Volunteers needed for mapping South American Wildlands

Project Description: Pacific Biodiversity Institute (PBI) is seeking volunteers to help identify, describe and protect wldland complexes and roadless areas in South America. Volunteers will use Google Earth to identify and map existing roads in areas of Argentina, Chile and Bolivia. In addition, field volunteers are needed in South America to visit these areas on the ground and confirm the accuracy of the maps. See a discussion of our initiative, South American Wildlands and Biodiversity for a more complete description of this effort.

The wildlands of South America present one of the most important reservoirs of biodiversity on the planet. We are beginning an ambitious project with our Latin American conservation partners to map all the wildlands in South America, to evaluate their contribution to global biodiversity and to share and disseminate this information.

This project will first focus on mapping and analyzing the roadless/undeveloped areas in the southern cone countries (Chile and Argentina) using a procedure Pacific Biodiversity Institute (PBI) developed to map the wildlands of the United States in 2001.

Location: Currently we are beginning mapping work in northern Argentina and Chile. Mapping volunteers can work anywhere in the world where Google Earth is available. South American field surveyors will be visiting locations on the ground to improve the reliability of the map data.

Duration: The project is just beginning in 2010 and is expected to continue for at least several years. There is potential for future work in this area. Interns interested in training and further involvement in this work will be sought at a later date.

Compensation: We may cover some of the travel expense, but given our limited budget, we give preference to volunteers who are able to cover their own travel expenses.

Qualifications: Mapping volunteers are needed who have access to Google Earth and are comfortable working on computers. It will be helpful to have an interest in wildlife and vegetation ecology as well as having computer and mapping skills. Training will be provided by PBI. Field volunteers need to be able to visit the mapped areas on the ground. PBI will provide training. Some of the more specialized tasks that field volunteers will perform include the use of GPS and GIS equipment as well as recording photographs and notes about the areas visited. Volunteers will need to be physically fit and willing to work with others in different countries with different languages.

Please respond by email or regular mail:

Pacific Biodiversity Institute
P.O. Box 298
Winthrop, WA 98862
phone: 509-996-2490

About Pacific Biodiversity Institute

The mission of Pacific Biodiversity Institute is to develop information and tools to conserve biodiversity and maintain ecological integrity. Central to this mission is sharing of these tools and provision of technical support to public agencies, educational institutions and other non-profit conservation organizations. We conduct scientific research in the fields of ecology, conservation biology and natural resource management. We also engage in a variety of educational activities including generation of ecological data and literature, the organization of scientific conferences and public symposia, and the development of educational materials for community level environmental education.

Return to the volunteer opportunities web page


Copyright © Pacific Biodiversity Institute
PO Box 298, 517 Lufkin Lane
Winthrop, WA 98862 509-996-2490