The Seeds of the Conference

We're about midway through the Conference at the Monteverde Institute and one thing that strikes this observer is how much work and planning has gone into it. From forming the steering committee, to inviting participants and programming the expansive four-day agenda, to arranging food, accommodations, transportation, and so forth, this has a been a major, and perhaps under-appreciated undertaking.

Curious about who dreamed up and organized the Initiative, and why, we spoke with Debra Hamilton, executive director of MVI. Debra explained that the seeds for the conference were sown during a symposium last June at the Association of Tropical Biology in San Jose. That event looked at what Deb calls "the miracle of Monteverde" -- that is, the ways in which the zone has spawned so many individuals and organizations engaged in conservation research and education, and how their efforts can be seen as a model for the tropics.

That symposium was the brainchild of Nalini Nadkarni and Peter Raven. Nalini is a forest ecologist and professor at the University of Utah who began working in Monteverde back in 1979. Peter is a world-renowned botanist and President Emeritus of Missouri Botanical Garden.

Out of the symposium, Nalini, Debra and Peter formed a steering committee that led to this conference. Joining them on the committee are Laurie Waller, Julia Matamoros, and Patrick Osborne. The committee issued an audacious call to local, national and international actors in conservation research and education. Given the challenge of climate change, the purpose for this conference -- to build a framework for collaboration and to develop a common vision for the future of the Monteverde-Arenal Bioregion -- is all the more urgent.

Picture of the committee, Peter Raven is the leaf as he could not be present: