It is possible to coexist with tapirs! Two tapirs, one male and one female, were coming every night for the first two weeks of February to eat in a small farmer’s bean field. He himself contacted the Nai Conservation team expressing his deep fear and frustration for his crops.
That a farmer in crisis felt the confidence to contact us to address the tapir conflict speaks volumes about the credibility of CR wildlife foundation. We are an organization that listens from empathy and acts quickly.”
Sofia Pastor-Parajeles Coordinator of operations and planning for coexistence.
Responding to the call, the team went directly to evaluate the case and after negotiating with the farmer, an electric fence covering a perimeter of 500 m was installed. This case has been a challenge from every perspective, but the goal was achieved.
For the time being, preventive measures based on electric fencing have worked 100% in all cases that have been addressed. There is also good news for the conservation of Tlalocohyla celeste. This month concrete actions were initiated to mitigate threats due to erosion and deterioration of the 8 hectare wetland edge in Tapir Valley, the only habitat of our small and unique frog. For this we proceeded with the placement of 2 floating platforms at key points in the wetland in order to continue studying and learning about the species without disturbing their home.
“It is a privilege to witness how the farmer’s attitude and perception of conflict transformed overnight when he realized that the fence worked and that he was accompanied by a team of people. It is the definition of coexistence in all its glory.”
Pastor-Parajeles.
COLLABORATION TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS
In early February, a part of the CRWF team participated in the anniversary of La Amistad International Park where they shared time with officials and key actors in the area, strengthening the bonds of collaboration. As part of the same activity, support was provided to the Salitre, Cabagra and Ujarrásnindigenous territories for the incorporation of technological tools such as SMART to optimize their monitoring of natural resources. This opened up opportunities for collaboration with resource guards in these territories and thus increased the protection of the forests and their wild inhabitants. But collaboration has no borders, and that is why the person in charge of SMART and patrolling, Jimmy Barrantes, visited Geoversity’s project in Panama where he shared and collaborated with patrols in indigenous territories in the Mamoní Valley Reserve.
“It is great to share and contribute to the conservation efforts developed by other people in different parts of the world. I had the opportunity to learn and share experiences with indigenous territories that have organized themselves to protect their resources through SMART patrols. Despite the distance, the motivations and threats are very similar to those faced by communities in the Costa Rican territory with wildlife protection.”
-Jimmy Barrantes.
