BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID:NingEventWidget-v1 VERSION:2.0 METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Los_Angeles X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Los_Angeles BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:19700308T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=2SU END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:19701101T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:2227378:Event:149696 DTSTAMP:20260405T021807Z SUMMARY:Online auction to raise money for people and parrots Guatemala DESCRIPTION:This year, one of the projects that the auction will raise money for is parrot conservation scholarships for college students in Guatemala - home to some of the last wild scarlet macaws in Central A merica.\n\nAuction begins January 5 and ends January 16, 2010.\n\nvisi t www.biddingforgood.com/bornfreeusa\n\nMore information:\nRevered by the Maya (the ancient peoples of Guatemala), scarlet macaws once flew over much of Central America. Today fewer than 200 scarlet macaws rema in in Central America and that population is under constant and sustai ned threat from deforestation and poaching.\n\nWhile Guatemala has a c onsolidated system of 120 protected areas covering 29.3% of the countr y, including the Mayan Biosphere Reserve — the second largest tropic al forest after the Amazon — degradation of natural resources throug hout Guatemala is intense, particularly as a result of illegal exploit ation of forests and slash-and-burn subsistence agriculture. As a resu lt, Guatemala has lost 17% of its forest area since 1990. Deforestatio n not only threatens species survival but also the ecosystem’s capac ity to store water and avoid soil erosion, which in turn threatens the people of Guatemala especially the indigenous poor who are often forc ed to live on marginal lands.\n\nHowever, there is hope. Home to more than 720 species of birds, its rich biodiversity, breathtaking landsca pes, and rich cultural heritage give the country great potential for e nvironmentally sensitive tourism that could aid in protecting the larg e tracts of land necessary to preserve species such as the scarlet mac aw and jaguar and to protect rural communities.\n\nA key factor in ach ieving Guatemala’s conservation potential is cultivating skilled and motivated human resources for the protection of native wildlife and m anagement of human activities within protected areas.\n\nCurrently the re are no specific graduate programs in Guatemala for students interes ted in wildlife conservation.\n\nHowever, the University of San Carlos of Guatemala is developing a 2-year Wildlife Management masters cours e open to biologists and veterinarians to fill this need and aid in sa ving Guatemala’s wildlife.\n\nThe primary challenge to the developme nt of a master’s program at the University is filling the program wi th the required number of students. While many wildlife and veterinari an students at the University have an interest in pursuing graduate le vel education in wildlife conservation, many lack the financial resour ces to do so.\n\nMore than 50% of Guatemalans live below the national poverty line. Guatemala also has the lowest literacy rate in Central A merica. Only 69.1% of the population aged 15 and over is literate. Giv en the considerable challenges faced by people in Guatemala, it is not surprising that less than 1 percent pursues higher education (about 9 0 percent of this group attends the University of San Carlos) or that many are unable to afford to complete advanced courses, internships, o r degrees.\n\nThe parrot conservation scholarships from Born Free USA will be awarded to two deserving students with a keen interest in pres erving parrots’ rightful place in the wild.\n\nFor more information visit https://architectsofanewdawn.ning.com/events/online-auction-to-r aise-money DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20100111T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20100116T190000 CATEGORIES:online, charity, auction LOCATION:online WEBSITE:http://www.biddingforgood.com/bornfreeusa.org URL:http://www.biddingforgood.com/bornfreeusa.org CONTACT: ORGANIZER;CN="Monica Engebretson":https://architectsofanewdawn.ning.co m/profile/MonicaEngebretson ATTACH;FMTTYPE="image/jpeg": ATTENDEE;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;PARTSTAT=ACCEPTED;RSVP=TRUE;CN="Monica E ngebretson":https://architectsofanewdawn.ning.com/profile/MonicaEngebr etson END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR