Project Report
| Oct 6, 2015
Good news for tapirs!
By Richard Margoluis | vice-president
![President Solis Signs Savegre Decree! (Tico Times)]()
President Solis Signs Savegre Decree! (Tico Times)
The good news for tapirs is that the President of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solis, signed a decree banning all mega hydroelectric dams to be built in the Savegre Watershed for 25 years! The Savegre is one of the few remaining intact habitats of the tapir, and the Rafiki Safari Lodge - home of ASANA's Tapir Reintroduction Project - is found in the lower Savegre Watershed. President Solis acknowledged the biological, social, and economic importance of the decree. He stressed the importance of finding solutions that respect both human populations and nature and acknowledged past mistakes Costa Rica has made in terms of major electricity infrastructure.
For years, ASANA has been trying to find a “sustainable development” solution – one that truly meets the needs of local residents while conserving the natural riches of the zone for generations to come. Major dam construction along the river has already severely affected the Savegre’s unique biodiversity, and has significantly disrupted the social fabric, pitting community against community and offering false hope of an economic boon – in the form of jobs – that has never materialized. This decree lets us put this mega-infrastructure project on pause for a while as Costa Rica analyzes all that the Savegre has to offer and gets its priorities straight.
This is good news indeed for tapir conservation and reintroduction in the Southern Pacific zone of Costa Rica. We thank you for supporting our efforts and we look forward to your continued support in the future!
![President Solis Rafting (Tico Times)]()
President Solis Rafting (Tico Times)
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Jun 1, 2015
ASANA Won International Award for Best Non-Profit!
By Richard Margoluis | Vice-President, ASANA
Dear friends of ASANA (and friends of Andrea!) –
Yes! ASANA has won the PeaceJam global 2015 Hero Award for Best Non-profit act! (Check out the attached press releases!) This is amazing recognition for all the hard work our tiny non-profit has done over the years. PeaceJam works with 13 Nobel Peace Prize winners to support social and environmental causes around the world. While this is quite an honor for us as an organization, we see this as a recognition for all the work that all of us – especially the Local Council the Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor – are doing to ensure the long-term sustainable use and conservation of Costa Rica’s unique natural heritage.
ASANA has been invited to the awards ceremony in Monte Carlo on 14 June. The award will be presented by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Adolfo Perez Esquivel. PeaceJam provides no travel support for ASANA but the board believes it is very important that Andrea be there to receive the award for Costa Rica on this international stage. This opportunity will, no doubt, raise ASANA to an entirely new level of exposure, enabling us to further our mission. To this end, we have launched a campaign to raise funds to pay for Andrea’s trip to Monte Carlo. Jack Ewing of Hacienda Baru Ecotours (www.haciendabaru.com) has kicked of the donations with a $1000 contribution!
So if you can, please support us with a donation of $100 or more. Go to the GlobalGiving site: "Sponsor Andrea to accept 2015 Hero Award!" or go to https://goto.gg/20706 . THIS IS TIME SENSITIVE! We need to get the funds together by 10 June to be able to purchase flight tickets for Andrea.
Thanks for your continued support!
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Apr 24, 2015
More Tapirs!
By Richard Margoluis | Vice-President, ASANA
ASANA and Rafiki Safari Lodge are working hard on the tapir reintroduction project. We’ve had some good news and some bad news regarding tapirs during this reporting period. The good news is that are more and more sightings of tapir in the upper reaches of the Savegre River Watershed – a good indication that the Tapirs are, indeed, making a comeback… The bad news, however, is that we’ve heard of two tapir being killed on the Pan American Highway as they’ve attempted to cross.
Our executive director, Andrea Herrera , and a board member (and project lead) Lautjie Boshoff attended the recent Sixth International Tapir Symposium in Brazil. There, they met many experts who we hope will provide technical assistance to our project. For now, Andrea and Lautjie are putting together a business plan for the project, which will be based at the Rafiki Safari Lodge, midway down the Savegre River Watershed. With this business plan in hand, we are hoping to do some serious fundraising to fully launch our tapir conservation project.
Also to learn more about tapir in the Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor, check out two new awesome products: the new ASANA/Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor video and Jack Ewing's (ASANA president and owner of Hacienda Baru) new book: Where Tapirs and Jaguars Once Roamed: Ever-Evolving Costa Rica.
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