April talk on a ‘Paradise in Peril’
Robert E. Hyman LF 93’ will describe his exploration in the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve in Honduras at the April 14 ECWG dinner at the Cosmos Club.
He describes the reserve, which is home to the highest level of tropical biodiversity in Central America, as a “Paradise in Peril”
Non-indians are invading the Reserve from all sides, poaching endangered wildlife and fish, slashing and burning ancient forests to sow pastures, and forcing indigenous inhabitants off their ancestral lands, Hyman says.
His Paradise in Peril presentation, which includes a film, follows an expedition organized to document the destruction of this UNESCO World Heritage Site and collect testimony from the native peoples who rely on the Río Plátano for survival.
Fewer than 400 individuals have ever completed this strenuous expedition from the rivers headwaters to the Miskito coast of Honduras. Hyman is among the elite few that have done this expedition twice.
He is a photographer-mountaineer-explorer who has organized, led and participated in numerous expeditions around the world. Hyman’s expeditions focus on scientific field research in archaeology, conservation, biodiversity, ornithology, anthropology and technology advancements.
He has been on seven Explorers Club flag expeditions, and has lectured about his expeditions before Explorers Club events in Washington, New York and Florida as well as at The Smithsonian Institution museums of Natural History and the American Indian.
Hyman has climbed the western hemisphere’s tallest peak, Aconcagua, (22,834 feet), Africa’s highest peak (Kilimanjaro), and kayaked Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, the world’s highest navigable lake (12,500 feet). Robert has also climbed to the summit of 47 of the 50 state high points. Based on his achievements in exploration, Robert was elected to be a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a Fellow of The Explorers Club.
The evening begins with a cocktail hour at 6 p.m.
Dinners are $50 each. Reservations must be made before noon, Monday, April 9 with Bill Runyon, 1812 19th St. NW, Washington DC 20009, (202) 234-7490