German President Steinmeier visits the Antisanilla Reserve

Fundación Jocotoco participated actively in this visit. The Executive Director, Martín Schaefer, Jocotours Manager, Adela Espinosa, and Financial Adviser, Antonio Páez, were invited to the reception hosted by the President at the Cultural Centre of the Catholic Pontifical University of Ecuador.

On February 15th President Steinmeier and his wife, accompanied by a delegation of more than 50 people -including Charles Darwin's great-great-granddaughter, visited the viewpoint of the Antisanilla Reserve, in front of the cliff, "Peñón del Isco."

During this visit the delegation learned about Fundación Jocotoco's impact on the conservation of nature. Moreover, they were able to spot the family of condors that inhabit the "Peñón del Isco" through six telescopes installed for this purpose.

On the foundation's behalf, Martin Schaefer handed a special edition of the book Birds of Ecuador (Aves del Ecuador) to the German President and his wife. The whole delegation was pleased and inspired by Martin's intervention, who recounted how he left his role as Chief of the Ecology and Evolution Department in a prestigious university in Germany in order to devote his work to Jocotoco, "conservation is done with actions and not with papers".

Finally, the German Ambassador, Joachim von Bieberstein, and his wife, Catrione Garret, offered a lunch to the representatives of organizations involved in the visit and highlighted the "brilliant" participation of Fundación Jocotoco, which was included in the report sent to Berlin.

It was an honor for Fundación Jocotoco to participate in this exceptional event and strengthen bonds with the German delegation.