Latin America

A Century of Commitment
In 1903 naturalist William Beebe embarked on his first international expedition to study birds in Mexico. Thus began WCS's century of protecting wildlife and wild lands in Latin America and the Caribbean. WCS is the only international conservation organization that can claim such a long and distinguished history in the region. We have long-term commitments to a range of sites – over 40 years in Patagonia, more than 30 years in the Central Andes, and 10 years in the Cauca Valley of Colombia, to name just a few. WCS has developed hundreds of innovative conservation projects in the region. These include sustainable development reserves, where local people stay in protected areas to help manage natural resources, and the first multinational biological corridor. At the beginning of this new century, the WCS Latin America and Caribbean Program (LACP) encompasses over 45 programs in 14 nations.

The Human Aspect
WCS builds partnerships in the region by working with governments and private citizen groups--even during political and economic upheavals. We proudly play a key role in training new generations of conservationists by building the capacity of local environmental organizations and training Latin American biologists and natural resource managers. The LACP works with the breadth of socio-economic systems, local communities, and indigenous groups. To achieve conservation goals, our program works with the Isozeño and Guaraní in Bolivia, caboclos of the Amazon basin, ranchers in the Brazilian Pantanal, logging companies, Andean llama herdsmen, and other diverse groups.

Threats
WCS uses science to grapple with the panoply of threats in Latin America and the Caribbean. Current threats include habitat destruction and degradation, over-harvesting of wildlife, unsustainable logging, and overgrazing. Throughout the region, major development projects such as roads, dams, hydrocarbon development and colonization threaten wild lands and wildlife.

WCS Approach
The Latin America and Caribbean program incorporates a landscape scale approach to our work from Mexico to Argentina. In each location, one or more focal species have been identified to help us define the landscape and set the research and conservation agenda. For example, a colony of 1 million albatrosses is the focal species WCS is studying on the Jason Islands (a cluster of islets in the Falkland/Malvinas Islands in the South Atlantic). In the Amazon Basin, the landscape species include white-lipped peccaries and giant river otters. In the steppes of the Andes and Patagonia, biologists use condors and guanacos to help identify landscapes of vital interest. In the Maya Forest of Mesoamerica, scarlet macaws and jaguars are among the landscape species we focus on protecting.

Through the eyes of these unique species, we are addressing conservation issues at the landscape scale in a wide range of ecosystems – lowland tropical forests, sprawling grasslands and scrub, thorn-forests, wet prairies, and sparse steppes. Off the coast of Argentina, we are applying an aquatic "seascape" approach to protect marine wildlife in the Southwest Atlantic, where many species are threatened by industrial-scale commercial fishing. Our program spans the region’s greatest wild lands and includes several World Heritage Sites.

History and Mission
Field biology and managing wild lands have a strong tradition at WCS, going back over 100 years. In such a mature international conservation program, one finds a continuum of action and commitment. We address the entire conservation agenda, from field biology and park development to community interaction and governmental analysis. The breadth of skills found among the people of the WCS Latin America and Caribbean Program, backed by their decades of experience and the experience of the institution, results in a formidable team.

The challenge posed by the societies of Latin America in the 21st century does not bode well for nature preservation. In fact, the environmental threat goes far beyond the region. The degradation of the Amazon Basin, for example, would alter weather patterns for the entire planet. The environmental challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean are as immense as they are complex, but WCS is committed to continuing its legacy of long-term wildlife conservation.

Contact Us
Dr. Avecita Chicchón, Director
WCS Latin America and Caribbean Program
2300 Southern Boulevard
New York, NY 10460
Phone: (718) 220-7158
Email: latinamerica@wcs.org