polanco Ochoa 

from Colombia (see photo) was part 

of the 8th cohort to graduate from 

ICOMVIS. Today Roció is a project 

manager for Tropenbos International 

Colombia, a non-governmental 

conservation organization focused on 

sustainable forestry use. In this role, 

Roció coordinates forest management 

and policy activities among six partner 

institutions in Colombia, Perú, and 

Ecuador as well as 20 local indigenous 

community organizations in the region.

The International Institute for Conservation and Management 

of Wildlife, National University of Costa Rica
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 34

UMFG graduate Katia Torres Ribeiro (center) at Serra do Cipó National 

Park, Brazil.

I participated in the 

ECMVS master’s 

program from 1995 

to 1997. It was a 

pioneer program, 

having shaped 

a generation 

interested in 

conservation and 

management. 

This experience 

influenced me 

to work in the 

Brazilian protected 

areas system. 

—Katia Torres 

Ribeiro, Research 

Support Coordinator, 

Chico Mendes Institute 

for the Conservation of 

Biodiversity at Serra 

do Cipó National 

Park, Brazil

Brazil’s graduate program in Ecology, 

Conservation and Wildlife Management 

(ECMVS by its Portuguese acronym) 

enrolled its first students in 1989. The 

ECMVS Program offers Master’s 

and Doctoral degrees in wildlife and 

ecosystem management. To date, at 

least 40 students have received degrees 

through this program. 

Similar to the Costa Rica and Argentina 

programs, funding from the WWB-LAC 

program supports thesis work, field 

studies, and visiting professorships. 

Students receiving thesis scholarships 

focus their research on protected areas 

or surrounding buffer zones. Students 

are encouraged to research issues such 

as land-use planning, conservation 

policy, and human-wildlife conflict, 

as well as environmental education 

activities within communities inside and 

near protected areas.

For example, Katia Torres Ribeiro 

graduated from the ECMVS program 

in 1997, having focused her master’s 

research on the ecology of endemic plant 

species within Serra do Cipó National 

Park in Brazil (see photo). Following 

graduate school, she began working in 

the park full time as its Environmental 

Coordinator. Katia established the first 

community volunteer fire program for 

the park, and also helped launch the 

park’s first visitor center. 

Ecology, Conservation, and Wildlife Management Program 

Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil
35 Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

Erio Curto, a graduate of CZA, releases a Rosy-billed Pochard (Netta peposaca) 

into the wild. National University of Córdoba

The hemisphere’s most recent addition 

to graduate training programs was 

established in 1992 at the National 

University of Córdoba’s Center of 

Applied Zoology (CZA by its Spanish 

acronym). The Graduate Program 

in Wildlife Management emphasizes 

integration of multidisciplinary skill 

development for resolving complex 

problems at habitat and ecosystem 

levels. Students are encouraged to 

complete internships at national 

parks and other protected areas to 

provide practical experience in solving 

conservation management challenges. 

More than 61 students from 10 countries 

in the region have graduated from 

the program since its inception. As 

with the Costa Rica and Brazil wildlife 

management programs, many of the 

CZA graduates are now leaders in the 

conservation field. 

For example, Erio Domingo Curto is 

a graduate of the program who now 

serves as Coordinator of the Mar 

Chiquita Biological Station in Argentina. 

Mar Chiquita is a naturally occurring 

saline lake in Córdoba, Argentina and a 

“wetland of international importance” 

under the Convention on Wetlands of 

International Importance (or Ramsar 

Convention). Beyond his role as 

coordinator of the biological station, 

Erio continually raises public awareness 

about environmental issues by providing 

guidance to local governments in and 

around the Mar Chiquita Ramsar site. 

“The Córdoba 

program has 

demonstrated 

that it is possible 

to contribute to 

conservation 

and regional 

development by 

concentrating on a 

few key protected 

areas where the 

threshold of effort 

required to achieve 

significant changes 

can be overcome.” 

—Enrique Boucher, 

Ph.D., Director of the 

Graduate Program in 

Wildlife Management 

at the Center of Applied 

Zoology, National 

University of Córdoba 

from 1992 – 2009

Center of Applied Zoology National University of 

Córdoba, Argentina
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas

The RESERVA Program

Simply designating protected areas 

does not guarantee achievement of 

conservation and sustainable resource 

use goals. Currently, only a fraction of 

the protected area managers needed 

for conservation in the region is available 

to assume such responsibility and few 

are trained in the skills to achieve 

successful management. 

To address this need, in 1989 the WWBLAC program partnered with Ducks 

Unlimited of Mexico (DUMAC) to 

launch the Ecological Reserve Manager 

Training Program (or RESERVA by 

its Spanish acronym). The program is 

designed to provide in-service training 

to accommodate professionals who are 

already working in protected areas 

management. It is unique in that it 

provides practical, intensive training 

and unlike traditional master’s 

programs, participants are not required 

to be full-time students for an extended 

period of time. 

RESERVA offers a two month 

multidisciplinary, field-based, wildlife 

management training curriculum to 

Latin American and Caribbean park 

guards, biologists, planners and others 

currently working in natural resource 

management. Based in Monterrey, 

Mexico, the program provides 

instruction in applied fields ranging 

from terrestrial and marine ecology 

to community outreach. Natural 

resource managers from every Latin 

American country and several Caribbean 

countries have participated in the 

RESERVA program. After completion 

of the course, participants immediately 

begin putting their new knowledge to 

use in their home countries.

Since its inception, the Service has 

invested more than $2.5 million in 

RESERVA, with partners providing 

more than $3 million in matching 

funds. With these funds, approximately 

300 reserve managers from 22 

countries in the Western Hemisphere 

have been trained. 

36

“The RESERVA 

course provided me 

with important tools 

in protected area 

management, but 

most importantly, 

it created a 

foundation in 

me for a better 

understanding of 

the need to manage 

protected areas 

in an inclusive 

fashion, integrating 

various disciplines 

such as wildlife 

management, 

environmental 

education, and 

community 

participation. This 

understanding 

prepared me well.”

—Rafael Manzanero, 

graduate of RESERVA, 

Executive Director 

of Friends for 

Conservation and 

Development in Belize
37 Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

Appendix 1: Wildlife Without 

Borders Program Partners 

(2005 - 2010)

The following list includes all organizations and institutions that have received 

conservation funding support from the Wildlife Without Borders Regional 

Program for Latin America and the Caribbean during fiscal years 2005-2010. 

For more information on how to become a grantee, please check our website 

www.fws.gov/international.

Amazon Conservation Association 

www.amazonconservation.org

Amazon Conservation Team

www.amazonteam.org

American Bird Conservancy 

www.abcbirds.org

Asociación ANAI

anaicr.wordpress.com

Asociación de Rescate y Conservación 

de Vida Silvestre

(Association for Rescue and 

Conservation of Wildlife, ARCAS)

www.arcasguatemala.com

Asociación Guyra Paraguay

www.guyra.org.py

Asociación Latinoamericana de 

Conservación y Manejo de Vida Silvestre

(Latin American Association of 

Conservation and Wildlife 

Management, ALCOM)

www.alcomlatino.org

Asociación para el Desarrollo Sostenible 

del Área de Conservación Tempisque

(Association for Sustainable 

Development in the Tempisque 

Conservation Area, ASOTEMPISQUE)

asotempisque@costarricense.cr

Asociación para la Conservación de 

Ambientes Marinos y Costeros

(Association for the Conservation of 

Coastal and Marine Environments)

www.proyectotortugasmarinas.org

Asociación Universidad para la 

Cooperación Internacional

(Association of the University for 

International Cooperation)

www.uci.ac.cr

Association of State Wetland Managers

www.aswm.org

Association of Zoos & Aquariums 

www.aza.org

Aves Argentinas 

(Birds of Argentina)

www.avesargentinas.org.ar

www.avesargentinas.org.ar/cs/en/

english.php 

©ProAves 

©ProAves 

©ProAves 

©Finding Species
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 38

Bat Conservation International

www.batcon.org

Caribbean Natural Resources Institute 

www.canari.org

Centro Agrónomo Tropical de 

Investigación y Enseñaza 

(Center for Tropical Agronomy 

Research and Learning, CATIE)

www.catie.ac.cr

Centro Científico Tropical

(Tropical Science Center)

www.cct.or.cr

Centro Neotropical de Entrenamiento en 

Humedales 

(Neotropical Center for Wetlands 

Training, CNEH)

www.centroneotropical.org

Centro Regional para el Hemisferio 

Occidental 

(Regional Ramsar Center for the 

Western Hemisphere, CREHO)

www.creho.org 

Colorado State University 

www.colostate.edu

Conservation International 

www.conservation.org

Cornell University

www.cornell.edu

Ducks Unlimited de Mexico, A.C. 

www.dumac.org

EcoLogic Development Fund

www.ecologic.org

Ecology Project International

www.ecologyproject.org

Environmental Concern

www.wetland.org

Fauna & Flora International

www.fauna-flora.org

Finding Species

www.findingspecies.org

Friends of the Environment

www.friendsoftheenvironment.org

Friends of the Osa

www.osaconservation.org

Fundação Biodiversitas

(Biodiversity Foundation)

www.biodiversitas.org.br

Fundación Conservación y Desarrollo

(Conservation and Development 

Foundation)

www.fundacionconydes.org

Fundación Conservación y Estudio 

de la Biodiversidad

(Foundation for the Conservation and 

Study of Biodiversity, CEBIO)

www.cebio.org.ar

Fundación Conservación, 

Naturaleza y Vida 

(Foundation for Conservation, Nature 

and Life, CONAVI)

www.conavida.org

Fundación de Parques Nacionales 

y Medio Ambiente

(Foundation for National Parks and the 

Environment, Fundación PA.NA.M.A.)

fundacionpanama.org

Fundación Defensores de la Naturaleza

(Defendors of Nature Foundation)

www.defensores.org.gt

Fundación pour la Protection de la 

Biodiversite Marine

(Foundation for the Protection of Marine 

Biodiversity, FoProBiM)

www.foprobim.org

Smithsonian Conservation 

Biology Institute

©Chris Fagan/Upper 

Amazon Conservancy

©Finding Species

©Chris Fagan/Upper 

Amazon Conservancy
Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean 39

Fundación PROTEGER

(Foundation PROTECT)

www.proteger.org.ar

Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina

(Wildlife Foundation of Argentina)

www.vidasilvestre.org.ar

Houston Zoo

www.houstonzoo.org

Instituto Pro-Carnívoros

(Pro-Carnivore Institute)

www.procarnivoros.org.br

Instituto Terra Brasilis

(Brasilis Earth Institute)

www.terrabrasilis.org.br

Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones 

Cientificas

(Venezuelan Institute for Scientific 

Research)

www.ivic.gob.ve

International Conservation Caucus 

Foundation

www.iccfoundation.us

International Fund for Animal Welfare 

www.ifaw.org

International Iguana Foundation

www.iguanafoundation.org

Jaguar Conservation Fund

www.jaguar.org.br

LifeScape International

species1@hotmail.com

Lubee Bat Conservancy

www.batconservancy.org

National Audubon Society

www.audubon.org

NatureServe

www.natureserve.org

Organización de Profesionales en 

Biodiversidad y Medioambiente 

(Organization for Professionals in 

Biodiversity and the Environment, 

PROBIOMA)

probioma-probioma.blogspot.com

Organización Nacional para la 

Conservación y el Ambiente

(National Organization for Conservation 

and the Environment, ONCA)

www.asociaciononca.org

Organization for Tropical Studies

www.ots.duke.edu

Organization of American States

www.oas.org

Panthera

www.panthera.org

Paso Pacífico

www.pasopacifico.org

PCI Media Impact

www.population.org

Perry Institute for Marine Science

www.perryinstitute.org

Rainforest Alliance

www.rainforest-alliance.org

Round River Conservation Studies

www.roundriver.org

Saint Louis Zoo

www.stlzoo.org

Sarteneja Alliance for Conservation and 

Development

sacdsarteneja@gmail.com

Serra do Cipó National Park, Brazil

www.ufmg.br/pos/ecologia/usfish/index.

php/inicial

katia.ribeiro@icmbio.gov.br

Smithsonian Conservation 

Biology Institute

©ProAves 

©ProAves 

©Finding Species
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 40

Sociedad Zoológica de Francfort Perú 

(Zoological Society of Frankfort in Peru)

www.szfperu.org

Society for the Conservation and Study of 

Caribbean Birds 

www.scscb.org

Texas Tech University 

www.ttu.edu

The Conservation Land Trust

www.theconservationlandtrust.org

The International Ecotourism Society 

www.ecotourism.org

The Society for Conservation GIS

www.scgis.org

Toledo Institute for Development and 

Environment 

www.tidebelize.org

Truman State University

www.truman.edu

Universidad Austral de Chile Campus 

Isla Teja 

(Austral University of Chile, Teja 

Island Campus)

www.ciencias.uach.cl/instituto/ecologia_

evolucion

Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala,

(University of San Carlos of Guatemala)

www.usac.edu.gt/cecon.php

Universidad Mayor de Chile

www.umayor.cl

Universidad Nacional Agraria de La 

Selva, Perú

www.universidadperu.com/universidadnacional-agraria-de-la-selva.php

Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, 

Argentina

www.unc.edu/ar

www.unc.edu/ar/english

Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica

www.una.ac.cr

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 

Brazil

www.ufmg.br

www.ufmg.br/english

University of Missouri, St. Louis

www.umsl.edu

University of Wisconsin Madison

www.nelson.wisc.edu

Upper Amazon Conservancy 

upperamazon.org

Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle 

Conservation Network 

www.widecast.org

Wildlife Conservation Network 

www.wildnet.org

Wildlife Conservation Society

www.wcs.org

Wildlife Trust

www.wildlifetrust.org

Windsor Research Centre

www.cockpitcountry.com

World Wildlife Fund

www.worldwildlife.org

Zoological Society of San Diego 

www.sandiegozoo.org 

©Chris Fagan/Upper Amazon 

Conservancy 

©Finding Species

©ProAves

Smithsonian Conservation 

Biology Institute
Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

Appendix 2: Wildlife Without 

Borders Projects (2005 - 2010)

Caribbean 

Community Conservation

*1. Strengthening Capacity to Conserve 

Protected Wetlands: The West Indian 

Whistling Duck Conservation Project 

SCSCB, FY 2007, 2008, & 2009 

USFWS: $173,492

2. Local Community Empowerment to 

protect Cyclura ricordii in the Dominican 

Republic and Haiti

International Iguana Foundation

FY 2010, USFWS: $24,926

3. Bi-national Campaign for Community 

Education and Conservation of the 

threatened Hispaniolan Parrot

National Aviary in Pittsburgh, Inc.

FY 2007, USFWS: $10,417

4. McKenzie Sanctuary: A Living 

Education Center

Friends of the Environment

FY 2007, USFWS: $5,000

41

“It is clear that 

biodiversity 

threats cross 

borders: habitat 

fragmentation, 

deforestation, 

invasive species, 

and climate 

change are just 

a few examples. 

Our responses 

have to cross 

borders, too.”

—The late Juan 

Pablo Arce, Director 

for Latin America 

and the Caribbean at 

NatureServe 

*Projects with a region-wide impact.
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 42

5. Environmental Education and 

Capacity Building in Haiti

Fondation pour la Protection de la 

Biodiversité Marine, 

FY 2006, USFWS: $5000 

Coordination & 

Information Exchange

*6. Building Capacity for Conservation 

and Sustainable Use of Birds and 

their Habitats

SCSCB, FY 2009, USFWS: $23,644

*7. Strengthening In-country Capacity 

for Avian Conservation and Research 

SCSCB, FY 2005 & 2007, 

USFWS: $43,800

*8. Increasing SCSCB’s Capacity to 

Provide Leadership in Avian Conservation

SCSCB, FY 2006, USFWS: $18,720 

Outreach & Education

*9. Strengthening Capacity to Conserve 

and Sustainably Manage Birds and 

Important Habitats in the Caribbean

Society for the Conservation and Study 

of Caribbean Birds, FY 2010, 

USFWS: $58,750

*10. My Island – My Community, Climate 

Change Awareness & Adaptation

PCI Media, FY2010, USFWS: $135,000

*11. Andros Iguana Outreach Campaign 

Zoological Society of San Diego

FY 2006, USFWS: $9,884

Insects, such as these grasshoppers, make up a significant portion of the 

world’s biodiversity. ©Finding Species 

Fast Fact: Mangrove forests provide excellent protection against 

coastal erosion and storm surge – both of which are expected to 

intensify due to climate change. For this reason, the My Island – My 

Community project is promoting conservation and rehabilitation of 

mangroves. These trees are unique in that they grow in salt water 

and can tolerate low-oxygen environments. 
Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

Protected Areas Training 

& Management

12. Managing Marine Parks in The 

Bahamas: Bonefish Pond National Park 

and Central Andros Marine Parks

Perry Institute for Marine Science

FY 2009, USFWS: $24,477

Research, Monitoring 

& Planning

13. Towards the Protection and 

Conservation of the Jamaican Boa in its 

Stronghold of Cockpit Country, Jamaica 

Windsor Research Center 

FY 2009, USFWS: $28,722.15

14. Ricord’s Iguana Education Initiative 

in the Dominican Republic 

International Iguana Foundation 

FY 2006, USFWS: $8,600

15. Status, Breeding Ecology and 

Conservation Genetics of the 

Endangered Bay-breasted Cuckoo 

(Hyetornis rufigularis) 

American Bird Conservancy

FY2005, USFWS: $5,000

Other Regional Initiatives 

(not shown on map)

*Second Edition of Los Maravillosos 

Humedales del Caribe Insular: Libro de 

Trabajo para el Maestro 

SCSCB, FY 2008, USFWS: $1,500

*The West Indian Whistling Duck and 

Wetlands Conservation 

West Indian Whistling Duck 

Working Group

FY 2005 & 2006, USFWS: $88,000

*Supporting Conservation in the 

Caribbean region: Training of NGO 

Stakeholders as a Tool to Enhance 

Partnership 

The International Ecotourism Society 

FY 2008, USFWS: $36,964

*Building capacity to care for sick 

and injured Sea Turtles: Standard 

Guidelines and Criteria for the Wider 

Caribbean Region 

Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle 

Conservation Network (WIDECAST), 

FY 2006 & 2008, USFWS: $25,540

43

Learning the wetland 

sounds of Guadeloupe.

©Lisa Sorenson/SCSCB
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas

Community Conservation

1. A Paradigm Shift Toward Alternative 

Livelihood Strategies in Pearl Lagoon 

Basin, Nicaragua 

Cornell University, FY 2010, $32,417

2. Conserving the Critically Endangered 

Spiny-Tailed Iguanas of Islas de la 

Bahia, Honduras 

Truman State University, 

FY 2010, $24,905

3. Conservation, Management and 

Participatory Protection in the Jeanette 

Kawas National Park, Honduras 

Panthera, FY 2010, $24,985

4. A Participatory Approach to Threats 

to Aquatic Biodiversity & Biological 

Corridor Function in Talamanca 

Asociación

ANAI, FY 2009, $30,174

5. Community Based Forest Stewardship 

in Guatemala’s Western Highlands 

EcoLogic Development Fund

FY 2009, $25,000

6. Participative Environmental Education 

Program for Indigenous Maya-Q’eqchi’ 

Communities 

Organización Nacional para la 

Conservación y el Ambiente

FY 2009, $24,950

Central America 

44

*Projects with a region-wide impact.
Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean 45

7. Training of Stakeholders and 

Environmental Committees of the 

Indigenous Communities Ngobe 

Bugle and Naso in the Panamánian 

Caribbean Region 

Conservation International

FY 2008, $24,829

8. Participatory Avian Biodiversity 

Monitoring within the Volcan Central 

Talamanca Biological Corridor 

CATIE, FY 2008 & 2010, $53,071

9. Conservation of Wild Cats and 

Their Prey Inside Cattle Ranches 

FUNDAUNA, FY 2007 & 2010, $35,199

10. Community Involvement in the 

Protection of Mangrove Habitat and 

Endemic Birds on the Osa Peninsula 

Friends of the Osa, FY 2007, $15,208

11. Capacity Building in Municipal/

Communal Protected Areas in the 

Pine-Oak Forests of Huehuetenango 

Conservation International

FY 2007, $14,992

12. Conservation of Baird’s Tapir 

in Guatemala 

Organizacion de Profesionales en 

Biodiversidad y Medioambiente 

(PROBIOMA)

FY 2007, $9,700

13. Education of Priority Social Sectors 

to Ensure Conservation of the Jabiru 

in Costa Rica 

ASOTEMPISQUE, FY 2007, $9,994

14. Training Osa Peninsula Youth on the 

Importance of Wildlife Conservation

FUNDAUNA, FY 2007, $9,900

15. Environmental Education in 

Indigenous Communities of Bosawas 

Saint Louis Zoo, FY 2006, $24,227

16. Cockscomb Jaguar Project: 

Addressing Problem Felids in Belize 

Wildlife Conservation Society

FY 2006, $10,000

17. Strengthening Conservation and 

Management Initiatives for the Antillean 

Manatee in Belize

Wildlife Trust, FY 2006, $9,997

18. Scarlet Macaw Conservation in 

the Mayan Biosphere Reserve, Peten, 

Guatemala 

Asociación de Rescate y Conservación 

de Vida Silvestre (ARCAS)

FY 2006, $5,000

19. Management of Sea Turtle Rookeries 

& Dry Tropical Conservation, Panama 

Fundación de Parques Nacionales y 

Medio Ambiente, FY 2005, $20,000

20. Watershed Approach to Environmental 

Education in Southern Belize 

Toledo Institute for Development 

and Environment, FY 2005, $15,000

*21. Environmental Magazines & 

Photography 

FUNDAUNA, FY 2005, $14,860

22. Parque Ecologico Nueva Juventud - 

San Andres, Peten, Guatemala 

Volunteer Petén, Inc., FY 2005, $5,000

Coordination & 

Information Exchange

23. Development and Sustainable 

Implementation of a National Ranger 

Training School in Belize

Fauna & Flora International

FY 2010, $30,934

*24. Workshop: Preparing Highly 

Effective Conservation Professionals for 

the Future Fauna & Flora International, 

FY 2009, $150,102

“I work for Friends 

of the Osa, a small 

organization 

with a mission 

to protect the 

land and water 

resources of the 

Osa Peninsula 

region. The 

Wildlife Without 

Borders program 

and the Friends 

of the Osa have 

been working 

together to build 

alliances that help 

us strengthen 

the capacity of 

local people 

so they can 

work in the 

mangroves 

without 

exploiting them.

—Guido Saborio, 

Science Director for 

Friends of the Osa
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 46

*25. Strengthening the Capacity of the 

Ramsar Regional Center (CREHO) Centro 

Regional para el Hemisferio Occidental 

FY 2005-2008, $164,017

26. Baird’s Tapir Conservation 

Workshop: Population and Habitat 

Viability Assessment 

Houston Zoo, FY 2005, $5,000

Field Courses for 

Decision Makers

 27. International Conservation College 

Costa Rica Program 

International Conservation 

Caucus Foundation, FY 2009, $50,000

*28. Training Managers and 

Environmental Decision-Makers 

to Integrate Wildlands into a 

Sustainable Landscape 

Organization for Tropical Studies

FY 2006, $40,000

29. U.S. Decision Maker Course: 

Conservation and Development in 

Tropical Countries 

Organization for Tropical Studies

FY 2005-2008, $83,175

Graduate Studies 

in Conservation

*30. Masters Program in 

Conservation and Wildlife 

Management for Latin Americans

FUNDAUNA

FY 2005-2010, $308,214

*31. Integrated Training Courses for 

Graduate-level Wildlife Management 

Students & Protected-Areas 

Decision Makers 

NatureServe

FY 2008, $30,000

*32. Support for the Latin American 

School for Protected Areas (ELAP) 

Asociación Universidad para la 

Cooperación Internacional

FY 2008, $25,000

Outreach & Education

33. Raising Awareness of the 

Importance of Capacity Building 

to Support Conservation of Habitat 

Association of Zoos & Aquariums

FY 2008, $40,600

Professional & 

Technical Training

*34. RESERVA Course, Session XXIV 

Ducks Unlimited de Mexico, A.C.

FY 2005-2009, $125,000

35. Azuero Dry Tropical Forest 

Training Project, Panama 

Fundación Conservación, 

Naturaleza y Vida, FY 2010, $25,000

36. Panama Bay Shorebird 

Conservation Partnership Initiative

National Audubon Society

FY 2009, $21,045

37. Training Program for the 

Environmental Education 

Commission, Monteverde 

Centro Cientifico Tropical

FY 2007, $5,000

*38. Bat Conservation Priorities 

and Networks in Mesoamerica and 

the Caribbean 

Lubee Bat Conservancy

FY 2007, $6,000

39. Support for a Wetland Management 

Program in the Peruvian Yungas Amazon 

Universidad Nacional Agraria 

de la Selva

FY 2006, $10,000

“The resources 

provided by the 

U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service 

have enabled 

me to create 

educational 

materials for 

the schools and 

communities 

around Corcovado 

National Park... 

I’ve strived for 

a multiplier 

effect among 

the local people 

so they become 

knowledgeable 

about the 

importance of 

the wildlife.”

—Grace Wong Reyes, 

Professor of Biology, 

ICOMVIS 
Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean

Protected Areas Training 

& Management

40. Developing a Framework for 

Environmental, Financial & Social 

Sustainability for the Effective 

Management of the Corozal Bay 

Wildlife Sanctuary 

Sarteneja Alliance for Conservation 

& Development, FY 2010, $24,936 

41. Coordination and Development of the 

University Protected Area System, while 

Emphasizing the Role of Park Rangers 

Universidad de San Carlos de 

Guatemala (USAC), FY 2010, $19,420

42. Strengthening the Health 

Management of Wildlife Species 

Universidade Ciencias Comerciales

FY 2010, $17,622

43. Implementation of Conservation 

Finance Mechanisms on the Island of 

Ometepe, Nicaragua 

Fauna and Flora International

FY 2009, $24,997

44. Strengthening Management Capacity 

for Belize’s Bladen Nature Reserve 

Fauna and Flora International

FY 2009, $23,943

45. Fortalecimiento de Capacidades 

Tecnicas de Reservas Naturales Privadas 

Fundación Defensores de la Naturaleza 

FY 2009, $22,356

46. Building Protected Area 

Management Capacity on the Island 

of Ometepe, Nicaragua

Fauna and Flora International

FY 2008, $26,740

Research, Monitoring 

& Planning

47. Protecting the Critically 

Endangered Black-Handed Spider 

Monkey in Nicaragua

Paso Pacífico, FY 2010, $21,280

Other Regional Initiatives 

(not shown on map)

*A Children’s Education Manual on the 

Impact of Climate Change on Wildlife 

FUNDAUNA, FY 2009, $53,777

*Evaluación y Conservación e la 

Biodiversidad en Paisajes Fragmentados 

de Mesoamerica 

FUNDAUNA, FY 2005, $7,000

47

Guanacos (Lama guanicoe) with an oil 

field in the background. 

©Martin Monteverde-Natalia Radovani Wildlife 

Conservation Society
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas

Community Conservation

1. Strengthening Marine Education in 

Schools and Building Capacity of Field 

Managers for Marine Conservation in 

Tumbes, North Perú 

Asociación para la Conservación de 

Ambientes Marinos y Costeros

FY 2010, $13,710

*2. Community Management: Traditional 

& Scientific Knowledge Working 

Together for Wildlife Conservation in 

Brazilian Amazonia

Wildlife Conservation Society

FY 2009, $27,033

3. Strengthening Local Capacity to Ensure 

Wildlife Conservation in the TamshiyacuTahuayo Community Regional Reserve, in 

Northern Perú 

Wildlife Conservation Society

FY 2009, $26,556

4. Wetland Conservation of Four 

Protected Areas in the High Andes: 

Providing Water to the City of Quito 

Finding Species, FY 2009, $24,711

5. Conservation and Management 

of Guanacos in Northern Patagonia 

Wildlife Conservation Society 

FY 2006 & 2009, $38,715

South America 

48

*Projects with a region-wide impact.
Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean 49

6. Capacity Building for the Conservation 

of the Long-Wattled Umbrella Bird 

and its Habitat 

Finding Species, FY 2009, $27,243

7. Building the Capacity of Managers in 

Argentina’s Urban Reserves to Combat 

Invasive Species 

Aves Argentinas, FY 2008, $9,886.80

8. Environmental Education of Private 

Landowners for Species and Ecosystem 

Conservation in the Colombian Orinoquia 

ALCOM, FY 2007, $17,900

9. Jaguars & People: Designing an 

Educational Program for the Cerrado 

Based on Regional Perception

Jaguar Conservation Fund

FY 2007, $14,300

10. Building Partnerships for the 

Conservation of a Critically 

Endangered Species, the 

Brazilian Merganser

Instituto, Terra Brasilis, 

FY 2007, $11,891

11. Education for Wildlife Conservation in 

the Pantanal 

Guyra Paraguay, FY 2007, $10,000

12. Landscapes and Sustainable 

Communities for Conservation of the 

Atlantic Forest, Brazil

Associação Mico Leao Dourado

FY 2007, $10,000

13. Maned Wolf and Farmers: 

Improving their Relationships in the 

Brazilian Cerrado 

Instituto Pro-Carnivoros

FY 2007, $10,000

14. The Don Oso Project: Andean Bear 

Research, Awareness, and Protection in 

Southeastern Ecuador 

Round River Conservation Studies

FY 2006 & 2007, $25,000

15. Building Capacities for Management: 

Conservation and Wise Use of 

Fishing Resources Jaaukanigas

Fundación PROTEGER 

FY 2007, $9,000

16. Community Participation in San Pedro 

Mangrove Conservation and Management 

Plan Development

CNEH - Perú, FY 2007, $6,990

17. Alder Amazon project: Conservation 

Action in Argentina 

Fundación Conservación y Estudio de la 

Biodiversidad (CEBIO), FY 2007, $9,900

18. Protecting Jaguars in the 

Brazilian Pantanal

Jaguar Conservation Fund

FY 2006, $15,000

19. Participatory Community Awareness 

Program for the Endangered WhiteWhiskered Spider Monkey 

Fauna & Flora International

FY 2006, $10,000

20. Galapagos Islands Ecology Program 

Ecology Project International

FY 2005, 2006 & 2010, $44,942

Coordination & 

Information Exchange

21. Developing Fundación Sirua’s 

Long-term Sustainability in Ecuador’s 

Awacachi Corridor 

Fauna & Flora International

FY 2010, $26,129

“The quality 

of life in the 

United States 

is intimately 

connected with 

the thoughtful 

stewardship 

of wildlife 

throughout 

the Americas. 

The Wildlife 

Without Borders 

program trains 

professionals 

to solve local 

challenges, such 

as deforestation 

and migratory 

bird conservation, 

in ways that 

transcend national 

boundaries and 

touch Americans 

back home.”

—Mary Klein, President 

and CEO, NatureServe
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 50

*22. Western Hemisphere Migratory 

Species Initiative-Third 

Hemispheric Conference

Guyra Paraguay, FY 2008, $151,684

*23. Development & Management of 

a Database for Academic and 

Technical Programs 

ALCOM, FY 2008, $12,000

24. Strengthening the Network of 

Volunteers for Jaguar Conservation in 

Argentina, Fundación Vida Silvestre 

Argentina, FY 2006, $10,009

25. Building Conservation Leadership in 

Bolivia, Cochabama, & La Paz 

Wildlife Trust, FY 2006, $10,230

26. Lowland Tapir Conservation 

Workshop: Population and Habitat 

Viability Assessment 

Houston Zoo, FY 2006, $5,000

27. Institutional Strengthening of CNEHPerú & Capacity-Building for the San 

Pedro de Vice Mangrove Communities 

CNEH-Perú, FY 2006, $5,000

28. High Andean Polylepis Forest 

Conservation: Alliance Building and 

Community Participation 

American Bird Conservancy

FY 2006, $4,187

29. Maned Wolf Workshop- Population 

and Habitat Viability Analysis (PHVA) 

Instituto Pro-Carnivoros, 

FY 2005, $4,500

Graduate Studies 

in Conservation

*30. Graduate Program in Wildlife 

Management at the National University of 

Córdoba, Argentina 

Centro de Zoología Aplicada

FY 2005-2009, $281,120

*31. Graduate Program Support: Ecology, 

Conservation, and Wildlife 

FUNDEP, FY 2007 & 2008, $67,880

*32. Master of Science in 

Biodiversity Conservation 

Universidad Mayor de Chíle

FY 2005, $10,000

*33. Bird Ecology & Conservation: 

Analysis of Ecological Communities 

Graduate Course

University of Missouri, St. Louis

FY 2006, $5,000

Professional & 

Technical Training

34. Bats without Borders: Building 

Capacity for the Protection of Colombia’s 

Biodiversity and National Park Habitats 

Bat Conservation International

FY 2010, $25,000

35. A Burning Issue: Creating a Fire 

Control Service for the Paraguayan 

Pantanal Reserve, Paraguay 

Guyra Paraguay, FY 2010, $24,970

*36. Human and Institutional CapacityBuilding for Wetland Conservation & 

Management in Protected Areas

Centro Neotropical de Entrenamiento 

en Humedales, FY 2008, $27,000

*37. Capacity Building in the 

Management of Nature Reserves and 

Other Protected Areas 

Colorado State University,

FY 2006 & 2008, $24,316

*38. Interdisciplinary Principles and 

Tools for Endangered Species Recovery: 

Training Course for Latin American 

Conservation Leaders

Conservation Land Trust

FY 2008 & 2007, $13,720

“What makes 

Wildlife Without 

Borders great is 

that it works from 

the ground up, 

from the project 

up. And if you lace 

these projects 

together, as we 

have, you get a 

very, very 

strong fiber.”

—Dr. Steven Sanderson, 

President & CEO, 

Wildlife Conservation 

Society 
Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean 51

*39. Environmental Policy Analysis 

Training Course: a Social, Economic and 

Biodiversity Conservation Approach 

NatureServe, FY 2007, $18,757

40. Strengthening Management to 

Conserve Natural Protected Areas 

in Mendoza: Tourism Guide Training 

Fundación Conservación y Desarrollo

FY 2007, $9,615

41. Creating a Sustained Effort to 

Locate Populations of Darwin’s Fox and 

Guigna in Chile 

Wildlife Conservation Network 

FY 2006, $9,776

Protected Areas Training 

& Management

42. Building Local and Indigenous 

Conservation Management Capacity 

for Perú’s Manú National Park & 

Surrounding Conservation Areas, Perú 

Amazon Conservation Association

FY 2010, $28,438

43. Strategic Planning of 

Protected Areas 

Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina

FY 2008 & 2010, $37,460

44. Indigenous Park Guard Training: 

Monitoring Alto Fragua Indi Wasi 

National Park in Colombia 

Amazon Conservation Team

FY 2010, $25,000

45. Reserva Natural Laguna Blanca: 

Collaboration of Educational, 

Governmental, and Non-governmental 

Organizations in Paraguay

Texas Tech University

FY 2010, $24,772

46. Training Key Personnel of 

Urban Natural Reserves to Develop 

and Implement Management 

Plans in Argentina

Aves Argentinas, FY 2010, $10,904

47. From Capacity Building to 

Implementation: Designing a Long-term 

Monitoring Program for Threatened 

Wildlife in Southern Chile

Universidad Austral de Chile

FY 2010, $14,270

48. Building Capacity for Monitoring in 5 

Adjacent Protected Areas & Indigenous 

Territories in Greater Madidi-Tambopata 

Wildlife Conservation Society 

FY 2009, $42,560

49. Strengthening Conservation Knowhow while Promoting Productive 

Dialogue Amongst Key Stakeholders in 

the Southern Brazilian Amazon

Fauna & Flora International

FY 2009, $31,975

50. Community Engagement & 

Parabiologist Training 

to Protect Globally 

Threatened Species, 

Ecuador 

University of Wisconsin

FY 2009, $32,552

51. Strengthening Park 

Guard Control 

& Monitoring in Yasuní 

National 

Park, Ecuador

Wildlife Conservation Society

FY 2009, $24,138

52. Alto Purús Protection Initiative 

in Perú 

Upper Amazon Conservancy (via 

Round River Conservation Studies)

FY 2009, $18,152

Guyra Paraguay 

eco club builds 

environmental 

stewardship among 

local kids. 

Emily Horton/Guyra Paraguay
Working with People to Conserve Nature in the Americas 52

53. Building Local Capacity for Wildlife 

Monitoring & Landscape Level Planning, 

Bolivian Chaco

Wildlife Conservation Society

FY 2008, $25,194

54. Scientific Inquiry and the 

Environmental Education Program of 

Colombia’s National Parks

Wildlife Conservation Society

FY 2008, $24,995

55. Building Capacity to Strategically 

Manage the National System of 

Protected Areas

Sociedad Zoologica de Frankfurt-Perú, 

FY 2008, $22,455

56. Capacity Building for Co-Management 

of Pilón Lajas Biosphere Reserve and 

Indigenous Territory, Bolivia 

Wildlife Conservation Society 

FY 2008, $20,000

57. Science, Environmental Interpretation 

& Management in Serra do Cipó National 

Park, Brazil

Serra do Cipó National Park

FY 2008, $25,000

*58. 12th and 13th Courses in Protected 

Areas Management (AMUC Course)

Fundação Biodiversitas

FY 2006 & 2008, $70,000

*59. Support for the Park Ranger 

Qualification Course & the Course in 

Protected Areas Management

Fundação Biodiversitas

FY 2005 & 2008, $65,365 

60. Regional Train-the-Trainer 

Workshop for Protected Area 

Management in the Tropical Andes 

and Amazon, Podocarpus National 

Park, Ecuador

World Wildlife Fund, FY 2007, $23,669

61. Building Capacity to Survey and 

Monitor Spectacled Bears in Colombia 

Wildlife Conservation Society

FY 2007, $13,000

62. Conserving Lowland Tapirs & WhiteLipped Peccaries in Argentina 

Wildlife Trust, FY 2007, $10,000

63. Wildlands Management - Brazilian 

Amazon Course

Organization for Tropical Studies

FY 2005, $30,000

Research, Monitoring 

& Planning

64. Movements and Resource Utilization 

of Ducks in Central - Eastern Argentina 

Centro de Zoología Aplicada

FY 2008 & 2009, $154,400

65. Improving the Conservation Status of 

the Andean Tapir on Ecuador’s Eastern 

Andean Slopes

Finding Species

FY 2008 & 2009, $47,471

66. Conservation Status, Mortality, and 

Livestock Depredation of Jaguars in the 

Gran Chaco

LifeScape International

FY 2009 & 2010, $48,400

67. Regional Planning for Spectacled 

Bear Conservation in the Central Andes 

of Columbia

Wildlife Conservation Society

FY 2005, $20,773

68. Determining the Epidemiological 

Risk Associated with Chytrid in 

Amphibians, Yucatan

Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones 

Científicas, FY 2005, $14,935 
Wildlife Without Borders Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean 53

Scouting for parrots in the Morne Diablotin National Park, Dominica, West Indies.

Dominica Forestry & Wildlife Division

Photos on page 9 (left to right): 

Hummingbird by Cyndi Perry/USFWS, Students in a wetlands workshop by Lisa Sorenson/SCSCB, 

Bromeliad by Sarah Gannon-Nagle/USFWS, Loggerhead turtle hatchling (Caretta caretta) by 

USFWS, and Brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) by Dr. Thomas Barnes/USFWS

Photos on page 15 (left to right): 

Alejandra Martínez releasing a mist-netted bird by CATIE, Ometepe Island by Fauna & Flora 

International, Three toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus) by Manfred Meiners, Emerald Glass Frog 

(Centrolene prosoblepon) on a leaf/Brian Gratwicke, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, and 

Harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) by Finding Species 

Photos on page 22 (left to right): 

Andean bear cub (Tremarctos ornatus) by K Timmerman/Fundación Cordillera Tropical, Sally 

Lightfoot crab (Grapsus grapsus) by Finding Species, Brazilian farmer receiving information on 

soil conservation by Instituto Terra Brasilis, Cashinahua girl in Perú by Chris Fagan/Upper Amazon 

Conservancy, and Spider monkey (Genus ateles) by Finding Species 

For more information, please visit us at: 

 www.fws.gov/international

 Facebook@USFWS_International Affairs 

 Twitter@USFWSInternatl 
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 

International Affairs 

Division of International Conservation 

4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 100 

Arlington, VA 22203 

(703) 358-1754 

(703) 358-2115/fax 

www.fws.gov/international 

twitter.com/USFWSInternatl 

November 2010

Printed on recycled paper with vegetable based inks.