The Ceiba Foundation for Tropical Conservation is a non profit organization dedicated to the preservation and rehabilitation of tropical habitats, and the conservation of their plants and animals. Our mission is to sponsor scientific research, provide public education and support community-based actions that promote the conservation of ecosystem integrity and biodiversity.
One of our largest projects aimed at fulfilling this mission is a nature reserve located on the northwest coast of Ecuador, the Lalo Loor Dry Forest. Protecting approximately 500 acres of tropical deciduous forest in the transition zone between wet forests to the north (towards Colombia) and very dry forests to the south, the reserve is incredibly diverse, having representative species from both kinds of habitat. However, deforestation has impacted the surrounding areas tremendously, and estimates report that the remaining Pacific ecuatorial forests have been reduced to just 2% of their historical coverage (98% deforested), making these forests of Ecuador among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. Therefore the constant maintenance, improvement, promotion, and sustainable use of the reserve as a tranquil tourist attraction/scientific research site is crucial to the nearby socio-economically challenged communities. Ceiba volunteers will help our mission succeed in a number of ways: creating educational displays for the visitor center; designing and planting in the garden; maintaining trails; working towards reforestation; planning school visits to the reserve; conducting howler monkey surveys. This is simply a partial list of the experiences waiting for you! Please visit our website and browse around - http://www.ceiba.org/ Follow the link to the dry forest reserve - http://www.ceiba.org/loor.htm Read all about volunteering too - http://www.ceiba.org/volunteer.htm The Ceiba Foundation has offices in the United States (Madison, Wisconsin) and Ecuador (Quito). Feel free to contact us. Ceiba Foundation for Tropical Conservation 1202 Williamson St., Suite 1 Madison, WI 53703 Tel: 608.230.5550 Fax: 608.227.0141 Fundación Ceiba Juan Ramirez N36-14 y Germán Alemán Quito, Ecuador Tel: (593) 2 603-5904 Thank you very much. James Madden Project Coordinator Manabi Province, Ecuador Cell Phone: 080846804 [email protected]
