VITALIS A.C.

VITALIS is an NGO made up of experts in several fields of the Venezuelan environmental movement, who have been directly involved in IUCN activities for more than a decade. Several of the experts are executive directors of organizations that are IUCN members, and others are active participants in the work of several commissions; for instance Protected Areas and National Parks and Environmental Law. VITALIS has carried out important projects for the conservation of natural resources and the environment; for example in coordination with INPARQUES, establishment of a methodology for monitoring the national parks and natural monuments, called the "Semáforo Conservacionista", which seeks to monitor the overall status of these protected areas in order to improve their management. With particular focus on communications, VITALIS has promoted the participation of several local, regional, national and international actors in transmitting values, knowledge in harmony with environmental conservation and information on sustainable development in Venezuela. VITALIS`s experience also includes carrying out an environmental and political legislative agenda, which includes the permanent monitoring and study of legal instruments of national interest. VITALIS has also made important effort on key topics such as Agenda 21 and the promotion of sustainable development, among which was the preparation for the Johannesburg summit, in which a report was presented describing a vision for civil society for implementation of Agenda 21 on the advances, needs and main recommendations for the Venezuelan environmental sector from 1992 until 2002. Of special interest to IUCN, is the participation of VITALIS in the project "Mejorando Nuestra Herencia" in the Canaima National Park, which is in its third year of implementation and is supported by the IUCN World Commission for Protected Areas, IUCN-Mesoamerica and UNESCO. VITALIS signed an agreement for cooperation with IUCN for