Listen to some of the animals that live in El Silencio and the surrounding forests.

El Silencio Scientific Station

A video from our previous fundraising campaign through which we raised funds to build the research station.

Why research in Barbacoas?

Barbacoas is one of the last remaining opportunities for the conservation of this type of ecosystem in Colombia. We have built our facilities to the highest environmental standards, using eco-friendly materials, renewable energy, and water and waste management systems. The center hosts researchers, students, and nature enthusiasts from around the world, drawing public and scientific attention to this important site.

© Diseñado por Mariangela Rodriguez-Buriticá, Arquitecta, Maestría en Ciencias del Diseño en Diseño Sostenible (haga clic para ampliar)

Why preserve the natural ecosystems of the Middle Magdalena Valley?

Colombia is the second country with the highest biodiversity in the world and harbors 10% of the planet’s plant and animal species. The tropical forests and wetlands of the Middle Magdalena Valley in central Colombia are among the country’s most diverse ecosystems and host numerous endemic species, meaning species that only exist in this region. Unfortunately, extensive livestock farming and agriculture, illegal logging and hunting, as well as mining and oil exploitation, have led to severe deforestation and degradation of forests and wetlands. Currently, less than 15% of the original forest area survives, and deforestation continues at an alarming rate, making it one of Colombia’s most threatened ecosystems and endangering the extinction of many of these species.

Barbacoas: One of the last opportunities for this ecosystem

The wetlands and forests of Barbacoas represent one of the last opportunities to conserve this unique ecosystem, as they contain one of the most extensive and best-preserved forest patches in the entire region. Barbacoas still harbors jaguars and other large felines, manatees, large groups of spider monkeys and white-footed tamarins, turtles, and many other highly threatened or endemic species from the region.

© Andrés Felipe Aponte- Alouatta seniculus –  en  Colombia, Antioquia, Barbacoas, Magdalena Medio.

El Silencio Nature Reserve and Scientific Station

In 2010, with a donation from IUCN – Netherlands, we had the opportunity to purchase a small nature reserve in Barbacoas. We then built the first research station in the area as an operational base for conservation and scientific study, in addition to working alongside stakeholders. In the reserve, we not only conduct biological research but also explore sustainable economic alternatives compatible with conservation, including productive reforestation with local timber species, sustainable livestock farming, and organic agriculture.

We built this research station with housing and laboratory facilities to accommodate researchers, school and university students, and nature enthusiasts from around the world who wish to visit and study this natural gem. By having a permanent base camp, we can conduct continuous research and improve our understanding of this unique ecosystem and the species that inhabit it. We use the station to train members of the local community as researchers and leaders in natural resource management and sustainable agriculture, empowering them as key actors in the future of this land. Additionally, we continue to seek sustainable land use projects that can coexist with and benefit from the conservation of the natural environment, contributing to its preservation in the long term.

Reserva y estación científica El Silencio

• Birds:

  267 species (more than 1/3 of all species in Europe), 4 endemic, 1 critically endangered. Includes: Blue-billed Curassow (Crax alberti, endemic to CR).
• Large and medium-sized mammals:
  34 species, 7 endangered to varying degrees and 6 nearly threatened, 1 endemic. Includes:
  – Spider Monkey (Ateles hybridus, CR, nearly endemic), among the 25 most threatened primates in the world.
  – White-footed Tamarin (Saguinus leucopus, EN, endemic with very restricted distribution), one of the species with the greatest conservation need in Colombia.
  – Manatee (Trichechus manatus, VU), the southernmost population reported in the Magdalena basin, nearly extinct in the region.
  – Tapir (Tapirus terrestris, CR) and White-lipped Peccary (Tayassu pecari, NT), believed to be extinct in the Middle Magdalena region.
  – Jaguar (Panthera onca), Neotropical Otter (Lontra longicaudis), Gray-handed Night Monkey (Aotus griseimembra), vulnerable species.
  – Large felines such as the puma (Puma concolor, NT) and the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis and L. weidii).
  Among others.
• Reptiles: 42 species, 4 threatened species. Includes: Magdalena River Turtle (Podocnemis lewyana, CR, endemic), Red-footed Tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonaria, CR, presumed extinct in the wild in central Colombia), American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus, CR), and Colombian Slider Turtle (Trachemys callirostris, NT).
• Amphibians: 27 species, 2 endemic frogs, 1 endemic and threatened salamander: Lozano’s Salamander (Bolitoglossa lozanoi, EN).
• Ants: 135 species representing 15% of all species in Colombia. It is estimated that this could reach up to 19-21%.