Current Projects
Orinoco Mining Arc Awareness
Declared in 2016, the largest mining project in Venezuela spans over 110,800 square kilometers affecting multiple indigenous nations, ecosystems, ocean outflow and regional economies. LACCCB 2018 hosted the first public forum for international scientific discussion on the issue.
Media related to the Orinoco Mining Arc will continue to be consolidated on this page.
We invite you to view the resulting CONFERENCE STATEMENT, prepared by attendees of LACCCB 2018 after the presentation of the symposium “An Insight into the Orinoco Mining Arc: its implications for Venezuela and the eastern Caribbean”, organized by the Venezuelan Society of Ecology, and voted on at the LACA member’s meeting.
Prior Projects
Save the Vaquita
A New Hope for the Vaquita
SCB's LACA and Marine Section rise to the challenge of saving Mexico's critically endangered vaquita.
©CEDO Intercultural (photo by Bill VanPelt) In Our Hands: Mike Sumner of Phoenix, Arizona, USA holds a vaquita calf that was found and brought to CEDO Intercultural in 1994.
To read info on vaquita population estimates and newspaper articles, please click HERE.
Update 06/2016: #VaquitaShirts and #WearableEducation
SCB's partner and vaquita ambassador Memuco has been raising the profile of the vaquita on Mexican streets and in Mexican classrooms through his arts and crafts. Now you can help support this work - and spread the word. Memuco is making one of his designs available on a
t-shirt and babywear. Perfect as a gift and a conversation piece, proceeds will support Memuco's efforts to reach new audiences and inspire the hearts and minds of the Mexican public.
Memuco, el embajador y colega de SCB ha elevado el perfil de la vaquita en las calles de México y en las aulas mexicanas a través de su arte y artesanías. Ahora tú puedes ayudar a apoyar este trabajo y difundir el mensaje. Memuco pone a disposición uno de sus diseños en una camiseta y en ropa para bebé. Perfecto como un regalo y un tema de conversación, lo recaudado apoyará los esfuerzos de Memuco para llegar a nuevos públicos e inspirar los corazones y la mente de la población mexicana".
Update 10/2015: New Ambassador for the Vaquita
Drawing inspiration from the new SCB Working Group on Conservation Marketing and Engagement, the Marine and LACA Sections put out a call in late 2015 for help over social media: we needed people living and working near vaquita-inhabited areas to help us find new ways to reach the people of the region. Monica Michelle Medina answered our call and, after discussions, joined our efforts to save the vaquita.
Monica is a bi-cultural, bi-national grassroots community activist and influencer who has studied business administration, marketing and has more than 15 years working in the non-profit community development field. She has lived in the Sonoran Desert between the United States and Mexico and speaks fluent English, Spanish and Italian. Crucially, she believes that empowering communities can be the catalyst for real sustainable community and economic development.
Monica works at the Instituto del Desierto Sonorense (IDS), where her mission is to help develop strategies within the community starting with cultural identity, environmental and conservation efforts, agro and eco-tourism to help the Sonoran Desert Pueblos thrive and be revitalized! IDS created Fiestas del Desierto, a festival focusing on the celebration of the cultural, ecological, culinary and ethnic environment of the Sonoran Desert. Fiestas del Desierto has had more than 400 talents from around the region and more than 1,300 participants.
Monica brought with her the talents of local Sonoran artist Guillermo "Memuco" Munro Colosio and together they helped SCB generate support for vaquita conservation. The pair have already been hard at work while we at SCB have been trying to iron out the details!