Although illegal wildlife trade in Colombia originates mostly in rural zones, large cities are not detached from this problem. Bogotá, for example, is a key location from where animals are shipped directly to foreign black markets or are traded for local destinations and uses. WCS´s Combatting Wildlife Trafficking Program stresses the importance of understanding the dynamics of illegal wildlife trade increasingly operated by organized crime.

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illegal wildlife trade, black markets, Ambystoma mexicanum, commercialization of animals, Oophaga lehmanni and Oophaga histriónica

Landowners in this town of Cesar are protecting the surroundings of the San Fernandera-Caracoli stream, one of the few places in the Atlantic Coast where the reptile still reproduces in a healthy fashion. With the support of WCS, they control livestock to prevent contamination, plant trees and avoid sand extraction and hunting. Dahl's toad-headed turtle, one of Colombia`s four endemic turtles, is in critical danger of extinction.

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WCS Colombia, Mesoclemmys dahli, Turtle Survival Alliance, Dahl's toad-headed turtle, Chimichagua, Colombia

Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA) is a global pact that seeks to involve companies and public-private sectors towards the elimination, in productive chains, of processes that generate deforestation. We talked with Javier Ortiz, TFA coordinator for Colombia, who informs that the country is already advancing with this purpose, through the consolidation of agreements within the palm oil, beef, dairy, cocoa and coffee sectors.

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Tropical Forest Alliance, Javier Ortiz, TFA, Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario, Fedegán, Invima, Ideam

The National Natural Park Selva de Florencia, located in Caldas, is the national protected area with the highest number of threatened amphibians for its size in Colombia. Through the Strategy for the Conservation of Threatened Amphibians and to recover its populations, WCS Colombia, Corpocaldas (Regional Autonomous Corporation of Caldas) and National Natural Parks, teamed together with communities, launched a crusade to protect stream vegetation, plant native flora and control the advance of cattle.

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Frogs