Mesoamerica
Southern Mesoamerica
May 11, 2007
Assessments Completed in Six Additional Regions
New assessments found that Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) investments have helped build civil society as an effective force for long-term biodiversity conservation in six more of the world’s most threatened regions.
February 2007
Key to Park Protection Involves Good Neighbors
Costa Rica's National Parks Foundation is bringing together diverse partners to protect the buffer zone of La Amistad International Park in the southern region of the Mesoamerica Hotspot. The project focuses on training officials to more effectively deal with threats to the park, and engaging communities in collaborative efforts.
November 2006
Massive Effort Underway to Save Costa Rica's National Park System
Partners in Costa Rica are developing solutions to consolidate and provide long-term financing for the country’s protected areas system. The country’s national parks are an increasingly popular tourist attraction in this part of the southern region of the Mesoamerica Hotspot.
May 2006
Renewed Support to Strengthen Governance for Ngöbe-Bugle and La Amistad
Indigenous peoples in Panama will be better able to strengthen environmental protocols and make community decisions regarding their land as a result of funding from CEPF. Partnerships with local organizations in the southern region of the Mesoamerica Hotspot will also promote sustainable development and capacity building.
April 2006
Getting Connected Out on the Osa
Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula is home not only to unique wildlife and important rain forests, but also to farmers who are making sustainable farming a way of life. The project is raising incomes and improving vital connectivity between some of the most important protected areas in the southern region of the Mesoamerica Hotspot.
September 2005
The Elusive Manatee Makes New Friends in Costa Rica and Nicaragua
Recent attempts to capture a manatee for tagging in Costa Rica failed, yet the effort has brought together a strong team now charting new ground for greater conservation in the region.
July 2005
New Wildlife Refuge a “Laboratory for Sustainable Development”
Costa Rican President Abel Pacheco declared Maquenque National Wildlife Refuge as a new protected area in June. The refuge is designed to assure the survival of more than 200 species of plants and animals, and provide economic development opportunities for local people.
February 2005
World Bank, CEPF Forge Greater Links
Representatives from the World Bank, CEPF, local civil society groups and governments across Latin America recently met to explore improving linkages between CEPF and Bank operations.
November 2004
Marketing Social Change
Thirteen individuals in nine biodiversity hotspots are being trained in social marketing and the art of convincing local communities and governments that conservation is key. The project brings promising individuals and local groups together with the support of Rare and Conservation International’s global communications team
September 2004
Civil Society Efforts Helps Safeguard Volcán Barú
A coalition of more than 15 Panamanian nongovernmental organizations recently helped convince governmental officials to shelve plans for constructing a highway through Volcán Barú National Park.
August 2004
Needs Assessment Report in From Caño Negro Wetlands in Nicaragua
The final report is just out from a 4-month economic and environmental needs assessment for conservation of the Caño Negro Wetlands of the Kukra River in Nicaragua.
June 2004
Environmentally Friendly Coffee Reaps Benefits for Mesoamerican Communities
Coffee production is a major source of income for countless agricultural workers in Costa Rica. As part of a carefully choreographed collaboration of coffee farmers, cooperative agro-associations, coffee retailers and conservation organizations, it is also beginning to make a critical contribution to conservation.
April 2004
Luis Murillo: The Quintessential Partner
Partnerships for conservation—that’s what CEPF is all about. And partnerships are exactly what excite Luis Murillo. As a regional coordinator for CEPF in Southern Mesoamerica, Murillo develops and nurtures alliances among a variety of organizations and institutions to advance conservation.
April 2004
Get Them Talking: Conservation Dialogues for Southern Mesoamerican Corridor NGOs
English / Español
What can a large and well-established organization based in Panama City learn from a small grassroots group based on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua? Bringing diverse groups together to share experiences and discuss priorities for ensuring the success of projects and objectives were major goals of this recent meeting.
April 2004
Expanding Ecotourism Opportunities for the Naso People of Northern Panama
Fifteen years ago the Panamanian army often dropped soldiers into the middle of the thick tropical forest with only a canteen and a knife to test the survival capabilities of its recruits. Today’s visitors to the forest have a very different experience as honored guests of the indigenous Naso (Teribe) people.
November 2003
Rainforest Alliance Launches Expanded Eco-Index
English / Español
Now it is easier than ever to find detailed information about conservation projects in Latin America through the Eco-Index, an Internet resource managed by the Rainforest Alliance.
November 2003
Patrols Protect Corcovado and Piedras Blanca National Parks
In the first partnership effort of its kind in Costa Rica, the local Corcovado Foundation and the government ministries of environment and security are consolidating their resources to strengthen protection and control of two of Costa Rica's national parks under serious threat from illegal logging and hunting.
August 2003
Students Get Off to Strong Start for Conservation Education
Amid the diverse student population of Kent University in England, a multinational team is nearing the end of an intensive 10 weeks of specialized training to become community educators with a single mission: to promote local pride in the environment in some of the planet's most threatened ecosystems.
March 2002
CEPF Expands to Nine Hotspots
This year marks a major expansion for CEPF with grants for conservation projects now available in six additional biodiversity hotspots. The total amount available in these hotspots is $41.5 million over five years.
