Tropical Andes

The Conservancy has been working since 1991 with partner Fundación Natura to protect the last remains of oak forests in the Andean region of Colombia. As part of this effort, the Conservancy supported the creation of the 3,212-acre Cachalú Reserve and 25,748-acre Guanenta Alto Rio Fonce Fauna and Flora Sanctuary. The Conservancy is currently launching an unprecedented effort to protect 2.5 million acres of Andean landscapes that include oak forests, páramos (high altitude grasslands), and cloud forests linking these and other protected areas to create the Oak Forests Conservation Corridor.

Location
The Oak Forests Conservation Corridor is located in the easternmost branch of the Colombian Andes range in the departments of Boyacá and Santander in northwestern Colombia. It includes 67 municipalities and encompasses 2,545,185 acres.

Animals
The corridor harbors populations of several endangered mammals such as the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), wolly tapir (Tapirus pinchaque), brown hairy dwarf porcupine (Sphiggurus vestitus) and puma (Puma concolor). The corridor has 50 mammal species, 12 of which are endangered.

The corridor also has 243 bird species, including the critically-endangered gorgeted wood-quail, black Inca and mountain grackle. Several North American migratory birds, such as the blackburnian warbler, mourning warbler and Swainson's thrush, winter in this area.

The corridor is also home to two endangered frog species, the endemic Gámbita robber frog (Eleutherodactylus spilogaster) and sharp-snout robber frog (Eleutherodactylus acutirostris).

Plants
The Oak Forests Conservation Corridor is one of the richest areas in terms of vascular plants in the Andean region. The Cachalú Reserve alone has more than 400 different plant species. The dominant species in the area is the Humbolt oak (Quercus sp), black oaks (Trigonobalanus sp.), carisecos (Billia sp.), higuerones (Ficus sp.), and yarumos (Cecropia sp.) among others. Epiphytes are quite common, especially orchids, bromeliads and ferns. In the high-altitude grasslands the dominant plant is the frailejón (Espeletia spp.)

Why the Conservancy Works Here
The Andean region is one of the most highly impacted areas in Colombia. Seventy percent of the country’s population lives here, and pressures such as unsustainable agriculture and livestock expansion cause great stress on natural ecosystems. The Andes region is one of the most biologically diverse areas on Earth—it has about the same number of animal and plant species as the entire Amazon region, but in an area 14 times smaller. Also, the Colombian Andes maintain one of the last remnants of oak forests in South America.

What the Conservancy Is Doing
With its partners, the Conservancy recently implemented a Conservation Area Planning (CAP) analysis that evaluated threats, opportunities and places that must be conserved to ensure the diversity of the Oak Forests Conservation Corridor. As a result of this study, the Conservancy is currently supporting the following:

• Implementation of a land tax exception for landowners in one municipality as a model to replicate in 67 other municipalities throughout the corridor. One of the challenges with conservation on private lands in Colombia is that landowners don’t have enough economic incentives to conserve natural ecosystems on their properties. The incentive reduces the taxes landowner has to pay if he or she conserves natural ecosystems. It was first applied by the municipality of Encino and is being used by about 100 landowners.

• Implementation of other incentives. The Conservancy has been supporting several workshops for landowners to train them to better manage their lands to achieve both conservation and economic benefits.

• Design of a trust fund to facilitate obtaining private and public funds to invest in private lands projects in the Oak Forests Conservation Corridor.

Stream in Cachalu Biological Reserve, Colombia • Creation of a regional private reserves network through the inclusion of new private reserves located in strategic sites in the corridor area. Landowners in the network receive training in topics such as sustainable agricultural systems, biodiversity-friendly cattle ranching, tourism, and better management of their properties.

• Development of new public protected areas. The Conservancy has been working with Fundación Natura and other partners to support the expansion of the existing Guanentá-Alto Rio Fonce Sanctuary and the creation of a new public protected area in the Oak Forests Conservation Corridor in order to conserve more cloud forests.

• Creation of an online conservation tool for landowners. To raise public awareness and provide easily accessible information about how to help protect the private reserves network through the inclusion of new Web site for local landowners, stakeholders and decision-makers, which includes an online database about economic incentives for conservation and how landowners can apply for them. The information is available at www.corredordeconservacion.org (in Spanish).

• A Debt for Nature Swap, signed by the Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International and the United States and Colombian governments, allows Colombian debt to the U.S. to be re-directed to finance conservation projects in several protected areas in Colombia, including an area in the Oak Forests Conservation Corridor.

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Photos: © Josh Thomas/TNC; © Marci Eggers/TNC; © Marci Eggers/TNC