Since 2007, TMA has been working hand-in-hand with local residents from the small agricultural community of Camarones to protect and restore the forests of the Jama-Coaque Reserve in coastal Ecuador. Over the years we've seen local team members grow up, get married, have kids, and mature into true community leaders. These individuals are also the most important conservationists and advocates we have - essentially managing each and every aspect of daily field work in the Reserve. They truly are the heroes working on the front lines of the global conservation movement.

Unfortunately, our local conservation team, their families, and communities are also the most vulnerable during times of crisis, such as the current Covid-19 pandemic. Access to education, quality and nutritious food, medical care, and economic opportunities are all highly restricted for marginalized communities like Camarones. This worrying trend, which will likely worsen over the coming months and years as the pandemic spreads, threatens the economic stability and well-being of families in Camarones. And as most forest preserves in Ecuador have already began to notice, the economic impact of Covid-19 has slowly started to result in an increase in illegal activities like hunting and logging.

Supporting our local conservation team members through job security, and the income to support their families and community, has never been more important. With most of our extended conservation team stuck at home in other parts of the country, the responsibility of managing and protecting the Reserve is now entirely in the hands of our local conservation team. Unfortunately our ability to ensure our local staff remain employed, and able to protect the Reserve throughout the pandemic, has also been hindered by the pandemic. Many of our field programs have been cancelled for the remainder of 2020, which has resulted in a substantial decrease in our annual budget. Because of this, and other compounding factors, we do not have any emergency funding available to help our local conservation team in a time of need.

Our goal with this peer-to-peer fundraiser is to raise enough funding to ensure the permanent employment and support of our entire local conservation team and their families throughout the pandemic. But we can only do this with your support!

UPDATES:

Tuesday, May 5th, 2020: Today is GivingTuesdayNow, a global day of charitable giving. In the spirit of GivingTuesdayNow, our partner IUCN Netherlands has generously committed to matching the first $5,400 of our campaign! Thank-you IUCN NL and to everyone who has joined us in our efforts to support conservation heroes in Ecuador so far!

Tuesday, May 12th, 2020: Thanks to everyone who has donated to the campaign so far! We've had an amazing showing this first week of the campaign, and are already 30% of the way to our ultimate fundraising goal of $30,000! We've also already surpassed the amount required to access the $5,400 match from our partner IUCN Netherlands, so they have now sent us that check.

Thursday, May 14th, 2020: If you're not following TMA on social media, make sure to do so to keep up to date on the campaign and learn more about our local team in Ecuador!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thirdmillenniumalliance/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tmalliance

Tuesday, May 26th, 2020: The match from our partner IUCN Netherlands has arrived and been added to the campaign total. With that match our fundraising total has passed the halfway mark to our goal! Thank you to everyone who has opened their own fundraiser page and/ or donated to support the cause. Together we are stronger!

Thursday, July 2nd, 2020: This week we were able to provide 400 masks to people in need in the community of Camarones. Very few people had masks in the community, so we purchases masks in Quito and sent them to the coast to make sure everyone was staying safe as Covid cases continue to rise. This wouldn't have been possible without your financial support, so thank you from the entire TMA team!

Thursday, July 9th, 2020: We've reached the 60% mark to our fundraising goal!!! Thanks to everyone who has donated the past month to help us reach this benchmark! With your continued help we will be able to continue our support efforts in the community of Camarones during these difficult times. Thank you!