|
|
Español | English
Introduction
The Ecuadorian Foundation for the Study of Marine Mammals (FEMM) is a non governmental and non-profit organization, whose members dedicate to scientific research, environmental education and conservation of marine mammals inhabiting Ecuadorian waters. FEMM was founded on December 14, 1987 in Guayaquil, Ecuador, by biology students of the University of Guayaquil. FEMM obtained its legal status in May 1992 by Ministerial Decree Nº 230 (Ministry of Industry, Commerce Integration and Fishing- MICIP) and published in the Official Register Nº 942 of May 25, 1992.
Objectives of the FEMM:
- To carry out the necessary studies for an overall comprehension of the state of the marine and aquatic mammals inhabiting Ecuadorian waters and the anthropogenic activities that threaten their survival, as well as the ways to mitigate this.
- To promote scientific research through courses, seminars and workshops in order to raise awareness in the Ecuadorian society about the importance of the marine mammals living in the different marine and aquatic ecosystems of the country.
- To maintain scientific and cultural contacts with other institutions, both national and international with similar objectives.
- To promote the participation of the community, the governmental and relevant stakeholders involved in activities related to marine mammals, in order to develop strategies for their sustainable management.
- To disseminate the knowledge acquired through educational and scientific publications.
The activities of FEMM are of a wide variety. In the educational field its members carry out conferences, training courses and seminars and prepare didactic material. The scientific research includes population, environmental and behavioral studies of several species of dolphins, whales and pinnipeds that live in Ecuadorian waters. FEMM has also been directly involved in the promotion of whalewatching in Ecuador , which has become the main ecotourism activity on the coast of Ecuador . Besides, FEMM has provided advises the environment and tourism authorities for the establishment of regulations.
In order to carry out these activities, FEMM counts on the voluntary contribution of its members, as well as on the help of several international NGO's, specially the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society ( WDCS ), and many people and enterprises that have cooperated with the institution throughout the years, without expecting anything in return.
Principal national institutions that have cooperated with FEMM
- Instituto Nacional de Pesca (INP): National Fishing Institute
- Instituto Oceanográfico de la Armada ( INOCAR ): Oceanographic Institute of the Navy
- Dirección General de la Marina Mercante (DIGMER): General Board of the Merchant Navy
- Facultad de Ciencias Naturales de la Universidad de Guayaquil : Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of Guayaquil
- MInistry of the Environment
- Ministry of Tourism
- Machalilla National Park
- Ecociencia
- Machiavello Tours/Hotel Calypsso
- Fundación Natura
- Conservation International (Ecuador)
Principal foreign institutions that have cooperated with the FEMM
- Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society ( WDCS ), England
- Cetacean Society International ( CSI ), USA
- United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Kenya
- Centro Peruano de Estudios Cetológicos (CEPEC): Peruvian Center of Cetological Studies, Peru
- International Union for the Conservation of Nature (UICN ), Switzerland
- Whale Conservation Institute ( WCI), USA
- College of the Atlantic (COA), USA
- Comisión Permanente del Pacífico Sur (CPPS)
- Yubarta Foundation, Colombia.
- Discovery Initiatives
- Revista de Biología Marina y Oceanografía : Magazine of Marine Biology and Oceanography
|
|
|
