I am pleased to write an update on the activities and conservation initiatives that I have been working on after attending Conservation Strategy Fund’s 2012 course, Economic Tools for Conservation, in Stanford, CA.

Under the second phase of the Initiative for Conservation in the Andean Amazon (ICAA) of the United States Agency for International Development and in collaboration with Wildlife Conservation Society, CSF is moving forward with the creation of three sustainable business plans for the indigenous Tacana community. The community, located in Bolivia's Amazon region north of La Paz, is home to approximately 5,000 people. Their land is known in Spanish as a Tierra Comunitaria de Origen, and is similar to a Native American reserve in the U.S., designated as a permanent home for the Tacanas to continue their traditions. It is located on the banks of the Beni River in the village of San Miguel del Bala.

Começou movimentado o segundo ano do Projeto Consevação da Biodiversidade em Terras Públicas na Amazônia! Entre 22 de outubro e 04 de novembro ocorreu a segunda visita técnica para o desenvolvimento dos planos de negócios em terras indígenas, relacionados à comercialização da castanha-do-brasil, açaí e do peixe pirarucu. Além disso, foi concluído o levantamento de dados sobre a produção castanheira das famílias indígenas Apurinã. Foram visitadas Associações e Organizações nos municípios de Cacoal, Humaitá e Lábrea como também a Terra Indígena Caititu. Para maiores informações sobre o projeto acesse nossa página sobre Projetos.

Micronesia is a sub-region of Oceania, east of the Philippines and northeast of Indonesia. It is comprised of thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. Kiribati, the Mariana Islands, the Marshall Islands, Caroline Islands, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, and Wake Island are all considered part of Micronesia. In total, Micronesia is 1,230 square miles, or about twice the size of Los Angeles.

This week Mexican President Felipe Calderón withdrew the permit for a 9,400 acre development of a mega resort adjacent Cabo Pulmo National Marine reserve on the southern tip of Baja California. Its proximity to a 20,000-year-old reef and hundreds of species turned this project into a global concern. 2011 CSF Economic Tools for Conservation Graduate Paulina Godoy Aguilar of Amigos para la Conservación de Cabo Pulmo AC, had a big hand in this victory. Because of her efforts and those of many other conservationists and activists alike, hundreds of species and thousands of coastal acres have been saved.

Read the full story here: http://www.oceanfdn.org/blog/?p=611