Overbrook Fellows: Supporting Conservation in Latin America

2007 Fellows

New York, Dec. 6, 2007 -- Six leading young conservationists from Latin America will pursue projects aimed at protecting diverse ecosystems, using $20,000 awards from New York’s Overbrook Foundation. The annual awards, announced today, are administered by the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC) at Columbia University’s Earth Institute.

The Overbrook Conservation Fellows Program, initiated in 2003, is aimed at supporting long-lasting contributions to sustaining the environment. The foundation has made Latin American biodiversity a central focus of its work. “There is often a shortage of great conservationists in the places where they are most needed, and there is rarely if ever outside support for these key leaders," said Stephen A. Foster, president and CEO of The Overbrook Foundation. CERC implements the program on behalf of the foundation because of its experience in supporting local conservation champions, and its ongoing projects and relationships with the Latin American conservation community.

Potential fellows are identified by a nominating panel of conservationists and scientists with a deep knowledge of the ecological issues facing the region; a selection committee makes the final decisions.  According to Herb Raffaele, chief of The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and selection committee member, “This  initiative gets at the heart of what conservation is all about--investing in dynamic individuals who care about the environment and dedicate their lives towards making a difference."  Enrique Ortiz, a senior program officer at the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation, also on the committee said, “We can see now the results of the fellowships, with several awardees making a change in their countries. They have become more empowered individuals and activists for environmental causes.” 

Since its inception, the program has supported 36 fellows working in 13 nations of central and south America. This year’s Overbrook conservation fellows are:

Erio Curto (Argentina):  Regional education, outreach and management with mayors and municipal officials of the watershed reserve around Mar Chiquita Ramsar.

Laura Navarro Noriega (México): Research and writing on the perception of bats in pre-Hispanic culture.  

Julio Reyes (Perú): Establishing conservation and science resources including books, websites and teaching pamphlets about small Peruvian cetaceans.

Luis Rivera (Argentina): The ecology and conservation of the Alder Amazon parrot in neotropical cloud forests, and its implications for forest management.

Regina Castaňda Sanchez (Guatemala): Collection and analysis of information on the interactions between fisheries and marine turtles.

Armando Valdes-Velasquez (Perú): Strengthening conservation initiatives in the Madre de Dios watershed. 

Other members of the selection committee include: John Robinson, senior vice president of the Wildlife Conservation Society; Shahid Naeem, co-chair of Columbia’s Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology; Herbert Bedolfe, executive director of the Marisla Foundation; Margaret Cushing, senior program officer at the Tinker Foundation; Carlos Saavedra, director of the Summit Foundation; and Daniel Katz of the Overbrook Foundation’s environment program.