Treasures of the Forgotten Forest

• Description
• Images (1)

This book is the result of two journeys through the Tumbesian region of Peru and Ecuador by twenty wildlife artists from twelve countries. The artists responded to a request for help from a group of local conservation organisations, Bosques Sin Fronteras (BSF), which is seeking to maintain the biodiversity of the forests of the Tumbesian region. The members of BSF have found that a lack of awareness of the region and its importance inhibits their efforts. As a result they turned to the Artists for Nature Foundation for help to promote the Tumbesian region, as the need for sustainable conservation of the last remnants of its unique dry forests was most urgent. The Tumbesian region is an area of tropical dry forests in the coastal lowlands of Western Ecuador and Northwestern Peru. This region has one of the highest biodiversity conservation priorities in the world because of the large number of endemic species found there. With little more then seven percent of the remaining dry forests in tact and much of its biodiversity relegated to small fragmented pockets of forest, there is a real risk that major species extinctions will occur here in the next few decades unless we act quickly and effectively to encourage conservation action in this region. As a first step to raising awareness of the region's importance, Birdlife International, with help from WWF and other interested groups, is supporting the efforts of the Artists for Nature Foundation to help bring attention to the area through art. Some of the world's foremost wildlife artists were invited by Artists for Nature to paint and draw what they saw and witnessed as they travelled through this remarkable land. It is hoped that this compliation of their artworks will help illustrate the wonderful biodiversity of the Tumbesian Region and support the efforts of local groups, to work together for the long-term conservation and sustainable development of this globally important region.