Rio Pucuno Foundation

Join our rainforest conservation efforts in Ecuador's Eastern Foothills.

The non-profit Rio Pucuno Foundation was established by the owners of Wildsumaco Wildlife Sanctuary in Eastern Ecuador for the express purpose of furthering our primary goal of buying and preserving rainforest in the Rio Pucuno/Sumaco area before it disappears. We are proud of our private corporate efforts and accomplishments in Sumaco, but realize that any significant expansion of our work will depend on securing additional financing outside of our company.

As a non-profit organization, Rio Pucuno Foundation is able to receive grants and financial contributions, operating separately from our privately-held company. It has been approved by the appropriate government agencies and is fully chartered under the laws of Ecuador.

Our primary focus as a foundation is forest preservation, and that takes two forms.  First is the generation of funds to buy and preserve primary forest in the Rio Pucuno/Sumaco area.  We solicit donations large and small to help us with this.  Forest conservation is our driving force.

Secondly, we know that we cannot operate in a vacuum; global warming and loss of primary forest are of world-wide concern.  However, to effect change, one must look and act locally.  If we ask people to live differently, and we are, they must be given economic alternatives to a slash and burn way of life. At their request we are currently working to help people living in the Pacto Sumaco area to develop their own sustainable ecotourism projects as an alternative to cutting forest, and are seeking grants to help out with this. For additional information, read the Projects and Ongoing Support page of this website.

If you are associated with an educational institution and seek research opportunities for yourself or your students in the unique Sumaco area, please contact us with ideas or questions. Much additional biological research is needed in this wild and understudied area, especially in the fields of ornithology, botany, entomology, mammology, herpetology and related areas.

Because Wildsumaco Wildlife Sanctuary is still in an early phase of our work in the Rio Pucuno/Sumaco area, we have particular need of extra hands and skills. If you don't care to make a financial donation to Rio Pucuno Foundation, but have time to volunteer with us in Ecuador, there are a number of ways in which you could aid our grassroots conservation efforts. Read the Volunteers Needed section of the Wildsumaco Wildlife Sanctuary's website www.wildsumaco.com, for more information on our volunteer program.

If you have special talents or know of other ways in which you might be able to help out, we'd be happy to discuss your ideas.

When you decide to become a part of our conservation effort in Ecuador's Eastern Foothills, please write to either of us below. We will be happy to answer your questions, and hope to hear from you very soon.

A list of our board of directors is available upon request.

James G. Olson, President
Rio Pucuno Foundation
jim@riopucunofoundation.org

Jonas Nilsson, General Manager
Rio Pucuno Foundation
jonas@riopucunofoundation.org