Papagaio Chaua
CIDA Grant makes Latin American/Carribean eco-mapping conference go
The Neotopical (Latin American) working group at WILD's first international mapping conference, held in Hawaii in June of 1990, gained quite a reputation.
They were the ones who carried briefcases full of reports and bundles of maps under their arms. When WILD's director, Adriane Carr, visited their mapping room for the first time, they joked, "So, are you going to give a prize for the hardest working group?"
Out of the Neotropical group's intense mapping activity, heated discussions, and camaraderie of shared commitments and concerns, came their resolve to host a regional conference involving representatives from every Latin American country.
Two experienced conservationists and cartographers in the group, Clayton Lion of SOS Mata Atlantica in Brazil and Tirso Maldonado of Fundacion Neotropica in Costa Rica, took the lead. Their enthusiasm resulted in a partnership proposal with WILD to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
After months of preparation, in December of 1990, WILD submitted the proposal, "Natural Ecosystems and Sustainable Land Use Planning: Mapping and Managing the Remaining Natural Ecosystems in Latin America," to CIDA's new Environment and development Support Program.
Picinguaba National Park, May 17-24, 1991
Developing the CIDA proposal helped clarify two crucial elements of WILD's global mapping project.:
- the fundamental link between inventorying the world's remaining
- natural ecosystems and sustainable land use planning, and
- the fact that wilderness protection is impossible without the cooperation of local and indigenous peoples and the guarantee to them of sustainable livelihood options.
SOS Mata Atlantica will be hosting the working conference, scheduled for May 17-26,1991, in an area of ancient Atlantic rainforest near Paraty, Brazil.
Both Fundacion Neotropica and SOS Mata Atlantica are acting as regional coordinators for the project, liasing with other ENGO's, native and local groups, government offices and scientific institutions. Guadeloupe (Ganga) Jolicoeur is WILD's Canada-based conference coordinator.
Conference participation is by invitation and is limited to 50. The goal is to have at the conference knowledgeable representatives from every country in Latin America, as well as from major islands in the Caribbean. Because the CIDA grant covers the entire cost of the conference, participants will only have to cover their transportation costs to and from the conference. Fundraising is ongoing and WILD hopes to be able to offer a few full scholarships, including airfare.
Participants are being chosen by three project partners based on the applicant's degree of experience and expertise in mapping or on the sustainable use of Latin America's natural area.
