Reflections on 2019

As we celebrate the holidays and approach the new year, we look back on 2019 – a remarkable year, by any metric. This year brought challenges with reports of forest fires, climate change, and species threatened with extinction. But, most importantly, 2019 brought hope.

Every day, more and more people like you faced these challenges head on and took action. Students and concerned citizens participated in climate strikes and around the world. Governments increased investments in renewable energy and transforming infrastructure. And you supported Nature and Culture International, resulting in powerful victories for our planet.

Together we achieved the milestone of creating 20 million acres of protected areas across Latin America, nearly nine times the size of Yellowstone National Park.

With your support, 2019 was one of Nature and Culture’s most impactful years yet.You fought for biodiversity, climate, and a healthy planet for all.  

Together we:

• saved 3,316,421 new acres of priceless ecosystems in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, and Mexico; 
• catalyzed the creation of the second largest conservation area in Bolivia;
• rescued essential habitat for keystone species such as the jaguar, spectacled bear, and Andean condor, as well as for thousands of other lesser known and newly discovered species of plants and wildlife;
• protected forests that store millions of tons of carbon from release into the atmosphere, buffering the effects of global climate change;
• empowered the Ayoreo population, thought to be the only uncontacted indigenous people south of the Amazon; and
• secured clean water for 16 municipalities in Ecuador with the country’s first Water School.

These efforts have been an investment of hope, of commitment, and of a dream that we can still safeguard the heart of our planet’s greatest biological and cultural diversity.

Thank you for making this possible. Your support allows us to enter 2020 with a continued spirit of hope and vigor to save the planet.

Happy holidays!

With warmth & gratitude,

Nature and Culture International