Maderas Rainforest Conservancy Information

The Maderas Rainforest Conservancy was established to promote the conservation, protection, and management of Mesoamerican forests and animal and plant biodiversity through education, reforestation, preservation, and by working with local communities, and national and international institutions and universities. Increases in real estate sales, irresponsible tourism, live animal capture for the pet trade, and agricultural deforestation have left the species and ecosystems of Mesoamerican forests extremely vulnerable. The MRC exists to combat these growing concerns.  The MRC mission is threefold: First and foremost, the mission is to protect the ecosystems of Mesoamerican forests. This will be done by purchasing and managing forested and deforested lands in strategic locations, initially in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Deforested lands will be tactically replanted. Forested lands will be protected from clearing. Animals in these areas will be protected from capture and hunting. Secondly, the MRC runs field schools in two locations (one in Nicaragua, the other in Costa Rica) where undergraduate and graduate students can take classes based on the ecosystems of these areas. These classes (including primatology, rainforest ecology, and art in the rainforest) give students the opportunity to explore Mesoamerican forests and gain a first hand understanding of the ecology therein. It is the hope that these students turn this education into increased awareness of the conservation issues facing both these forests and vulnerable habitats everywhere in the world. Finally, the MRC seeks to establish a relationship with local communities in the preservation of these lands. It is the philosophy of the MRC that the strongest allies these lands can have are the local communities. Through greater local education of the importance of these lands, greater conservation efforts will be gained.