Dear Reader,
March 26th, 2010I am pleased to welcome you to the homepage of Costa Y Selva e.V. (registered association)!
On this website we would like to inform you about the project of the formation of a rainforest reserve in Ecuador.
We would like to introduce you to the association, the team, the articles of association and give further information.
Ecuador, a small South American country with an 283,000 square kilometers area that approximates the size of Italy, is known for its enormous species diversity. This is due to particular geographical positioning of the country: is crossed by the equator, the elevations of the Andes and is influenced by ocean currents in the Pacific coastline of 2237 km.
Tropical forests cover a considerate area of the country. Today 80% of them are gone! Ecuador has the highest deforestation rates worldwide: 150,000 hectares per year. The Amazon lowlands are mainly affected by it, but also continuous logging or incineration affects the provinces of Esmeraldas and Manabí.
Programs for protection and reforestation are urgently needed. However, these programs do not have public funding because the state concentrates its resources on programs for large-scale infrastructure, mainly in the construction of streets, leaving public funds unavailable for tropical forests.
In this context, all efforts in the environment sector are given thanks to the participation of local interest groups. However, these are normally found in local circles, are narrow and poorly organized.
Pacoche Forest – howler monkeys in Ecuador’s coast at risk
Our website grows with us! Please send us an e-mail if you find a question unanswered.
–> Link e-Mail
The association Costa Y Selva e.V. emerged out of the awareness from all participants that for the protection of our environment, concrete for the preservation of the last tropical rainforests an acute need for action exists. This is confirmed by the FAO’s (FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS) scientific report of the global current status of the forests from 2007.
Furthermore, we are convinced that it depends on the action of each single person. We would like to have a direct and concrete contribution instead of only relying on the work of governments and international panels.
The formation of rainforest preserves through NGO’s is exercized successfully worldwide. NGO’s are in the position to act faster, unbureauraticly and often more professional than governmental organizations.
We will add to the diminishment of the climate change, which is at the moment legitimately a focus of current public debates, by securing existent forest areas and afforesting cleared areas. The 4th UN-Climate Report 2007 confirms that 78 percent of the increase of carbon dioxide concentration in our atmosphere is based on the utilization of fossil fuels and 22 percent is caused by changes of land use, such as forest clearance.
Further on, we would like to help to conserve the biological diversity of species of the tropical rainforests for us and future generations. As the SECRETARIAT OF THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY 2006 stated in its Global Biodiversity Outlook 2, the biodiversity decreases in all areas and more and more species are threatened with extinction. Actually humanity is responsible for the sixth mass mortality in the history of the Earth, the biggest extinction of species since the doom of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago! Each of us can make a contribution for the environment, on which we all depend!
If you as a private person would like to support us become a member today!
–> Link membership
Certainly our project is linked with tremendous costs for the purchase of land and financial support is necessary. Every monetary contribution no matter how small helps us! Would you like to donate?
–> Link online donation
We are looking for partners and sponsors! Please contact us to arrange an informative talk! For scientific advice and support by specialists like biologists, geographers, environmental scientists, engineers, media experts, lawyers and linguists, as well as institutions and associations we will be very thankful! Please send us an e-mail!
–> Link e-Mail
Please make your personal contribution to the preservation of the environment and let us together demonstrate to the public that a vision can become reality with the support of many hands!
With our sincere thanks for your engagement!
René Bergmann
1. Chairman of Costa Y Selva e.V. -
ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF TROPICAL RAINFORESTS AND COASTLINES
