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| Fundación Ecoscience | |
|---|---|
| Name | Fundación Ecoscience |
| Type | Nonprofit foundation |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Headquarters | Bogotá, Colombia |
| Focus | Biodiversity, conservation, environmental science |
Fundación Ecoscience Fundación Ecoscience is a Bogotá-based nonprofit organization focused on biodiversity conservation, ecological research, and community engagement across Colombia and the Andean–Amazonian region. The foundation operates at the intersection of conservation biology, landscape ecology, and public policy, collaborating with universities, museums, and international agencies to implement field research, protected-area management, and environmental education. Its activities connect scientific institutions, municipal authorities, indigenous organizations, and multilateral donors to address deforestation, species decline, and habitat fragmentation.
Fundación Ecoscience was established in 2002 following dialogues among researchers associated with Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Universidad de los Andes (Colombia), and staff from the Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Early funders included representatives from the Biodiversity Conservation Network, the Global Environment Facility, and donation channels linked to the World Wildlife Fund. Initial projects responded to conservation priorities identified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature regional office and by regional planning agencies such as the Corporación Autónoma Regional de Cundinamarca. Over its first decade the foundation expanded partnerships with museums such as the Museo del Oro (Bogotá), botanical institutions like the Jardín Botánico de Bogotá José Celestino Mutis, and international universities including University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Harvard University, Yale University, Brown University, and University of California, Berkeley. It contributed to national initiatives led by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (Colombia) and to transboundary conservation programs involving Peru, Ecuador, and Brazil.
The foundation’s mission aligns with frameworks advanced by the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Ramsar Convention, and the United Nations Environment Programme to conserve priority ecosystems such as the Amazon rainforest, the Andes, and the Chocó biogeographic region. Objectives include supporting inventories modeled on protocols from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, informing policy processes like those of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, and promoting community-based stewardship in territories represented by groups such as the Misak people, the Kogi people, and other indigenous federations. The foundation prioritizes actions consistent with targets set by the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.
Fundación Ecoscience runs programmatic lines that mirror initiatives by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and NGOs like Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, and Wildlife Conservation Society. Projects include species monitoring using methods from the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, landscape connectivity mapping with inputs from the Wildlife Conservation Society, and restoration pilots inspired by programs at the Ecosystem Restoration Camps network. Field campaigns have focused on flagship taxa such as the Andean condor, the spectacled bear, the Orinoco crocodile, and threatened amphibians documented in reports by the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. The foundation supported community agroforestry pilots informed by practices disseminated through the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s livelihood guidance.
Research activities interface with institutes like the Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute, the Smithsonian Institution, the Natural History Museum, London, and the Field Museum of Natural History. Initiatives include long-term biodiversity monitoring following protocols used by the LONG-TERM ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH NETWORK (LTER), genetic studies in collaboration with laboratories at Universidad del Rosario and Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, and landscape-level analyses with partners from Carnegie Institution for Science and ETH Zurich. The foundation contributes data to platforms such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and supports IUCN Red List assessments coordinated by specialist groups like the IUCN SSC Reptile Conservation Group and the IUCN SSC Plant Conservation Committee. Conservation interventions have been implemented in protected areas administered by agencies such as the National Natural Parks of Colombia and within municipal reserves recognized by the Sistema Regional de Áreas Protegidas.
Education programs draw on curricula adapted from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization guidelines and pedagogic resources used by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Natural History Museum, London. Outreach includes citizen-science initiatives modeled after iNaturalist, capacity-building workshops for park rangers from the Global Park Defense Network, and bilingual materials for indigenous communities linked with organizations such as the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin (COICA). The foundation has hosted seminars featuring experts from Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, WWF, and academia including faculty from Universidad de Antioquia and Universidad del Valle.
Fundación Ecoscience maintains partnerships with international donors including the Global Environment Facility, the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Union, philanthropic entities like the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Packard Foundation, and collaborative projects with multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme. Technical collaborations involve the Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, and NGOs such as Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Regional cooperation has engaged the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization and cross-border efforts with national agencies of Peru, Ecuador, and Brazil.
The foundation is governed by a board comprising academics, conservation practitioners, and representatives connected to institutions like Universidad de los Andes (Colombia), Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute, and international partners including the Smithsonian Institution and the Natural History Museum, London. Operational units include research, conservation, community outreach, and administration, staffed by professionals seconded from universities such as Universidad del Rosario, Universidad Javeriana, University of Cambridge, and University of Oxford as well as specialists with experience at Conservation International, WWF, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. The foundation adheres to reporting practices aligned with standards promoted by the International Non-Governmental Organisations Accountability Charter and auditing norms used by multilateral funders such as the Inter-American Development Bank.
Category:Environmental organisations based in Colombia