Empowering Local Conservation Groups
Local Conservation Groups of Nuevo Jardin, El Progreso and Curuinsi Huasi, 2009. Photo: Fernando Arbelaez
This program is framed within the Program for the National Turtle Conservation of Colombia 2002 of the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development (MADS), the Region Action Plan in Biodiversity of the South of the Colombian Amazonia 2007-2027 of Corpoamazonia (Regional Environmental Authority) and the Strategic Conservation Plan for the Colombian Continental Turtles 2012. It is also part of the International Monitoring Program of Podocnemis expansa.
Training and building capacity of conservation leaders
One of the main focuses of the program has been consolidating and empowering of Local Conservation Groups (LCGs) within the participating communities. These groups, conformed by men and women of all ages (many of whom had been poachers for a great part of their lives), have received training and capacity-building workshops and have been in charge of the conservation actions of the program, as well as the main awareness-raising and socialisation activities.
In 2008, we started with a first pilot group of six volunteers from the Curuinsi Huasi indigenous association, Colombia. Nowadays, more than 60 trained turtle guardians from five LCGs belonging to five communities from Colombia and Peru are actively participating in the program.
Capacity-Building workshop with the LCGs, 2010. Photo: Fernando Arbeláez
Beach surveillance and monitoring
Every night along the peak of the reproductive season, from mid-July to late September, the guardians protect the nests and nesting females on the main beaches of the area, both in the Peruvian and the Colombian side of the Amazon River. They wear distinctive t-shirts and badges of the program and use red lights to avoid disturbing the nesting females. They approach night visitors through dialogue and education, although in recent years visitors have become rare due to the constant presence of the guardians. If they find a nest during their patrols, they mark it with an indelible label and gather basic biologic data (date, species, track width, time). Afterwards they thoroughly erase the tracks to avoid it from being found by day visitors. If they capture a female after nesting, they measure her, mark her with a unique corrosion-resistant tag, release her directly into the water and then identify the mother’s tag on the nest label.
Beach monitoring and protection by LCGs, 2008-2014
Hatching monitoring
From October to end-November, the guardians continue to visit the beaches every afternoon to monitor the state of the nests. When they find one that has been destroyed, they gather information on the event (date, cause). When eggs start hatching, they protect the hatchlings until they arrive safely to the water and, afterwards, gather biological information (date, number of hatchlings, infertile or damaged eggs), which can be associated by the nest label to the nesting information and, eventually, to the mother’s. During this season they also invite schools and community members to witness the hatching and carry out awareness-raising activities.
Hatching monitoring by LCGs, 2008-2014
Main results in participation and conservation 2008-2014
Since the program started in 2008, enormous advances have been made in terms of community involvement and conservation results. We started up with a first group of six volunteers from Curuinsi Huasi Association who, in teams of two or three, protected a conservation beach on a small deserted island. That season, 17 nests and 112 hatchlings were protected, but almost half of the nests and a nesting mother were poached; the guardians had to literally compete with night visitors to protect the nests and nesting females.
Although monitoring was interrupted for the first time in 2010 due to lack of funds, year after year, following a persistent campaign of appropriation and awareness-raising amongst the communities of the area, the program grew significantly in terms of participation and of conservation results (see graphs below). By 2012, four communities were already involved (three Colombian and one Peruvian), with four LCGs and a total of 50 guardians protecting the three main conservation beaches in teams of 12-16 per night. These included newly formed groups working voluntarily and being trained by the experienced groups who, after three participating seasons and increased responsibilities, had started receiving an economic retribution for their work. During that season, 60 nests and 1360 hatchlings of the three species were protected. Only 3 nests (5%) were lost to poaching and the nighttime presence of the guardians prevented the hunting of females during nesting, which is the most important result in terms of conservation.
Despite the impulse and results achieved by the program, not enough funds were raised for the 2013 season. This was an opportunity to evaluate a non-protection scenario, to measure the impact of the activities of the guardians and of the program. The results showed a higher number of nests (92 nests compared to 63 in 20 12, probably as a consequence of the previous beach protection) but a poaching percentage close to 97%. Although it could not be measured with certainty, we also found tracks that indicated possible female loss during nesting, which had completely been avoided during previous seasons. The fundamental importance of the presence of the guardians was therefore confirmed, as well as the need to pursue and further expand the awareness-raising and socialisation activities in the area.
The program restarted its normal activities in 2014 with full support of The Rufford Foundation, further expanding participation, with a new Peruvian community and LCG, and support from the communities of the area. For the first time since the start of the program, one single nest was poached from the conservation beaches, while the mothers continued to be safe from hunters during nesting. However, we also witnessed a dramatic decrease of nesting events: 28 nests along the whole season, compared to 92 in 2013. This was possibly a consequence of the high poaching rates that occurred the precedent year due to the lack of protection and the critical state that the turtle populations have reached.
Nest protection results 2008-2014 in graphs. Click to enlarge
The future of the program
Since the beginning, the program has focused on training and building capacity of Local Conservation Groups. We used an gradual incentives system in which the guardians carried out the activities initially without expecting an economic retribution, only gradual collective and small individual incentives. From the fourth participating season, the experienced LCGs started also having a higher responsibility in monitoring organisation, data gathering and training of new LCGs, for which they also started receiving a personal economic retribution. This has allowed the program to gradually expand on the basis of a strong appropriation and commitment by its participants. However, this scheme also implied that the program was designed to become an economic alternative based in conservation for the experienced turtle guardians, as a reward for their commitment and hard work.
So far, the program has depended exclusively on international fractioned funds, raised on a nearly year-by-year basis, which has made it difficult to guarantee continuity of the activities and, among others, was the reason for the 2010 and 2013 interruption. At the current stage and economic requirements of the program, fragmented fund-raising through small annual grants is not is not possible any more, as uninterrupted continuity and sustainability of the conservation actions have to be assured. Therefore, using the Rufford Foundation partial funds for 2015 as a seed resources, we approached the regional environmental authority (Corpoamazonia) and the tourism industry in the area in the hope of achieving an agreement to assure funding for the next 5-year phase of the program. Although these institutions have shown a great interest, no agreements have yet been signed.
The results of the monitoring have shown not only the importance of the work of the Local Conservation Groups, but also the critical state of the turtle populations of the area, who could hardly bear the consequences of another season without protection. Therefore, survival of the local turtle populations, with their enormous cultural and ecological importance, is relying on the success of these agreements. With hope, the next update on this post will be such good news.
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