Panama City, Panama – As part of the centennial of the birth of Fernando Eleta Almarán, the Eleta Foundation presented a donation of $400,000 to the National Association for the Conservation of Nature to make possible the construction of the new headquarters of Panama’s leading conservation organization.
Fernando Eleta Almarán was one of the founders of ANCON in 1985.
“As an active citizen concerned about the preservation of the natural heritage, Fernando Eleta always sought ways to generate alliances for common causes and ANCON is part of that legacy,” said Mercedes Eleta de Brenes, president of the Eleta Foundation.
The new building is located on the slopes of Cerro Ancon, site of ANCON’s original headquarters, destroyed in a fire on March 16, 2015. The structure consists of 865.85 m2 of enclosed area, 264 m2 of open area, with a total site area of 1,129.85 m2, which has been designed to take advantage of natural light, with efficient air conditioning and lighting systems, striving for an operation consonant with its surroundings.
“My grandfather was a great believer in the value of Panama’s natural resources for its sustainable development,” said Guillermo de Saint Malo Eleta, ANCON trustee. “Through continuous and focused work, we will continue to pursue their responsible management for the benefit of our country’s future generations.”
“The contribution of the Eleta family, has been of great importance for the construction of ANCON’s headquarters where knowledge, science and resources focused on the conservation and sustainable development of Panama converge.” Said Carlos Rabat Mallol, President of ANCON’s Board of Trustees.
Likewise, ANCON’s Executive Director, George Hanily indicated that “ANCON will continue to leave a positive footprint in the conservation of Panama’s nature, taking on the great environmental challenges it faces every day and working in its network of private reserves, which represent important refuges of life, of which Punta Patiño, the largest private nature reserve in Panama and a site of international RAMSAR importance, is part of.”
About the Eleta Foundation:
The Eleta Foundation was created in 2010 as the social responsibility arm of the Eleta family. It seeks to support in the communities where the companies of the Eleta Group operate and is a non-governmental, non-profit organization of a social nature. Through the programs and projects promoted by the Foundation, it supports the preservation of Panama’s tangible and intangible heritage, both cultural and natural, and citizen education for the sustainable development of the entire country. For more information visit www.fundacioneleta.org
About ANCON:
ANCON was founded in 1985 by a group of visionaries: businessmen and women, entrepreneurs, scientists and community leaders, among them Fernando Eleta who was the first President of ANCON’s Board of Trustees, with the mission to watch over the country’s natural heritage. Since its founding, ANCON has worked uninterruptedly for the conservation of natural resources and sustainable development through science, conservation, advocacy and environmental education under methodological and participatory principles.
