For the 20th anniversary of Bahía de Caráquez’s declaration as an Ecological City, Hugo Vaca, head of the environmental department for the city, wisely decided to host an environmental forum instead of a celebration, as has been custom in the past. Despite the lack of initiatives coordinated by the city government, many private and public organizations and groups based in Bahía continue to be proactive in the fields of ecological conservation and restoration. Representatives were invited to give presentations in a forum setting to give recognition to the various projects that are occurring in the area.
Ten projects were presented, including Planet Drum’s Dry Tropical Forest Revegetation and Bioregional Education Project.
Presentations were made on the following topics:
Dry Tropical Forest Biodiversity and Ecosystem Threats
Cerro Seco Biological Reserve (Marcelo Luque)
Conservation Corridors of the Bioregion (Ramon Cedeño)
Micro-plastics in the Marine Ecosystem (Johnny Delgado – Technical University of Manabí)
Estuary Conservation Opportunities (Juan Carlos Murillo – Catholic University of Bahía)
Planet Drum Dry Tropical Forest Revegetation and Bioregional Education 2018-19 Project Update (Clay Plager-Unger)
Maritime Awareness Campaign in Manabí (Carlos Aguirre)
Global Student Embassy Activities 2017-18 (Cecilia Montesdeoca)
Eco-Club Activities (María José Veléz – Laica University Bahía)
Using Artificial Wetlands to Treat Individual Household Wastewater (Jorge Alcivar – Manabí Government)
Overall, the presentations were interesting and well received. It was nice to see the variety and quantity of environmental projects and initiatives in and around Bahía. Bahía could have a chance at re-establishing itself as the Ecological City it set out to be 20 years ago, if the city government would undertake ecological projects and/or collaborate with some of the local groups.
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