Colombia and the Colombia Association for Lepidopterology

The Colombian Association for Lepideptology (ACOLEP) is a non-profit association founded in 2010 and whose purpose is the scientific study and conservation of butterflies in Colombia. ACOLEP works in collaboration with biology departments of different Colombian Universities as well as various international scientific entities, such as the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity’ Tropical Andean Butterfly Diversity Project.

A portion of all Fauna Ventures ticket sales in Colombia will go to support ACOLEP in its efforts to investigate and describe unknown life cycles of the butterflies of the Putumayo at the Mocoa-Andino Research Center.

Honduras and The Pro Nature Honduras Foundation

The Pro Nature Honduras Foundation (Pro-HN) was formed by ten concerned citizens (including one American). Their primary mission is to increase awareness of responsible behavior towards nature by creating, promoting, and implementing programs for the conservation and protection of the environment. The structure of Pro-HN is very different than most charity-based non-profits that operate in Honduras in that it aims to teach people how to ‘add value’ to natural ecosystems to stimulate economic growth in Honduras. This difference in vision often entails teaching skills, such as those needed to become a bilingual bird guide, and how to utilize the country’s natural resources and heritage sustainably. In a country where poverty is so widespread, natural resources have to have more than intrinsic value.

Pro-HN is focused on education and has given copies of the Spanish edition of the Guide to the Birds of Honduras to nearly 80 schools in rural areas reaching almost 10,000 school children. Pro-HN has also begun to offer workshops on elements of biodiversity which includes the first butterfly photography workshop. Their long-term goal is to build the country’s first nature center, complete with a small natural history museum to house interactive exhibits and scientific collections.

Pro-HN operates the Emerald Valley Butterfly Festival, which is a unique event in the region.