Well, the trip has come to a close, and we are preparing to re-emerge back in the states. Jeff's a little thinner from the lack of vegetarian food options, we're both a lot darker from the baking sun, and we each have a much better understanding of what is happening, and what needs to happen, in order to preserve the incredible ecosystems of the Pantanal and the Cerrado.It was amazing to see how strategically the conservation efforts in this region are being implemented, and what a wide array of partners play a role - NGO's, private businesses, government, academia, and private landowners are all involved in this massive conservation effort.And the use of sound science to create the most efficient conservation plans in cooperation with local communities is very impressive as well. Every individual effort seemed to be contributing to the larger goal of building a conservation corridor for protecting the region's abundance of wildlife and natural beauty.
We are both impressed. After seeing all this, we want to do more to help. Here are a few ideas that we have come up with off the top-of-our-heads, for how all of us can make a difference in the future.
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Spoonbill
©CI, Jeff Flocken |
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Never buy wild caught animals as pets. Not only do they make poor - and sometimes dangerous - pets, but the trade is often illegal, resulting in a loss to natural populations that are being protected for a reason. |
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Eco-tourism or "green" vacations do much to support conservation in both foreign countries and our own. Learn more about where you travel, support ecotourism operations, and plan your adventures so they have the lightest impact possible on the surroundings. |
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Don't feed or interact with wildlife in their natural environment - it may seem harmless, but puts the animals and you in harms way. It often changes a wild animals behavior after a very few number of exposures, usually to the long-term detriment of that animal. |
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Be an educated consumer by not buying products such as feather art, tortoise shell jewelry, or some traditional Asian medicines, that are made from parts of endangered or wild caught animals. |
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If you eat beef, ask for certified eco-beef, raised on native grasses in an environmentally friendly manner. |
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Support conservation organizations and efforts in your own region. The first step toward a global conscious begins in our own backyard. |
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| And we're guessing that you can come up with many more. If you like these ideas, please share this information with family and friends - be a leader and set a good example. Here are some links to provide further information about the places we traveled and the things we learned (Please be aware - some of the websites are in Portuguese, so you might need a translator).
And if you are interested in following either Julie or Jeff and the work we do, or learning more about wildlife conservation and biodiversity science, check out these websites:
If you would like to give feedback on what you thought about this Expedition and ways future Expeditions can be improved, or if you would like to be put on our email list to be alerted about future Expeditions, please contact us at Expeditions@conservation.org. Otherwise, watch the Investigate Biodiversity website (http://investigate.conservation.org/) for notice of Conservation International's next Expedition and where it will be.Best wishes, and thanks for joining us on this adventure. |
