CSF welcomes Susan Edda Seehusen, our new Executive Director of CSF-Brasil. Since May 2013 she has been working in CSF-Brasil's new office in Rio de Janeiro. She brings to the team five years of experience with German development cooperation organizations (GFA Consulting Group, GIZ and KfW), where her work focused on natural resource management in tropical forest regions, economic instruments for environmental protection, payment for ecosystems services and the economics of ecosystems and biodiversity.

On April 29, CSF signed a convenio marco - an umbrella collaboration agreement - with Peru's Ministry of Environment (MINAM). For more information about this exciting partnership, click below: http://www.minam.gob.pe/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=24…

Two new exciting opportunities could give you the chance to be a part of the equation saving millions of acres worldwide.

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.

February was a month of non-stop travel for me. Having just started working with CSF I got shipped off on a whirlwind tour of Micronesia and Bali. Not a bad start I suppose!

Richshaw Bagworks Founder and CEO, Mark Dwight, has always cared for the environment. The company prides itself on minimizing waste in its local San Francisco facility, and Mark's personal passion for cycling inspires many of its products. Everything from custom messenger bags to iPad covers to baby changing kits are guaranteed to be locally produced, eco-friendly, and durable, not to mention stylish! Rickshaw has donated hundreds of its iconic custom “Zero Messenger Bags” (inspired by the power of “zero” waste) to CSF global trainees since 2010. The company has also hosted CSF supporters for fundraising auctions and factory tours.

Conservation Strategy Fund has been training conservationists, natural resource managers, and policy-makers in the language of economics for nearly 15 years. Hear first-hand what our course participants and instructors have to say about why CSF's training programs are effective and make a big difference for conservation.

CSF began working with International Consultant and Environmental Economist Rhona Barr in late 2012. Rhona brings to CSF a diverse set of practical and research experiences in tropical settings, including Latin America, Asia and Africa. Born in North Wales, Rhona grew up on the island of Anglesey. From an early age, island life made her fascinated ("nearly obsessed!") with the outdoors and biology, particularly the watery ecosystems around her.

As part of the ICAA fellows program, CSF held three methodological guidance workshops in November. The fellows traveled far and wide to visit each of their respective mentors and work on their final research profiles, which contain all of the definition methodology and data tools design collection. The workshops were held in Concepción, Chile, Bogota, Colombia and La Paz, Bolivia. In Chile, Karin Gonzales, Sophía Espinoza, Patricia Siles met with their mentor, Felipe Vásquez, who is a specialist in economic valuation of natural resources. In Bogota, Paula Zuluaga, Pablo David Campoverde, and Enrique de la Montaña Andrés met with Rocío Moreno, whose area of specialization focuses on game theory, economic valuation, and payments for environmental services.

For Angela Mojica, a marine biologist in Guatemala, this year's course forced her to think in a completely different way. Watch the video below to find out what had previously been missing in her conservation efforts.