Renowned biologist E.O. Wilson joins Nature and Culture’s Board of Directors

March 2015 | We are excited to announce that noted biologist, author and Harvard professor E.O. Wilson has joined Nature and Culture International’s Board of Directors. A longtime advocate of NCI’s work to conserve the endangered tropical forests of Latin America, E.O. Wilson officially joined NCI’s Board of Directors this month.

“The program of NCI is powerful because it is grounded in two fundamentals: conservation is achieved acre by acre, and it is most effective and sustainable when it enhances not just the economic, but also the spiritual needs of those who inhabit the land,”

stated Wilson regarding NCI’s extensive conservation programs, which work with local communities and governments to build solutions from the ground up.

Wilson, a University Research Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, is considered the world’s foremost expert on myrmecology, or the study of ants. Among his many scientific achievements, he is also a two-time Pulitzer Prize winning author renowned for his books ranging from biology to environmental advocacy and his secular-humanist ideas on the interplay between religion, ethics and conservation. “E.O. Wilson is an icon in the field of biology, and a staunch supporter of conserving tropical forests for both their biological and aesthetic values,” said Byron Swift, President of NCI. “We are proud and honored to have him on our Board of Directors.”

Having directly supported the creation of 6.5 million acres of protected areas to date, NCI is now expanding to Bolivia and Colombia where it is working with local partners to protect highly threatened ecosystems such as the Andean cloud forest and Chocó dry forest. NCI’s focus on preserving biodiversity through the creation of protected areas dovetails with E.O. Wilson’s own organization, the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation, which is increasing global awareness of biodiversity and the critical role species play in sustaining our planet.

Click here to meet our Board of Directors, and visit our Featured Projects page to learn more about our work.