Conservation International

Conservation International (CI) is a non-profit, private organization dedicated to saving the world's endangered rain forests and the plants and animals that rely on these habitats for survival. CI is basically a scientific organization, a fact which distinguishes it from other conservation groups. Its staff includes leading scientists in the fields of botany, ornithology, herpetology, marine biology, entomology, and zoology.

Founded in 1987 when it split off from the Nature Conservancy , CI now has over 55,000 members. The group, headed by Peter A. Seligmann, has gathered accolades since its inception. In 1991 Outside Magazine gave CI an A- (one of the two highest grades received) in its yearly report card rating 14 leading environmental groups.

The high praise is well founded. CI tends to successfully implement its many projects and goals. Many CI programs focus on building local capacity for conservation in developing countries through financial and technical support of local communities, private organizations, and government agencies. Their "ecosystem conservation" approach balances conservation goals with local economic needs. CI also funds and provides technical support to local communities, private organizations, and government agencies to help build sustainable economies while protecting rain forest ecosystems.

Four broad themes underlie all CI projects: 1) a focus on entire ecosystems; 2) integration of economic interests with ecological interests; 3) creation of a base of scientific knowledge necessary to make conservation-minded decisions; and 4) an effort to make it possible for conservation to be understood and implemented at the local level.

CI is involved with projects in 30 countries, including Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Indonesia, Mexico, New Guinea, and the Philippines. In 2000, CI expanded into Cambodia and China, among others.

Among CI's many successful projects is the Rapid Assessment Program (RAP), which enlists the world's top field scientists to identify wilderness areas in need of urgent conservation attention. RAP teams have completed surveys in Bolivia, Ecuador, Belize, Peru, and Mexico, and CI plans at least 12 more surveys on four continents in the next three to five years. CI has also helped establish important biosphere reserves in rain forest countries. These efforts successfully demonstrate CI's ecosystem conservation approach, and prove that the economic needs of local communities can be reconciled with conservation needs. No harvesting or hunting is allowed in the reserves, but buffer zones, which include villages and towns, are located just outside the core areas.

CI strongly supports many educational programs. In 1988, it signed a long-term assistance agreement with Stanford University which involves exchange and training of Costa Rican students and resource managers. In 1989 CI began a program with the University of San Carlos which provides financial and technical support to the research activities in northern Guatemala of the university's Center for Conservation Studies. An educational program of a different kind, the Sorcerer's Apprentice, is designed to record ethnobotanical knowledge, protect useful species , and pass this information on to the next generation in indigenous communities. Young men and women in forestry services learn from traditional village healers and midwives.

In 2002, CI has already established several new ways to educate the people and help the environment , such as Centers for Biodiversity Conservation, the Global Conservation Fund, and a joint venture with Ford Motor Company called the Center for Environmental Leadership in Business. CI also focuses on activities in the major wilderness areas identified as the most endangered. The organization also has expanded its conservation efforts to new ecosystems, including marine, desert , and temperate rain forest regions.

[Cathy M. Falk ]

ORGANIZATIONS

Conservation International, 1919 M Street, NW Suite 600, Washington, D.C. USA 20036 (202) 912-1000, Toll Free: (800) 406-2306, Email: inquiry@conservation.org, <http://www.conservation.org>