Biotopic  Biotopic Foundation was established in 1995 by a group of dutch biologists that graduated at the University of Amsterdam. At first, Biotopic was primairily active in sea turtle conservation in Suriname. Sponsored by the WWF, a conservation program that consisted of research, awareness and cooperation was carried out. In the years that followed, Biotopic initiated several other projects, such as trilateral cooperation on sea turtle conservation between Benin, Costa Rica and the Netherlands. Also, Biotopic participated in setting up a marine turtle monitoring program in Gabon. In addittion, Biotopic organised several mini-symposia in Suriname and the Netherlands on marine turtle and nature conservation. Biotopic served as a platform for your young biologists to gain experience in the field of nature conservation and management. Many of the volunteers that started at Biotopic are now working in international nature conservation and management positions. At present, Biotopic is not actively executing projects anymore. Since the participation of Biotopic in the marine turtle monitoring program in Gabon ended in 2005, the activities of Biotopic have been limited to the production scientific publications. Below, you can read the mission of Biotopic as it was formulated at the foundation in 1995.   Mission The mission of Biotopic Foundation is the execution of projects in the area of nature preservation in direct cooperation with local organizations. The projects are based on four pillars: preservation of biodiversity, participation of organizations and local groups, awareness raising and scientific research.   Preservation of biodiversity The decline of the biodiversity is one of the major environmental problems. The projects of Biotopic Foundation are focused on the preservation of biodiversity and where possible to the rehabilitation of the presence of flora and fauna in their natural surroundings. Therefore we propose to take protective measures in order to preserve habitats, ecosystems and species and actions for nature development.   Participation All our work is only possible with the participation of local , national and international organizations. The mutual interactions are necessary in order to execute projects in a successful way. Projects can be only sustain when supported by a broad social base. One of the main conditions therefore is to involve the local population in an active way in the process of project proposal towards the implementation of protection measures.   Awareness Raising We hope to achieve a mentality change towards the environment in our target groups by the improvement of environmental awareness. These target groups are the inhabitants of project areas, our colleagues in nature conservation and policy makers on (inter-)national nature conservation matters. We make use of publications in newspapers, radio interviews, local slideshows, symposia and we produced education material for schoolchildren   Scientific Research During our field work activities populations are being monitored. Therefore we cooperate also with universities. They have the specialistic knowledge and the means to execute specific research (labs, DNA techniques). Each year students are participating in the field projects. During these training periods Biotopic stays independent from the university. The research activities in these training periods should always support the aim of the project.   © Biotopic