Spanish

Dear friends and colleagues,

In the last few months, crucial achievements have been made for the conservation of the Amazon and our priority sites.

In Freshwater, Colombia declared its first Amazon Ramsar Site in one of the main river dolphin’s shelters, the Tarapoto lakes.

Regarding Forests, WWF-Paraguay and its partners launched the first virtual space with information about Indigenous Territories. Peru welcomed Pope Francis, who made a joint call with the indigenous people for the world to save the Amazon. Also in Peru, an innovative initiative recovered soils degraded by mining in Madre de Dios. Chile created the Patagonia National Parks Network. WWF-Suriname and the partners of the South Suriname Conservation Corridor project discussed sustainable projects such as production of oil from Brazil nuts.

In relation to Wildlife, WWF-Ecuador started to work for an education that boosts sustainable development and biodiversity conservation in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve.

Regarding Climate & Energy, WWF-Chile congratulated the nation’s agreement to stop new projects of coal-fired power plants.

Finally, WWF-Guatemala / Mesoamerica carried out several activities to motivate a recycling culture, recovering 28.000 pounds of trash. And a new online section in EFE Verde that includes articles from our offices all over the region was launched by EFE and WWF: "Conservation Panorama in Latin America". 

Enjoy this new edition,

Roberto Troya

Vice-president & Regional Director

WWF-LAC

A new Ramsar site in Colombia

The Colombian Amazon already has its first internationally recognized wetland: the Tarapoto lakes, a system of 30 lakes and wetlands that covers 40,000 hectares in the southernmost point of the country. It is one of the main river dolphins shelters, including pink (Inia geoffrensis) and grey dolphins (Sotalia fluviatilis), a key habitat for threatened species like pirarucú (Arapaima gigas), the manatee (Trichechus inunguis), the black caiman (Melanosuchus niger), and the jaguar (Panthera onca), and an ecosystem with incredible levels of biodiversity, including more than 883 plant species, 244 bird species, 176 fish species, 201 mammal species, to name but a few. This international recognition is the result of more than ten years of joint work between WWF-Colombia, the Omacha Foundation and 22 indigenous communities. The Tarapoto lakes became the ninth Ramsar site in our country, a recognition that promotes the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.

The first virtual space with information on Paraguayan Indigenous Territories is launched

The website www.tierrasindigenas.org.py was presented with the collaboration of WWF, as an initiative of the Federation for the Self-Determination of Indigenous Peoples (FAPI) and other organizations. It is the first virtual space that offers information on the territories of the Paraguayan Indigenous People, with access to contextual data on forest changes, fires, updated incidence maps and territorial defense.

Pope Francis and indigenous people make a joint call for the world to save the Amazon

“This visit has been fundamental, since the Pope has acknowledged the historical leadership of indigenous people. He has emphasized, in a very emotional and convincing way, the role they play as stewards of the Amazon and nature. Also, he made it clear that this meeting was a celebration between him and the indigenous people, towards a joint commitment for sustainable development”, said Mariela Cánepa, Policy Director in WWF-Peru.

The Rainforest's Comeback: an innovative initiative recovers soils degraded by mining in Madre de Dios, Peru

Wake Forest University (WFU), the Amazon Scientific Innovation Center (CINCIA), USAID, and WWF have joined forces with the objective of restoring landscapes degraded by illegal and informal mining in Madre de Dios, the most affected region by this problem in the country. In just one year, more than 155,000 trees will be planted in the districts most impacted by illegal mining in Peru. Local municipalities and ministries have joined the initiative, investing almost USD 800,000.

Patagonia National Parks in Chile

Great news for nature conservation in Chile and the world! WWF-Chile highlighted the official creation of the Patagonia National Parks Network, whose decree was signed by President Bachelet.

"With these 10 million acres, Chile will protect millenary forests, unique and extraordinary flora and fauna and one of the purest water reserves on the planet", said Rodrigo Catalán, Conservation Director for WWF-Chile.

SSCC partners meet in Tepu

The partners of the South Suriname Conservation Corridor project held their first partners meeting for 2018 in the village of Tepu, in South Suriname. In this meeting, possible projects for development and implementation, such as the production of oil from Brazil nuts, were discussed. Also, it was agreed that training for community-based tourism, the improvement of agriculture and poultry systems, and basic bookkeeping, are important to ensure transparency in the cashflow and to share the benefits with the communities. The SSCC project partners host representatives from 9 Indigenous villages, CI Suriname, Amazon Conservation Team and WWF-Guianas.

For more information, please contact jpinas@wwf.sr.

Education for sustainable development at the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve

What would happen if children from the communities of the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve learned math skills by calculating how much rainfall they need for their cacao crops to thrive? How would their learning change if the educational materials they have included photos of jaguars captured with camera traps installed by their own parents a few hundred meters away from their homes? WWF-Ecuador considers that education must connect learning with the local environment and context to have impact on biodiversity conservation objectives.

WWF celebrates the agreement to stop new projects of coal-fired power plants in Chile

The agreement announced this week between the Ministry of Energy and the companies of the Association of Generators of Chile, which establishes a commitment to stop developing new thermoelectric projects based on coal, was celebrated by WWF-Chile as a positive and powerful signal of the decarbonisation of the country's energy matrix. 

More than 28,000 pounds of solid waste has been recovered for recycling

Conservation Panorama in Latin America

A series of articles in Spanish written by WWF directors in Latin America were published in were published in the new joint section of EFE and WWF: "Conservation Panorama in Latin America". So far, this online section includes columns from Chile, Paraguay, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and Guyana.