Walking through the forest in Panama is a magical experience. The songs and sounds of monkeys, birds, frogs, and insects melt into a wonderful serenade as you walk through the tall trees in the shade of the forest. The closer you look, the more you see: a colony of army ants marching across the trail, beautiful Heliconia flowers visited by hummingbirds that look like flying jewels, a troop of spider monkeys in the canopy above.

But Panama's forests are rapidly disappearing, endangering many species - including us.

As Panama's communities develop, the forests seem like an attractive source of resources or as an obstacle to be cleared for construction. Even protected areas, where forests cannot be legally cleared, have been degraded by the invasion of exotic species and illegal activities.

The Alianza por El Millón, a group of private and public organizations, was created to combat this loss of forests by restoring a million hectares (2.5 million acres) of forest over the next 20 years to protect Panama's forests, contribute to carbon sequestration, establish Panama as a low-carbon country and generate the additional benefits to society, the environment, and the economy related to healthy forests.

As a dedicated member of this initiative, ADOPTA focuses on education and active reforestation in degraded areas in Camino de Cruces National Park, the Cerro Chucantí Private Nature Reserve, the community of La Marea, and other sites throughout Panama.