The objectives of this Project are: a) To incorporate community groups into research and monitoring activities, b) To promote conservation initiatives of the communities, c) To create a basic infrastructure to support investigation, monitoring, environmental education and qualification, and d) To discover fundamental aspects about the state of the jaguar population and its use of the habitat.
The goal communities are located in the influence area of the Private Reserve El Zapotal, in Yucatan, north to the municipality of Tizimin. The communities that are participating are Nuevo Leon, Santa María Pixoy, El Limonar, Tesoco Nuevo and San Arturo.
The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a key species and indicates the health of the ecosystem it is immersed in. It is also an endangered species in Mexico, due to the loss of its habitat. Because of cattle raising and the rapid growth of the touristic pole of Cancun, deforestation in the northeast portion of the Yucatan Peninsula has dramatically incremented since 1970, causing isolation of the main population of jaguars.
The most important threats towards jaguar populations are: fragmentation and loss of habitat because of the extension of farming areas, conflicts between wild life and farming activities (especially cattle raising vs. jaguar), amplification of infrastructure for services and communication routes, and scarce knowledge about the jaguar’s population needs and its use of coastal wetlands as habitat.
Currently, more and more lands are used for extensive cattle raising, due to the crisis traditional agriculture is going through, destroying feline’s habitats and with them their natural preys. This has caused an intensification of the conflict between mayor felines and cattle raising, and has derived in the persecution and hunting of pumas and jaguars.
This project would be conformed by a young group of people with basic qualifications for monitoring and research activities concerning flora and fauna, as a first step before forming field technicians capable of helping in the implementation of projects for protection and sustainable management of natural resources. This way, a culture of environmental friendliness is promoted in four communities.
One of this project’s achievements has been the formation of a “Communal Vigilance Committee for the Protection of the Jaguar”. Another is that the communities of Nuevo Leon and El Limonar have asked to be subscribed in the PSA-CABSA program (Protection of Biodiversity) of the CONAFOR, having covered all the necessary requirements. In the next phases, certain courses will be offered to youth groups of the communities, where they’ll be oriented on subjects like bird identification, ecology & study of felines, orchid management, and importance of water as a natural resource.
This project is supported by: the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT, Mexico), the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP, Mexico), the Fort Worth Zoo (FWZ), the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, and the Ecology Institute of the UNAM.
For further information, please contact: Juan Carlos Faller (jcfaller@pronatura-ppy.org.mx) or Rafael Roldán (rafaelroldan@pronatura-ppy.org.mx). |
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