We contribute to generating a structural and lasting change for the conservation of biodiversity and its ecosystem services.
We carry out research of an international level that leads to action and the preservation of local and regional fauna and flora.
We develop plans, programs and actions that lead to the integral management of biological resources.
We belong to the Technical Board of the "Alliance for the conservation of the Key Biodiversity Area (ACB) Bosque de San Antonio (BSA)" an intersectoral work network where we managed to establish a new model of sustainable regional development based on participatory environmental governance in the Jurisdictions of Cali, Dagua, La Cumbre and Yumbo, Valle del Cauca.
Our team
Ecotonos Foundation is structured from a General Assembly and Board of Directors, which are the highest management bodies. It also has a scientific direction and an administrative area that are coordinated by the Executive Director who is the legal representative of the Foundation.
Rubén Darío Palacio González
President and legal representative
Rubén Darío Palacio González
President and legal representative
Graduated from Universidad del Valle as Business Administrator, he has a Master's Degree in Public Management from Universidad Santiago de Cali. Legal Representative of the Ecotonos Foundation and member of the Technical Board for the conservation of Biodiversity in the San Antonio Forest. He is the author of the books Customer Service Management and Competitive Management Strategies
Rubén Darío Palacio Arce
Scientific Director
Rubén Darío Palacio Arce
Scientific Director
Biologist, Colciencias-Fulbright fellow ornithologist and PhD candidate from Duke University, United States. Its emphasis is on the formulation, execution and evaluation of projects in biodiversity conservation. His research has focused on the tropical Andes and the Key Biodiversity Area (ACB) of the San Antonio cloud forest in Valle del Cauca, Colombia.
Juan Sebastián Moreno
Researcher - Flora, Taxonomy
Juan Sebastián Moreno
Researcher - Flora, Taxonomy
Biologist, botanist from the Icesi University in Cali with an emphasis on Conservation and Restoration of ecosystems, with knowledge and research interest in Colombian flora and its taxonomy. His research has focused on the taxonomy and conservation of Colombian orchids with more than twenty species described for science
William G. Vargas
Active member - General Assembly
William G. Vargas
Active member - General Assembly
Agricultural Engineer with a Master's Degree in Biological Sciences. Botanist specialized in Colombian flora, with extensive experience and dedication over 25 years in ecological restoration and propagation of native species. Recognized in 2017 as the best restored in Latin America by the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER)
Nicolas Hazzi
Researcher - Evolutionary Biology
Nicolas Hazzi
Researcher - Evolutionary Biology
Biologist from the Universidad del Valle. Currently a 2016 Colciencias-Fulbright scholar and PhD candidate at George Washington University. His research has been focused on biogeography, ecology and evolution of various biological groups, especially tropical wandering spiders (Ctenidae)
Carolina Ortiz-Movliav
Researcher - Ecology
Carolina Ortiz-Movliav
Researcher - Ecology
Biologist from the Icesi University. He is currently doing a master's degree in Organismal, Evolutionary Biology and Paleobiology at the University of Bonn - Germany, where he is finishing his thesis at the "Research Museum Alexander Koenig (ZFMK)" on the morphological and ecological diversification of Neotropic parrots.
German Forero Medina
Active member - General Assembly
German Forero Medina
Active member - General Assembly
Scientific Director at WCS Colombia. Biologist from the National University of Colombia, with an MSc in Ecology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil and a PhD in Ecology and Conservation from Duke University, in the United States. His main research interests are tropical ecology, conservation biology, the natural history of tropical vertebrates, landscape ecology, the effects of climate change on tropical ecosystems, and environmental education.
Christopher Calonje
Active member - General Assembly
Christopher Calonje
Active member - General Assembly
Graduated from Humboldt State University, director and founder of Colombia Birdwatch, an Avitourism company specialized in the birds of Colombia, where he has led hundreds of tours in all regions of Colombia. Founder of the Colombian Bird Fair in 2009 that promotes sustainable tourism in Colombia. Chris spends his time with various non-profit conservation groups and local communities.
Gustavo H. Kattan (QEPD)
Active Member (2018-2020)
Gustavo H. Kattan (QEPD)
Active Member (2018-2020)
A biologist from Universidad del Valle and obtained his master's and doctorate degrees from the University of Florida in Gainesville, USA, he has dedicated more than 30 years of his professional life to the study and conservation of the neotropical biota. His research interests are broad and range from the study of behavioral and physiological ecology at the organismic level, to the ecology of populations and communities at different spatio-temporal scales.
Board of Directors:
Rubén Darío Palacio González - Presidente y Representante Legal.
Juan Sebastián Moreno Silva - Vicepresidente.
Rubén Darío Palacio Arce - Secretario.
Active members:
Gustavo H. Kattan (Q.E.P.D)
Germán Forero-Medina, phD
William G. Vargas, MSc
Christopher Calonje