National Association for the Conservation of Nature (ANCON)

ANCON

Partner Snapshot

Partner

ANCON (National Association for the Conservation of Nature)

Location

Panama, Latin America

Urgent Appeals

None currently

Date Founded

1985

Website

ancon.org

Partner Qualifications

ANCON’s field team conducting monitoring activities along a forested river.

ANCON’s team working with native seedlings as part of a restoration initiative.

A local producer working within a productive rural landscape.

Children participating in an environmental education and recycling initiative.

Volunteers and partners participating in a restoration activity.

A sloth photographed at Cerro Ancón, highlighting the biodiversity found within this important urban natural area.

About ANCON

ANCON (National Association for the Conservation of Nature) is a Panamanian nonprofit organization founded in 1985, dedicated to protecting and restoring Panama’s natural heritage while promoting sustainable development for present and future generations.

ANCON works across Protected Areas, productive landscapes, watersheds, rural communities and cities, recognizing that nature and people are deeply connected. Its work combines biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration, sustainable livelihoods, environmental education and community engagement.

ANCON also owns and manages the Punta Patiño Private Nature Reserve in Darién, Panama’s largest private nature reserve. Its approximately 30,000 hectares protect tropical forests, mangroves and important wildlife in one of the country’s most biodiverse regions.

Through science, education and partnerships with communities, Indigenous Peoples, government, businesses and civil society, ANCON brings people together to protect and regenerate nature and build a more sustainable future.

Their Challenges

Panama’s extraordinary biodiversity faces growing pressures from habitat loss, deforestation, unsustainable land use, pollution, forest fires, illegal activities and climate change.

These challenges extend beyond Protected Areas. The management of forests and productive landscapes directly affects biodiversity, rural livelihoods, water resources and communities downstream. At the same time, many rural communities need viable economic opportunities that do not increase pressure on natural resources, while cities face growing challenges related to pollution, waste and degraded watersheds.

For ANCON, protecting nature means working across the entire landscape—from forests and productive lands to rivers, communities and cities—while recognizing the connection between conservation and human wellbeing.

Their Approach

ANCON addresses these challenges through three complementary areas of work:

Protecting and restoring Panama’s natural heritage. ANCON conserves biodiversity, strengthens Protected Areas and private reserves, restores forests, mangroves and watersheds, and improves ecological connectivity through science and field-based conservation.
Advancing sustainable rural development and livelihoods. ANCON works with rural and Indigenous communities, farmers and producers to promote regenerative land management, sustainable livestock systems, forest restoration and economic opportunities that improve livelihoods while reducing pressure on nature.
Building environmentally conscious communities and cities. ANCON promotes environmental education, urban watershed restoration, responsible waste management, recycling, pollution reduction and volunteer initiatives that reconnect people with their environment.

Environmental education and community participation are central to all three areas, building the knowledge, skills and shared responsibility needed for conservation to endure over time.

Why They Need Your Help

Your support gives ANCON the flexibility to protect nature where it is needed most.

ANCON works with foundations, companies, government institutions and international organizations that make major conservation and sustainable development projects possible. However, project funding is often restricted to specific activities, locations and timelines.

General donations help sustain the people, expertise, field presence, environmental education and community relationships behind this work. They also allow ANCON to respond to urgent environmental needs, develop new initiatives and continue supporting landscapes and communities beyond the duration of a specific grant.

Major projects can transform landscapes. Flexible support makes it possible for ANCON to be there before those projects begin, throughout their implementation, and long after they end.

By supporting ANCON, donors strengthen an organization with more than four decades of experience protecting Panama’s forests, rivers, coasts and wildlife while advancing sustainable livelihoods, environmental education and stronger communities.