The Fundación Ecológica Gabriel Arango Restrepo (Gabriel Arango Restrepo Ecological Foundation) is a non profit, private organization formed for the protection, investigation and publishment of the flora and fauna found in the river basins that supply the Manizales Aqueduct. It was founded in 1996 by the family of this renown son of Caldas.

In this way the cultural ideals and respect for nature that his descendants inherited are kept alive. The following projects are being carried out on the Río Blanco Property: A captive pair of Andean bears (Tremarctos ornatus) is being introduced.

This is the only bear specie in Latin America and the largest mammal of the cloud forest and is in danger of extinction due to deforestation and hunting. A census of the flora and fauna is in process as well as a compilation of native orchids for the illustration of visitors, and a temporary home for the re-adaptation of confiscated wild fauna is being built.

The Fundación Ecológica Gabriel Arango Restrepo is a cultural and ecological institution formed for the purpose of protecting and conserving the native flora and fauna found in the rivers and creeks that supply the Manizales Aqueduct, the area of the Parque Nacional Natural de los Nevados (National Natural Park of the Snow Peaks) and the coffee growing region in general; promote environment improvement; motivate the inhabitants to take care of the area, and lead scientific studies of the species living in the region, and also disseminate information about the beauty and bio-diversity.

We will be environment´s best partners. We will play a national and international role forming strategic alliances with other similar entities, and be models in education, and in promoting the wealth and conservation policies of our region. We will involve the entire community directly, always having and offering the best bibliographic, documentary and experiential information.

The Reserva Hidrográfica de Río Blanco (Rio Blanco Hydrographic Reserve) has 3,217 hectares between paramo (high barren plain), and reforested and native forest. On April 6, 1992 it was declared a protected forestland reserve due to the relicts of lower mountain humid forest. At the end of 1996 Aguas Manizales S.A. E.S.P., a company with both private and public capital, got together with families of said capital and formed the N.G.O. Fundación Ecológica Gabriel Arango Restrepo, name given in memory of this celebrated patriarch of Caldas, with the objective of investigating, protecting and disseminating information about the native flora and fauna of the Río Blanco, Olivares and Guacaica river basins. Of the rivers that supply the Manizales Aqueduct, Río Blanco was chosen as the initial site for the work of the Foundation since it is the basin with the most biodiversity and is near the city, which facilitates education projects.

It is a hydrographic basin of 4,343 hectares of which InfiManizales is the owner of 3,217. Our ancestors saw that it was a great source of water and since 1904 they started to acquire this land through the Mayor's Office.

The Río Blanco Reserve has important relicts of lower mountain humid forest, better known as cloud forest. The high ground of the reserve borders on the Parque Natural de los Nevados and its paramo ecosystems. 280 species of birds and more that 335 species of day butterflies have been detected. The continuity of the water supply for a great part of the population of Manizales depends on their conservation.