Compelling and revealing interviews with conservation leaders.
Regional | Costa Rica | Ecuador | El Salvador | Mexico
Regional
Amphibian Action Fund
The Amphibian Action Fund seeks to reverse the global decline of amphibian populations by funding amphibian and habitat conservation projects. Robin Moore talks about the Fund, its conservation goals, and funding priorities in Mesoamerica.
December 2006
Amphibian Survival Alliance
Jaime García-Moreno, Executive Director of the Amphibian Survival Alliance (ASA), talked with us about the threats to amphibian populations, the creation of the ASA, and its work to save threatened amphibian species and their habitats.
August 2011
Central American Commission for the Environment and Development (CCAD)
Can Central America recover and protect enough forest cover to help reduce poverty, ensure access to potable water to all, and lessen the impacts of natural disasters? That's 25-year plan of the Central American Forestry Strategy. Mauricio Castro, out-going director of the Central American Commission for the Environment and Development, believes it can work.
October 2003
Conservation Commons
The Conservation Commons is a group of NGOs, governments, and researchers that aims to increase sharing of information and data within the conservation community. Tom Moritz, who sits on the Commons' steering committee, discusses trends in conservation communications and urges us to be more forthcoming in sharing our data, publications, and lessons learned.
September 2006
Conservation International
Conservationists are struggling to secure scarce funding in the midst of the current global economic recession, but in spite of this challenge, there are creative ways to advance conservation. Carlos Manuel Rodríguez from Conservation International discusses how payments for environmental services and a shift in thinking can help to bring about a sustainable development "revolution."
May 2009
Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF)
The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund is one of the most influential supporters of global biodiversity conservation today. Michele Zador and Jason Cole, Grant Directors of Mesoamerica and South America respectively, discuss their philsophy and approach to grant-making, and offer advice to those seeking CEPF support.
June 2004
The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund has some $150 million to grant to nonprofit groups in an effort to advance conservation in the most biologically important and threatened regions on Earth. But making the decisions about dispersing these funds is no walk in the park. Jorgen Thomsen, executive director of CEPF, describes the fund's challenges and suggests how NGOs can rise to the occasion.
February 2003
Ecologic Finance
William Foote, President of EcoLogic Finance discusses how providing credit to certified microenterprises often provides the missing link they need to become financially sustainable.
December 2004
Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System Fund (MAR Fund)
María José González offers a preview of the new Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System Fund, a long-term program that will support the conservation and sustainable management of the reef in Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and Guatemala.
December 2005
Rainforest Alliance
Diane Jukofsky, Vice President of Communications, Marketing and Education, Rainforest Alliance, reflects on the first 10 years of the Eco-Index.
June 2011
Rainforest Alliance
Ronald Sanabria, Director of Sustainable Tourism at the Rainforest Alliance, talks about the importance of tourism certification, how tourists can plan responsible vacations, and what organizations and governments are doing to develop tourism certification standards.
May 2007
Ramsar Convention
Margarita Astrálaga, Ramsar Convention Adviser for the Americas, discusses the challenges to conserving Latin America's wetland ecosystems.
April 2006
Response Fund
Diego Luna Quevedo, the Response Fund's Regional Coordinator for South America, comments about the experience and perspectives of the Fund, a mechanism to immediately respond to socio-environmental conflicts in the region.
October 2007
The Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB)
The Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds supports local conservation organizations in their efforts to conserve Caribbean birds and their habitats. We talked with Lisa Sorenson, President of the SCSCB, about the Society's goals, successes, and its plans to continue advancing conservation in the Caribbean.
December 2009
Sustainable Agriculture Network
Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim of CATIE talks with us about his role in the development of the Sustainable Agriculture Network's new Standard for Sustainable Cattle Production Systems.
March 2011
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Andrew Bovarnick, Lead Natural Resource Economist at the United Nations Development Programme, discusses the importance of sustainable coffee as a tool to conserve biodiversity and improve the livelihoods of farmers, and the importance of educating consumers and companies about buying and selling sustainable products.
February 2008
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Connie Campbell and Julie Kunen, part of USAID's "Initiative for Conservation in the Andean Amazon" management team, share their insights about the Initiative's goals, challenges, and successes during its first three years.
February 2009
Carmen Aída González, Senior Alliance Coordinator and Performance Monitoring Advisor with USAID, discusses the agency's shift from funding projects to creating regional alliances, including the Mesoamerican Reef Alliance and Certified Sustainable Products Alliance.
June 2005
United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
Doug Ryan, program coordinator of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act, talks with us about the Act's successes and impacts in the region and how it hopes to increase its investment in the coming years.
October 2008
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Carlos Drews, Regional Marine Program and Species Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean for the World Wildlife Fund, talks about WWF's efforts to partner with the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission to reduce sea turtle bycatch in Pacific fisheries.
June 2008
Costa Rica
Costa Rica-United States Foundation for Cooperation (CRUSA)
By funding projects based on the practical needs of the nation, the Costa Rica-USA Foundation for Cooperation is forging sustainable collaboration in education, science and technology, the environment, and development competition. Read how Hermann Faith, Executive Director, describes the Foundation's vision for a more sustainable Costa Rica.
May 2003
Ministry of the Environment and Energy (MINAE)
Alvaro Ugalde, an architect of Costa Rica's famed national parks system, describes a major campaign to save one of the country's most biodiverse -- and threatened -- protected areas through increased vigilance, land purchase, and economic development in surrounding communities.
January 2004
Ecuador
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Ecuador
Rocio Cedeno from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Ecuador discusses how the Sustainable Coasts and Forests project is helping to safeguard natural resources along the Ecuadorian coast, while also improving the quality of life for coastal communities.
April 2010
Conservación y Desarrollo
Thanks to initial success in the Galapagos Islands, the Smart Voyager certification program has become a leader in the sustainable tourism movement. Mauricio Ferro, executive co-director of the conservation organization Conservación y Desarrollo (CyD), tells us the story behind that success and insists that the industry should take advantage of the public's interest in sustainability that, according to him, "is here to stay."
September 2009
El Salvador
SalvaNATURA
Juan Marco Álvarez, Executive Director of SalvaNATURA, explains how this influential NGO achieved such ground-breaking innovations as co-managing, with the government, El Salvador's principal protected areas and securing private-sector financing totaling more than half a million dollars.
August 2004
Mexico
Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales
Interview with Gabriela Mercado from Mexico's Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) about efforts to promote small ecotourism businesses in the country through the Ecotourism Regulation certification program.
December 2010
Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza A.C.
Several countries in Latin America now count on endowment funds for conservation, which allows national groups to make decisions about which projects merit financial support. Lorenzo Rosenzweig describes the tactics of the Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature, which he directs.
January 2003
© 2001 - Rainforest Alliance