Spanish

Dear friends and colleagues,

In November and December, WWF offices in Latin America and the Caribbean worked hard for the conservation of biodiversity in the region and awareness of climate change worldwide, through its participation in COP27, new sustainable energy projects, and scientific contributions for wildlife in Amazon territories.

The Amazon Coordination Unit for WWF launched the 2022 Living Amazon Report in conjunction with WWF's global network. The report seeks to communicate the importance of protecting this territory in the world, the threats it currently faces, and the main strategies for its protection. The report highlights the need for close collaboration with Indigenous peoples, as well as the importance of specific actions for healthy rivers and forests, along with the protection of species such as the jaguar and river dolphin.

In Forests, Ricardo Bosshard, director of WWF-Chile participated in the climate COP27, in Egypt, where they discussed the importance of preserving, conserving, and protecting native forests to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. WWF-Chile recognized that the restoration of one million hectares of native landscapes by 2030 is part of the country's commitments outlined in the Paris Agreement, but that has not been achieved so far. In Mexico, after two years of planning, Reforestamos México, WRI México and WWF-México signed an agreement to collaborate and concluded the strategic planning process of the Mexican Alliance for the Restoration of Ecosystems (AMERE).  Furthermore, WWF-Paraguay, along with Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina and WWF-Brazil, organized and hosted the first trinational meeting of park rangers held in November 2022, in which aspects such as forest fires, poaching and illegal crops were worked on.

With regards to Wildlife, this month WWF-Peru carried out an expedition with the Amazon Rescue Center (CREA) and the Peruvian Amazon Research Institute (IIAP), in which it was possible to study the populations of river dolphins in Ucayali. The study provided updates on populations of pink and gray dolphins, recording 352 observations of 541 dolphins. Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina presented the podcast “Voces del Monte,” produced by Youth from BOP #56 and members from the school and community radio station “FM Séptima Estrella,” from San Pedro Misiones, which has narratives of collective memory and their experiences with nature thanks to the participation of mothers, fathers, grandfathers, and grandmothers.

In the Climate and Energy Practice, in Bolivia, the Villa Florida Community, of the Manuripi Wildlife Reserve in the Municipality of Filadelfia of the Department of Pando, installed a new energy system for its population. This system has photovoltaic panels and a solar thermal system, which will generate renewable and sustainable energy for daily use in the community.

In Food Practice, WWF-Ecuador developed deforestation-free cocoa production projects in the Napo Province and the Cuyabeno National Reserve, with associations of Amazonian Kichwa agricultural producers. Paraguay’s Alliance for Sustainable Development celebrated its “Alliance Night" in which alternatives for sustainable livestock in the country were made visible and disseminated. Aspects such as the commercialization, production, consumption, and treatment of livestock species were discussed in this event, which had massive participation, promoting sustainability and ecology in this practice.

Enjoy this new edition!

Roberto Troya

Senior Vice president & Regional Director

WWF-LAC

The Living Amazon Report 2022 is out!

A true product of teamwork by the Amazon Coordination Unit and the global Network at WWF, the first report of its kind was launched during an event at the Panda Hub in COP 27. It seeks to communicate the importance of the Amazon, the threats it currently faces and the main strategies to protect it, including many that WWF and partners carry out, and which could be scaled up and replicated. The report highlights the need for close collaboration with Indigenous peoples as well as the importance of targeted actions for healthy rivers and forests and crosscutting strategies having to do with policy, science, education and participation, to avoid reaching a critical tipping point after which the biome and basin could change irreversibly.

This WWF report gathers the latest scientific evidence for the region through non-technical language, and in a beautifully designed and visually engaging format, available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. The report has been featured in many news portals, including Mongabay, DW, and EFE Verde, as well as in interviews for radio and television and webinars with the participation of the WWF team. We expect the report to be used as a tool for drawing attention to the Amazon and helping spark conversations and collaboration between different sectors and actors related to the well-being of the region, while also positioning WWF’s work. Hope you enjoy it!

COP27: WWF calls for major agreement on forest restoration

At the climate COP27, in Egypt, Ricardo Bosshard, director of WWF-Chile, launched a call to achieve a national agreement for the restoration of landscapes in the country, with an emphasis on native forests. One of Chile's climate commitment goals (NDC) is the restoration of one million hectares of landscapes by 2030. However, there is a big gap to reach that goal. “What is concerning is that almost 50% of the country's climate commitments depend on forests, but the current rate of restoration is very far away, estimating that in the last decade only 25,000 hectares have been restored nationwide,” said Bosshard.

México reaches reforestation agreement

On November 30, 2022, Reforestamos México, WRI México and WWF-México signed an agreement to collaborate and concluded the strategic planning process of the Mexican Alliance for the Restoration of Ecosystems (AMERE) after two years of planning. As the first national alliance recognized worldwide by the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, AMERE was accompanied in this process by its honorary partners UNEP Mexico and FAO Mexico, both being technical secretariat organizations of the Decade.

With five strategic alliances across the world, two national chapters, three thematic working groups and more than 500 people on the board, 40 mapped companies, governments (federal and subnational) from various sectors, academia, NGOs, the productive sector and communities, AMERE opens its doors as a meeting point. It is a working platform to build connections, and strengthen and position the environmental restoration agenda in Mexico by 2030.

Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, united for the 1st Meeting of Rangers of the Atlantic Forest

WWF-Paraguay was the host and organizer, together with Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina and WWF-Brazil, of the first trinational meeting of park rangers held in November 2022. The objective was to strengthen capacities to include technological tools in their daily control work, as well as to share experiences to improve the relationship between park rangers to create alliances and that in the future they can support each other in monitoring, emergencies such as forest fires, poaching and illegal crops.

Peruvian expedition to study more than 500 river dolphins in Ucayali

WWF-Peru, in coordination with the Solinia Association, the Amazon Rescue Center (CREA), and the Peruvian Amazon Research Institute (IIAP), carried out a scientific expedition with the goal of studying dolphin populations in the Ucayali River, with the participation of 12 researchers from the organizations. The expedition took place at the beginning of November, departing from Pucallpa (Ucayali) to Nauta (Loreto). The objective of the tour was to carry out the identification and visual record of the pink dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) and the gray dolphin (Sotalia fluviatilis). During the 985 km long tour, 352 observations of 541 dolphins were recorded: 219 pinks (Inia geoffrensis) and 322 grays (Sotalia fluviatilis), in which 18 pups were identified.

Community members launch stories from the Atlantic Forest

Youth from BOP number 56 and members from the school and community radio station “FM Séptima Estrella”, from San Pedro Misiones, Argentina, and the Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina, presented the podcast “Voces del Monte.” In the material, they document experiences that link people with nature in the region of the Siete Estrellas area. The stories of mothers, fathers, grandfather, and grandmothers provide a collective memory in this podcast produced by local youth.

The Villa Florida Community installs new energy systems

In the Community of Villa Florida, located within the Manuripi Wildlife Reserve in the Municipality of Filadelfia in the Department of Pando, a distributed generation system (22 photovoltaic panels) and a solar thermal system (a water heater and two 300 lts/day modules) were installed for the community's açaí processing plant.

For the installation of both systems, the community organized and formed a working group, in which two students from the Universidad Amazónica de Pando (UAP) also participated. During the first few days, Enérgetica, an institution specializing in sustainable energy, conducted the first training sessions on how to use and maintain the panels and the solar thermal system.

WWF-Ecuador moves forward with Cocoa Project

WWF-Ecuador has developed deforestation-free cocoa production projects in the province of Napo and in the Cuyabeno National Reserve, through partnerships with Amazonian Kichwa agricultural producers. This month, the WWF’s Cocoa leadership, Cécile Lachaux, paid the groups a visit. This visit facilitated a joint learning process between the producers from the different territories to share their knowledge and experiences in cocoa production on the farms. The project is progressing steadily, with the aim of creating sustainable cocoa supply chains at a national and international level, contributing to the conservation and restoration of the Amazon rainforest.

Paraguay makes progress towards adopting good livestock practices

The Alliance for Sustainable Development, for the third consecutive year, held the “Alliance Night” on November 14, with the purpose of highlighting actions with their partners that work toward the adoption of good livestock practices. In this event, their experiences, success stories, and achievements were shared. The event was attended by more than 100 people including farmers, government representatives, the diplomatic corps, and the cooperative sector. Among the achievements celebrated, the following were highlighted:

- 40 actors agree on principles and criteria of sustainable production.

- 500 producers implementing good practices.

- 147,200 animals with traceability of origin.

- 800,000 HA with regulated and improved land use plans.