Our main objective is to achieve the conservation of the Andean Bear (also called Spectacled Bear) in the three Colombian mountain ranges, in public as well as private areas. We do this through the protection and restoration of habitats, the reduction of threats and the decrease of negative interactions between this mammal and the people.
To attain our goal:
We assist National Natural Parks of Colombia in the generation of the conservation strategy for the Andean Bear in its protected areas and in those territories that connect them. Large protection core zones, the goals and the required actions to maintain the species long-term are prioritized.
With national and international allies, we develop science-based tools to preserve the species. This includes the identification of attacks by Andean Bear or other species, the decrease of people-bear conflict and the monitoring of this animal. We also work generating capacities in governmental and non-governmental organizations and universities.
We are part of Conservamos la Vida a public-private alliance that implements the Andean Bear conservation strategy using technical, logistic and economic capacities. Under said context:
· We diagnose the status of the Andean Bear population and identify the major threats affecting it in each locality of the conservation core.
· We compromise with the rural communities the implementation of several mechanisms to increase the presence of that species and decrease negative interactions. With this, additionally, we seek to improve the quality of life of those people.
· We monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented mechanisms in the ecosystems that are the natural home of the Andean Bear as well as in the farms that this animal occasionally visits.
The conservation of the Andean Bear implies dealing with large areas of ecosystems generally located from 500 to 3800 meters above sea level. They are, mainly, Andean forests and paramos that represent for us important services such as the retention and supply of water and the capture of CO2 (phenomenon that helps mitigate global warming).
Therefore, the protection of the Andean Bear simultaneously means the conservation of strategic mountain ecosystems with their biodiversity and of the environmental goods they offer for our quality of life and our survival.
The program for the conservation of Andean bear populations in the Western Mountain Range is an open model of public-private articulation lead by National Natural Parks of Colombia (PNNC, in Spanish), the ARGOS Group Foundation, the Valle del Cauca Regional Autonomous Corporation (CVC, in Spanish) and WCS.
You may find more information in www.conservacionosoandino.org.