Buying land to save threatened tropical habitats
Byron Swift
Executive Director and Secretary
Byron has dedicated much of his career over the past 23 years to helping local partners establish and support protected areas throughout Latin America. Notable successes include establishment of the 60 square mile Crooked Tree Sanctuary in Belize, the initial purchase of 11,000 acres that led to the creation of the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala, declaration of the 65,000 hectare Cordillera de Colan reserve in Peru, protection of 20,000 hectares of critical sites in Ecuador, and establishment of the Cani Araucaria Reserve in Chile. In all these cases, the passion and perseverance of local organizations was key to their success.
Byron most recently worked for the Environmental Law Institute for a decade, where he wrote Legal Tools and Incentives for Private Lands Conservation in Latin America: Building Models for Success, with country partners, and published widely on issues involving biodiversity and natural resources management, as well as industrial pollution and climate change. He previously directed the United States office of IUCN - the World Conservation Union, where he initiated programs to strengthen national funds for the environment, and for non governmental participation in multilateral agencies and the Global Environment Facility. He previously worked for World Wildlife Fund, served in the legal office for parks and wildlife of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and spent 12 years as international program officer for the Wildwings and Underhill Foundations.
Byron graduated from Columbia Law School in 1978 and from Stanford University in Economics in 1975. He has served on offical US delegations to the Global Environmental Facility and international conventions, on the Advisory Committee for USAID, and received the keys to Lima, Peru and Guatemala City for his conservation efforts.
Robert S. Ridgely
Director of Conservation
Robert is a founder of the Ecuador-based bird-conservation organization, Fundación Jocotoco, and presently serves as the Chairman of the Board. He is a leading expert on the birds of South America and a proponent of private reserve systems as a conservation strategy for endangered tropical bird species. Previously, he was Director of International Conservation at National Audubon Society and the Director of the Center for Neotropical Ornithology at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia (ANSP). He is an ornithologist and the author of many important books on Neotropical birds, including the acclaimed Birds of Panama (1976 and 1989), Birds of South America (vols. 1 and 2, 1989 and 1994), and Birds of Ecuador (2001).
Robert received a B.A. in History from Princeton University (1971); an M.Sc. in Zoology, Duke University (1975); and a Ph.D. in Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University (1981). In 2001 he received the Eisenmann Medal from the Linnaean Society.
Richard W. Moore
Director of Operations
Richard has worked in institutional development for the University of New Hampshire, American Bird Conservancy, and as president of New Hampshire Audubon prior to joining World Land Trust-US.
He graduated with a B.A. in English from Yale University (1968) and has an M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary and a master's degree in writing from University of New Hampshire.
Executive Director and Secretary
Byron has dedicated much of his career over the past 23 years to helping local partners establish and support protected areas throughout Latin America. Notable successes include establishment of the 60 square mile Crooked Tree Sanctuary in Belize, the initial purchase of 11,000 acres that led to the creation of the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala, declaration of the 65,000 hectare Cordillera de Colan reserve in Peru, protection of 20,000 hectares of critical sites in Ecuador, and establishment of the Cani Araucaria Reserve in Chile. In all these cases, the passion and perseverance of local organizations was key to their success.
Byron most recently worked for the Environmental Law Institute for a decade, where he wrote Legal Tools and Incentives for Private Lands Conservation in Latin America: Building Models for Success, with country partners, and published widely on issues involving biodiversity and natural resources management, as well as industrial pollution and climate change. He previously directed the United States office of IUCN - the World Conservation Union, where he initiated programs to strengthen national funds for the environment, and for non governmental participation in multilateral agencies and the Global Environment Facility. He previously worked for World Wildlife Fund, served in the legal office for parks and wildlife of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and spent 12 years as international program officer for the Wildwings and Underhill Foundations.
Byron graduated from Columbia Law School in 1978 and from Stanford University in Economics in 1975. He has served on offical US delegations to the Global Environmental Facility and international conventions, on the Advisory Committee for USAID, and received the keys to Lima, Peru and Guatemala City for his conservation efforts.
Robert S. Ridgely
Director of Conservation
Robert is a founder of the Ecuador-based bird-conservation organization, Fundación Jocotoco, and presently serves as the Chairman of the Board. He is a leading expert on the birds of South America and a proponent of private reserve systems as a conservation strategy for endangered tropical bird species. Previously, he was Director of International Conservation at National Audubon Society and the Director of the Center for Neotropical Ornithology at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia (ANSP). He is an ornithologist and the author of many important books on Neotropical birds, including the acclaimed Birds of Panama (1976 and 1989), Birds of South America (vols. 1 and 2, 1989 and 1994), and Birds of Ecuador (2001).
Robert received a B.A. in History from Princeton University (1971); an M.Sc. in Zoology, Duke University (1975); and a Ph.D. in Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University (1981). In 2001 he received the Eisenmann Medal from the Linnaean Society.
Richard W. Moore
Director of Operations
Richard has worked in institutional development for the University of New Hampshire, American Bird Conservancy, and as president of New Hampshire Audubon prior to joining World Land Trust-US.
He graduated with a B.A. in English from Yale University (1968) and has an M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary and a master's degree in writing from University of New Hampshire.