The Washington Ecotourism May Meeting

This month we will be talking about ways we can help when we travel.
This will be carry out dinner.

Our speaker is Hugo Arnal D.
Director, International Sustainable Conservation Program

AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY

Among their bird conservation priorities, The Conservancy gives highest priority to endemic and critically endangered birds, throughout the Americas and particularly in the Andes. For different circumstances, they have helded create private reserves in several countries and they see bird tourism as an important long term financial tool. Because of this, the Conservancy has also supported the construction of small lodges and catalyze the preparation of birding circuits, ecotourism plans, etc. Last year, they helped the Government of Peru organize its first international bird and nature tourism fair.
http://www.abcbirds.o...

Hugo Arnal, Director of International Sustainable Conservation, has worked throughout Latin America on protected areas and natural resource management for more than 25 years, conducting environmental feasibility studies, new park creation projects, nature tourism programs, and community-based conservation projects throughout the Andes. He has also organized numerous participatory training programs for Latin America and Caribbean national park services and NGOs. Before joining ABC, he worked for The Nature Conservancy, from 1993 to 2003 as both the Venezuela and Ecuador Country Program Director. Prior to that, he worked for five years in the Not-for-profit conservation sector of Venezuela, his native country, leading the creation and expansion of protected areas, as well as the establishment of the first non-governmental conservation reserve in the Venezuelan Andes. He has also been the Superintendent of Sierra Nevada National Park and Acting Director of the Andean Region of INPARQUES, the Venezuelan National Parks Service. He holds a Degree in Biology from Universidad Central de Venezuela, with majors in ecology and marine biology, and a Certificate of Graduate Studies on Tropical Ecology from Universidad de Los Andes, Venezuela. Fluent in English and Spanish, Mr. Arnal is an avid hiker and alpine climber, with several new climbing routes and major mountains throughout the Andes and the Venezuelan Guiana highlands.