| SFSU Public Affairs Press ReleasePublished by the Public Affairs Office at San Francisco State University, Diag Center. |
SAN FRANCISCO, August 2, 2000 - The nonprofit Center for Ecosystem Survival (CES) recently surpassed $2 million raised to purchase and protect threatened and endangered ecosystems throughout Latin America and the Asia Pacific regions, announced CES Director Norman Gershenz.
"We are extremely proud to reach this milestone, as it proves we are making a significant impact in protecting our planet's most biologically rich ecosystems," Gershenz said.
Working in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, which identifies regions most in need of protection and then brokers conservation deals, CES has helped purchase and protect hundreds of thousands of acres of endangered and threatened habitat in Costa Rica, Peru, Bolivia, Guatemala, Belize, Brazil, Panama, Republic of Palau, Komodo and the Dominican Republic. These areas comprise more than 11 million acres of critically important biological diversity.
"Every cent we raise for habitat goes to habitat," said Gershenz, who added that a nickel will buy 18 square feet of rainforest.
More than 100 zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, natural history museums and science centers are consortium participants in the Center for Ecosystem Survival's conservation programs, encouraging their members and visitors to make a direct contribution to saving wildlife in nature.
More than 1,500 elementary, middle and high schools from all 50 states have paired environmental education programs with fund-raising drives to help preserve rainforest and coral reef biodiversity through the center's Adopt-An-Acre, Adopt-A-Reef and Marine and Rainforest Conservation Meter programs.
"These programs play a vital role not only in raising awareness, but also in getting people directly involved in conservation," Gershenz said. "The success of these fund-raising programs proves that the collective support of individuals can make a significant difference in saving these threatened environments."
The 10-year-old Center for Ecosystem Survival, which is based at San Francisco State University, is dedicated to creating global partnerships to inspire broad-based participation in the preservation of biological diversity through ecosystem protection worldwide. The center's goals are to increase individual participation in and awareness of worldwide conservation by providing an opportunity for direct action.
For details on its programs, contact the Center for Ecosystem Survival at (415) 338-3393 or ecosystm@sfsu.edu.
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