Volunteer in Environmental Conservation

Project Summary: The World Wild Life Foundation has classified Bolivia's ecosystem as one of the two hundred most fragile and important ecosystems in the world. The country is home to 63 million acres of frontier rainforest. This precious resource has been declining at an alarming rate of 2.1 acres a year. A large part of this deforestation has been caused by the construction of a 400-mile gas pipeline funded by ENRON, which has caused immeasurable devastation to Bolivia's environment. Our local partner is a committed agronomist who is eager to welcome volunteers with an interest in environmental conservation in Bolivia.

Why the placement needs volunteers

This project needs the support of volunteers in order to educate the public about the environmental issues that threaten the country and use marketing tools to create awareness and support for environmental conservation.

Program Requirements

You should have the desire to educate and inform locals about the current events and issues that threaten Bolivia's natural habitat. A basic level of Spanish is suggested but not required. If however, you would like to become closely involved with the marketing project, a higher level of Spanish is reccomended.

Your role as a volunteer

Volunteers participating in this project will experience a hands-on approach to conservation. This will be a fantastic opportunity to work with Bolivia's diverse botanical species. Participating volunteers will also help with planting, maintenance and collection of botanical species, and there are opportunities to get involved with research activities as well. If you have experience with marketing or publicity, you can also assist with locating sources of funding, raising awareness of the project and preparing promotional materials, but this part of the project will require a higher level of Spanish.

Program Schedule/Working hours and days

Participants' working hours will be from 7am to 12pm in the mornings, Monday to Friday. After lunch, 2.30pm, you have the opportunity to continue research with your own time, teach English, attend Spanish language classes or to get involved in other local community related projects.