Declared on June 13th, the new Bosque Seco Biosphere Reserve in southwestern Ecuador extends over 1.25 million acres of the country’s most pristine dry forest, home to one of the highest concentrations of endemic birds in South America and an important population of flagship species including the … [Read more...] about NCI’s Work Supports Creation of Ecuador’s 6th UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
NCI Helps Create Two New Reserves Spanning 70,000 Acres in Ecuador
June, 2014 | With the help of our office in Cuenca, Ecuador, two new government reserves have been created at the municipal level, ensuring their protection over the long term. Both reserves protect the habitats of key species and preserve pristine cloud forests and watersheds, which in turn … [Read more...] about NCI Helps Create Two New Reserves Spanning 70,000 Acres in Ecuador
UNDP’s Equator Prize Recognizes Sustainable Development Project
June, 2014 - This June, the Palo Santo project was awarded the United Nations Development Programme’s 2014 Equator Prize alongside 25 innovative projects from around the globe. Awarded biennially, the Equator Prize recognizes outstanding community efforts to reduce poverty through conservation and … [Read more...] about UNDP’s Equator Prize Recognizes Sustainable Development Project
NCI Helps Indigenous Awajun Protect Rainforest
May, 2014 | We are pleased to announce that with the help of our Amazonas office in Peru and the indigenous Awajun people, the 114,406 acre Pamau Nain Awajun Conservation Concession was declared on Friday, May 23rd by the regional government. This legally protects part of the Awajun’s ancestral … [Read more...] about NCI Helps Indigenous Awajun Protect Rainforest
Five Cat Species Found in Monte Mojino Reserve
March 1, 2014 | We purchased an additional 1,000 acres for the Monte Mojino Reserve in Alamos, Mexico, which now totals 14,500 acres and conserves some of America’s northernmost tropical deciduous forests. We have been purchasing land here since 2003 to protect this vanishing ecosystem, which … [Read more...] about Five Cat Species Found in Monte Mojino Reserve
NCI, Indigenous Communities, and Pastaza Government Collaborate to Conserve Amazon
February 15, 2014 | We are working with several indigenous communities and the government of Pastaza, Ecuador to establish conservation areas in two highly biodiverse areas of Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest. One of the areas is located adjacent to the world-famous Yasuní National Park, and proposes to … [Read more...] about NCI, Indigenous Communities, and Pastaza Government Collaborate to Conserve Amazon
Shuar Communities Conserve Rainforest and Increase Income
February 2014 | Two years ago, the indigenous Shuar communities of the Nangaritza Valley asked us for help enlisting part of their territory into the Ecuadorian government’s innovative Socio Bosque program. Socio Bosque provides ecosystem service payments to landowners in return for their agreement … [Read more...] about Shuar Communities Conserve Rainforest and Increase Income
A Maijuna Family
Deep in the Peruvian Amazon, just minutes before the declaration ceremony that would officially create his tribe's first reserve, Sebastian Rios Ochoa, a 62-year-old member of the indigenous Maijuna community spoke with sadness of the illegal logging that devastated his community: “The loggers … [Read more...] about A Maijuna Family
NCI Proposes Marine Protected Areas in Peru
September 1, 2013 | We have achieved a major advance in our work with communities and the government to establish the first Pacific Tropical Marine Reserve Area in northern Peru. This proposed area will help to protect the wildlife and biodiversity of the East Pacific Tropical Ocean, an … [Read more...] about NCI Proposes Marine Protected Areas in Peru
NCI and Indigenous Awajun Work Towards Creation of Reserve
July, 2013 | With the support of our Amazonas office and local partners, 14 indigenous Awajun communities have begun the process of establishing a community reserve in the rich Amazon rainforest bordering their lands in northern Peru. As part of the agreement, we are working to improve the … [Read more...] about NCI and Indigenous Awajun Work Towards Creation of Reserve
NCI Helps Establish Samanga Community Reserve
June, 2013 | For six years, we have been working with the Samanga community to protect the Andean cloud forest and paramos ecosystems they depend on for survival. The Samanga highlands have been affected by destructive logging that threatens the watershed and this agricultural community’s … [Read more...] about NCI Helps Establish Samanga Community Reserve
NCI Acts as Lead Catalyst for Cajas Biosphere Reserve
Ecuadorian Government Supports New Biosphere Reserve Alongside NCI
August 14, 2012 | One of the world’s most endangered ecosystems received a boost last week when the Ecuadorean Government and local municipalities announced they would seek the declaration of a 780,000-acre Biosphere Reserve to protect the country's tropical seasonal forests.These forests, … [Read more...] about Ecuadorian Government Supports New Biosphere Reserve Alongside NCI
Photo of Last Jaguar in Amotapes Dry Forest?
May 9, 2012 | Late last year, we recovered this photograph of what may have been the last jaguar in Peru's Amotapes mountain range. The photograph was provided by the son of the farmer pictured here, and was taken in 1965. For centuries, jaguars were killed on sight in the region, and this beautiful … [Read more...] about Photo of Last Jaguar in Amotapes Dry Forest?
Ocelot photos a first in Podocarpus National Park
April 15, 2012 | The mammals of Ecuador's Podocarpus National Park are notoriously hard to record or observe in the field, and as a result, it can be very difficult to understand their habitat range. Scientists at the Institute of Ecology of the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL), placed … [Read more...] about Ocelot photos a first in Podocarpus National Park
NCI Featured on The Huffington Post
March 4, 2012 | Last week, one member of our dedicated conservation team published a remarkable and hopeful story over at the Huffington Post. Silvia Usuriaga, Nature and Culture International's Program Coordinator, gives her personal account of the ceremony announcing the declaration of the … [Read more...] about NCI Featured on The Huffington Post
NCI Founder Featured in SD Union-Tribune
New declaration protects nearly 1,000,000 acres of Peruvian Amazon, home to threatened indigenous group
February 4, 2012 | "When the council members raised their hands in approval, I felt great pride and happiness, and all of our people were happy as well." With these words, Sebastian Rios Ochoa, a native of the Amazon community of Sucusari described why February 4th had taken on historic significance … [Read more...] about New declaration protects nearly 1,000,000 acres of Peruvian Amazon, home to threatened indigenous group
New Regional Conservation Area Protects 69,000 Acres in Peru
November 1, 2011 | Nature and Culture International and its local partners were instrumental in coordinating the designation of the Salitral-Huarmaca Regional Conservation Area, which protects more than 69,000 acres of endangered dry forest in northwestern Peru. On July 21, 2011, the Peruvian … [Read more...] about New Regional Conservation Area Protects 69,000 Acres in Peru
Regional Protected Areas in Peru Conserve Millions of Acres
August 12, 2011 | Together with a host of local governments and nongovernmental organizations, we are supporting efforts to create a number of regional protected areas in northern Peru that will help protect millions of acres of ecosystems – from rich Amazon rainforests and Andean páramos, to … [Read more...] about Regional Protected Areas in Peru Conserve Millions of Acres