EcoViva works with community organizations in Central America, with most of our partners located in El Salvador and Honduras. Historically, our work began in (and we continue to focus on) the department of Usulután on the eastern side of the Lower Lempa River Estuary in El Salvador and the communities surrounding the Bay of Jiquilisco. At 156,000 acres, the Bay of Jiquilisco contains Central America’s largest remaining mangrove forest and coastal estuary. This complex of inlets, inter-tidal wetlands and beaches provide critical habitat for an immense array of biodiversity, including shellfish, crabs, migratory birds, and a wide variety of fish. Four species of sea turtles nest here, including the most endangered sea turtle species in the world, the Eastern Pacific hawksbill turtle.

In El Salvador, we offer direct financial support to our local partner organizations including the Mangrove Association and provide them with ongoing technical assistance with program planning and policy advocacy. We help them build strategic alliances locally and internationally, and recruit skilled volunteers to support their efforts. We bring people from the United States to El Salvador and Honduras on EcoViva Tours to learn about what’s happening and build grassroots support for our work in the United States. We also connect our partners with national policy initiatives and major international funding streams from which they would otherwise be typically excluded.

Our primary partner in Honduras is Red COMAL, a national network of small-scale farmers, cooperatives, and community micro-finance associations. Red COMAL provides training programs, facilitates access to credit and markets and helps thousands of Hondurans build a vibrant and equitable alternative rural economy.

We also work with the Mangrove Alliance, a coalition of community-based conservation organizations concerned with protecting the mangrove forests of Mesoamerica (Mexico and Central America).