The rural community of Taulia Molinopampa, in the province of Chachapoyas, Amazonas, established its Management and Monitoring Committee as part of the process to expand the Bosque de Palmeras Private Conservation Area (ACP). Composed of six women and five men, the committee will be responsible for monitoring biodiversity and conducting patrols to strengthen protection of the area, in coordination with the Andean Ecosystems Association (ECOAN).
“The formation of the ACP Management and Monitoring Committee is important because it will allow the community to patrol the area and monitor the priority species found in its forests. They serve as a core team and will monitor, protect, and care for the ACP Bosque de Palmeras.”, said Elizabeth Escobar, technical assistant at ECOAN. The specialist also noted that the committee already has the equipment and instruments needed to carry out its monitoring and surveillance activities.
This activity adds to the long list of actions carried out by the community since late May of this year, when they agreed at a community assembly to expand the Bosque de Palmeras Community Protection Area (ACP). As part of this process, activities were also carried out to develop the Master Plan and Sustainability Plan, including training in management control and monitoring, as well as field trips for zoning and biological monitoring to gather information. In July, the preliminary documents were submitted, and the necessary requirements were met to file the application with Sernanp to expand the area.
Currently, the Bosque de Palmeras Protected Area covers 10,920 hectares, and there are plans to expand its area to 22,706 hectares in order to safeguard the water supply for nearby communities and protect local wildlife, specifically endemic and endangered birds, such as Sericossypha albocristata, Setophaga fusca, Aburria aburria, Spizaetus isidori, or Poecolotriccus luluae, whose conservation is a priority for the Bird Conservation Initiative.
The project is part of the international initiative Preserves Birds, led by American Bird Conservancy (ABC), National Audubon Society (Audubon), BirdLife International, Birds Canada, and the Latin American and Caribbean Environmental Funds Network (RedLAC), under the leadership of ECOAN, Profonanpe, and the financial backing of the Bezos Earth Fund.
