Rainforest
Concern
Registered
Charity 1028947.
Tel: 020 7229 2093.
Rainforest Concern was established in 1993 with the
specific objective of identifying and securing protection for seriously
threatened habitats in Latin America.
Rainforest Concern really makes a difference in
rainforest conservation by supporting a variety of projects in Ecuador.
One such project is The Foundation for Integrated Education and
Development (FUNEDESIN), which is dedicated to finding workable
solutions to the struggle between the ideals of rain forest preservation
and the realities of life in the Ecuadorian Amazon. FUNDESIN combines
education, community development and conservation at its lodge in the
Amazon. Located in the community of Mondana on the Napo River, Yachana
Lodge teaches tourists about the realities of life in and around the
rainforest and serves as an important source of income for FUNEDESIN’s
community development and environmental protection projects. In June
1999 Rainforest Concern provided $15,000 to start a protection programme
for the Gran Sumaco National Park and purchased land close to Yachana.
More recently Rainforest Concern provided a further $16,000 for
additional land purchase.
If you would like further information on FUNEDESIN or
would like to stay at Yachana Lodge please contact Rainforest Concern or
visit www.funedesin.org or www.yachana.com.
Rainforest Concern also works with the Santa Lucia
Co-operative in the cloud forest west of Quito, having purchased 185
acres of land to help the Co- operative with a programme of
environmental protection, reforestation and eco- tourism. About 65% of
the land is intact forest whilst the remainder is pasture. The
Co-operative soon realised that the land was unsuitable for cattle and
are therefore starting reforestation of the old farmland. A guest house
is being constructed so that volunteers and hikers can stay and enjoy
the spectacular views over the cloud forest.
If you would like to work as a volunteer with the
Co-operative please contact Rainforest Concern on 020 7229 2093.
Other projects funded by Rainforest Concern include
land purchasing in the north-west of Ecuador as part of the Choco-Andean
Corridor Project. The objective of the Project is to link the cloud
forests of the western slopes of the Andes near Quito with the lowland
forests of the Choco region which extend north west to the coast and
across the border into Colombia. In less than a year world demand for
palm oil has led to the destruction of over 25,000 acres of forest in
north west Ecuador. As a result Rainforest Concern only just managed to
secure this forest in time as they were in direct competition with oil
palm companies.
For more information on these and other projects
please contact Rainforest Concern on 020 7229 2093. Email: rainforest@gn.apc.org
Rainforest Concern's objectives are:
 |
to protect threatened habitats, in particular, Latin American rain
forests and the biodiversity they contain. |
|
to bring public attention to the consequences of deforestation,
the need for conservation and to disseminate the results of their
projects so that they may be used elsewhere. |
|
to promote research and investigation of threatened rainforests
and their biodiversity, with particular focus on endangered and
endemic species. |
|
to promote sustainable agriculture, alternative income generation
and health education among the people living close to their
projects. |
|
to
develop environmental education programmes among local communities
so they may understand the importance of conserving the forests and
other natural resources. |
|
to
protect the rights and culture of indigenous peoples living on or
near any of their project's land. |
