Creative Problem Solving

The Problem

A group of conservationists proposed a major research expedition to a remote region of Latin America but lacked the resources to reach their destination. Survey areas were located in remote jungle areas surrounded by rugged, mountainous terrain with no access roads or nearby infrastructure. Undertaking a research expedition to such a distant and difficult environment would be expensive, resource-intensive and dangerous.

Our Solution

Through our contacts in Washington, Metcalf Federal Relations contacted senior officials in that country’s government and informed them of the conservation and public relations benefits of the proposed research expedition and enumerated the transportation and resource needs of the research team.

Our Results

Relationships were established between the government and the research team resulting in the government providing free helicopter transport, staff and security support for the research team’s first and subsequent trips. The findings of new plant and animal species during the expeditions into this uninhabited, untouched and previously unstudied region resulted in the government’s creation of a new 5,000-square-mile national park. Metcalf Federal Relations subsequently worked with the client and Members of Congress to secure a $5.25 million cooperative agreement with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to support conservation and other programs in the park. The project has been extended for another 4 years.