WCS Staff from the Bronx Zoo (Pat Thomas) and EGAD (Sue Chin, Jason Hill, and Sarah Werner) visited Brazilian Amazon this past week to collaborate with Brazil Program Staff (Carlos Durigan, Karl Didier, and Camilla Ferrara) and our partners SEMMAS, IBAMA, and IPAAM to launch an ambitious new project to design and build a world-class conservation education center in Manaus, the Amazon’s largest city and the nexus of tourism, wildlife consumption and trade in the region. Our partners gave us tours of several parks in the city, to evaluate potential sites and prioritize the best site for the center. Then, all the partners selected one site, a 100-hectare wildlife refuge in the city (about the size of the Bronx Zoo), that currently contains the municipal wildlife rescue and triage center, as the best potential site. Based on detailed and productive discussions, the NY team completed and presented an initial site plan and interpretive program elements. We would like to renovate the existing triage center (doubling its capacity and improving its animal care and rehabilitation facilities), and construct a new education center for the public, including an observation tower and exhibits for animals from the rescue center (that cannot be returned to the wild) to act as ambassadors for reducing wildlife trade and habitat destruction. The initial plan was greeted with marked enthusiasm by all partners, so much so we all mobilized to develop a work plan for the next year, and review and sign and MOU (WCS-SEMMAS). The visit was well covered in the regional TV and print media. Over the next year, WCS and partners will finalize a glossy, visionary, and detailed site and interpretation plan which we will then use to raise resources to fund renovation, construction, and education programs. WCS would like to thank all our partners, including SEMMAS, IBAMA, IPAAM, and MUSA for a great week.
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