What’s that?

Never heard of it?

Well, you’re probably not alone if you live in an urban environment. It was new to me.

However, biodiversity is a major issue in Costa Rica. The rich variety of animal and plant species is not only a point of pride, but also critical to the economy. Tourists pour into Costa Rican jungles and cloud forests hoping to see animals like the quetzal, jaguar or morpho butterfly. So for the big day – Saturday, May 22 – there was an all-day celebration in Puerto Jimenez, complete with food, a parade, and music at night. For this town, that’s huge.

Several groups attended. There was ASCONA, which works to educate locals on sustainability; Friends of the Osa, which aims to preserve biodiversity on the Osa Peninsula; and Misión Tiburón, which promotes shark and marine animal conservation. Their representatives gave presentations on animals — presentations that are essential for people who want to work as tour guides, which is a plum gig here.

Guiding is huge because PJ is right by Corcovado National Park, a massive rainforest. I went there my first week here. At the time, a group of university students was surveying tourists. One question was, “Would you like the park to have more amenities?” It blew my mind that some people said “Yes. ” It’s a rainforest; amenities are anathema! Whatever is added would take away from the richness of the park.

With that in mind, the best thing about IBD ‘10 was the all the kids that packed Puerto Jimenez’s Salon Commundad. They had helped decorate the room with paintings of different environments and posters outlining facts about Costa Rica’s biodiversity. And many attended the animal presentations. Simply receiving Ranger Rick as a kid made me understand the importance of respecting nature. Maybe something similar will germinate in these kids, and they’ll want to preserve the incredible resource they have so close by.

Kent Green is currently teaching English in Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica through Costa Rican English for Sustainable Tourism, a project of ALIARSE. For more on his experiences,  check out his blog or follow him on Twitter. For another take on nature’s creatures, check out Bridget Barry’s post, “Scorpions, Tarantulas and Rats, Oh My!”

In any of the major living areas, you will discover that the constant stream of buses and trucks makes for a very smoggy experience.  Transportation aside, oil exploration, logging and road building are all contributing to the increased environmental concerns.  Given Ecuador’s incredible biodiversity (1,600 bird species, 6,000 species of butterflies and over 16,000 plant species, to name a few) it makes me sad to see pollution threatening the natural beauty of Ecuador.

So what are people doing about it?  I took it upon myself to compile this below list of some great organizations here that are dedicated to protecting the environment in Ecuador.  For those looking for volunteer opportunities in Ecuador, these orgs are a great place to start!

EcoCiencia – Promotes sustainable management of natural resources through conservation efforts.  Headquartered in Quito; projects in Esmeraldas province.

Zoobreviven Foundation – Committed to conserving biodiversity through reforestation, environmental education and economic development for local residents.  Headquartered in Quito; projects in the Choco region (northern Ecuador).

Fundacion Cabo San Francisco – Focused on flora and fauna conservation.  Headquartered in Quito.

Fundacion Ecologica Condorhuana – Promotes environmental education, sustainable use of natural resources and alternative land and resource development.  Headquartered in Loja.

Fundacion Brethren y Unida – Projects focus on sustainable farming efforts in rural Ecuador.  Headquartered in Quito; projects in Pedro Moncayo, Columbe, and Intag.