What ever the specific role of the money, the grant is a crucial vote of confidence in these local organizations trying to help their communities move forward. Thanks to your donations, we are able to help. The laws protecting Costa Rica's wildlife and forests are often ignored because there is essentially no enforcement. Even the Costa Rican government admits that half the country's logging is illegal. Each time they go on patrol, they educate those they meet.
Members use their own cars and filed gear and pay their own expenses.
The book will be a valuable contribution to the sustainable development debate in the region. A Catalyst Grant was awarded to Fundacion Ambio to hire an outreach coordinator to develop an environmental education workshop for children who live near banana plantations in Costa Rica. A curriculum for teachers was developed concurrently and workshops were held in May 1995 to celebrate International Migratory Bird Day. The Sachamama Ethnobotanical Garden, unique to the area of Iquitos, Peru, houses more than 1,200 species of medicinal plants. However, the land surrounding the garden was in grave danger of being invaded by squatters and deforested, like much of the land in the area.