Background
El Fondo de Conservación El Triunfo A.C. (FONCET) originated in 2002 from the search for alternative solutions to the long-term financial needs of the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve.
El Fondo de Conservación El Triunfo A.C. (FONCET) originated in 2002 from the search for alternative solutions to the long-term financial needs of the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, situated in the Sierra Madre of Chiapas, which would/might safeguard the invaluable resources of its biodiversity for future generations.
FONCET is a non-profit organization (A.C./'asociación civil') constituted by individuals and representatives of institutions. Participant organizations in FONCET are the Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (FMCN) , the Instituto para el Desarrollo Sustentable en Mesoamérica (IDESMAC) , the Instituto de Historia Natural y Ecología del Estado de Chiapas (IHNyE), Pronatura Chiapas , the Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP) , together with eminent scientists and conservationists.
In the case of REBITRI , the participation of Federal and State Governments in the provision of resources for the running and administration of the area have increased in recent years. However, these resources, even with those received from foreign and other national sources are still not sufficient to cover the maintenance, administration, and conservation of an extensive area which presents a complex series of interrelated problems.
As a result of these problems, the ' Strategic and Financial Plan for the El Triunfo Reserve' (“Plan Estratégico y Financiero para la Reserva El Triunfo”) was elaborated in 1977 with the aid of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) , and which proposed the creation of a private entity which would manage and generate the resources necessary to assure the long-term maintenance of the Reserve.
In 1998 , as a result of consultation with various organizations, such as "El Fondo Mexicano Para la Conservación de la Naturaleza" (FMCN) , "El Instituto de Historia Natural y Ecología" (IHNE) , The Nature Conservancy (TNC), "El Instituto para el Desarrollo Sustentable en Mesoamérica" (IDESMAC) , and the "Comisión Nacional Para las Áreas Naturales Protegidas" (CONANP)/SEMARNAT, it was proposed that a Fund for the El Triunfo Reserve should be established.
El Fondo de Conservación El Triunfo, A.C. was officially constituted on August 5th 2002 as a non-profit organization ('asociación civil') and obtained tax-deductible status on July 24th 2003.
Today, the Fondo de Conservación El Triunfo is a legal, private, solid, functional, efficient, transparent and long-term entity, with specific structures and functions designed to carry out the principal lines of action delineated in the "Programa de Manejo de la Reserva de la Biosfera El Triunfo y su área de influencia".
In the future, FONCET wishes to broaden the scope of its work and become a regional fund which will support also, the conservation of other protected areas within the State of Chiapas . As a first step towards the realization of this goal, FONCET has joined forces with other regional organizations in order to assist in the conservation of the river basins of the State of Chiapas.