Lazuline Sabrewing, photo credit: Alvaro Jaramillo Colombia has the greatest bird diversity in the world. Approximately 1,900 bird species have been registered, equivalent to 20% of all species globally. This wealth in species highlights a tremendous potential for birding tourism. Current efforts by the Colombian government to increase security and end decades of armed conflict, as well as to promote ecotourism, can help position the country as one of the most important birding destinations in the world.

 CSF Fellows Fellows Ecuador 2014: Enrique de la Montaña, Viviana Zamora, Paula Zuluaga, and David Campoverde.For ten years, CSF's Fellowship Program has been developing the talents of emerging economic researchers in the Andes-Amazon region.

Tapajós river basin, Pará State, Brazil © Camila Jericó-DaminelloOn August 4, Brazil's federal environmental agency, IBAMA, formally suspended the environmental licensing process for a proposed dam on the Tapajós River, a "blue water" tributary of the Amazon. The river flows from the south, off Brazil's central plateau, its clear waters sculpting white sand beaches and it winds toward the main stem of the Amazon.

 Vice Minister Fernando León (second from left) with Felipe Vásquez (CSF Fellows Mentor, left) and CSF staff members Cristian Vallejos, Rocío Moreno, Aaron Bruner and Alfonso Malky during the 2nd ICAA Fellows selection workshop in Arashá, Ecuador, July 2013.

CSF is proud to announce Leonardo Fleck as CSF-Brazil’s newest board member. Leo is a Program Officer at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. If his name sounds familiar, it’s because Leo has a long history with CSF. As an early staff member of CSF-Brazil, Leo was instrumental in establishing our presence in Latin America. Leo joined CSF in 2005 shortly after earning his master’s degree in conservation biology with an emphasis in natural resource economics. He was CSF-Brazil's Senior Economic Analyst and Technical Program Manager as well as a lead cost-benefit analysis instructor for CSF courses in Brazil and beyond. Leo also took the lead on economic analyses in other parts of South America, including in Peru and Bolivia.

Participants and instructors in the course.

 John and Carol ready for the road.

Scarlet ibis (Eudocimus ruber) in a mangrove treeIn May 2016, staff from the CSF Brazil team travelled to the Salgado Paraense region, located on the northern coast of the state of Pará.  Their goal was to collect important information as part of our project on the sustainability of mangrove ecosystems. This project seeks to sensitize the government and society to the benefits these ecosystems provide, and make recommendations about economic instruments that could be used to promote financial sustainability of protected areas.