Message-ID: <199505020440.VAA11032@igc2.igc.apc.org> Date: Mon, 1 May 1995 21:40:23 -0700 From: ECO-Sao Tome and Principe <mailto:ecostp@IGC.APC.ORG> Subject: African NGO seeks help To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L
1>+l I direct a non-profit non-governmental organization (NGO) devoted to the environment and sustainable development, ECO-Sao Tome & Principe, in the island-nation of Sao Tome & Principe, an independent country, 250 kms. off the west-central coast of Africa. Our NGO is based in the main house of a former cocoa plantation. We have a growing library, are working to get a GIS, and in addition to our office space, we have space for research, conferences, and we hope to renovate the upstairs bedrooms of the plantation house as a place where visiting students, researchers or teachers could stay.Sao Tome & Principe are among the last tropical islands which have not been "discovered" and thus our virgen rainforests, mountains, beaches, and savannahs house a world patrimony of biodiversity. Our flora and fauna are notable for their high degree of endemism. The British-based organization Birdlife classifies Sao Tome & Principe's forests as the second most important in Africa. Nevertheless, threats such as deforestaton, soil erosion, destruction of our coral reefs, unchecked and non-sustainable tourism development, sand mining, and unplanned urbanization increasingly put our natural resources in peril.
We have now gone about as far as we can go on our own here, and seek your help in identifying potential international partners - individuals, NGO's, academic institutions, organizations, foundations - who could help us with work on habitat restoration, environmental education, environmental policy/legislation, ecotourism, biodiversity, physical planning and land use management. We also need help in identifying available information and for collecting new data to help us build a GIS.
We are normally unable to connect to the Internet because we have no local node and long-distance charges are extremely high, a friend has kindly agreed to relay messages to us. Can anyone help? mailto:ecostp@igc.apc.org Henrique Pinto da Costa, Director, ECO-Sao Tome & Principe.