Update from Award winner 2015: José F. González-Maya
February 2016: News from José F. Gonzáles – Maya:
“Our work in Costa Rica and Colombia is progressing at gigantic steps. Our Future For Nature Award meant a significant leap forward in our current efforts for ensuring habitat for jaguars and many other species, but also for ensuring the habitat for endangered species such as the Harlequin Frog.
Recently, we accomplished the start of our Jaguar Friendly project, in which local coffee producers, both from Costa Rica and Colombia, engaged in our initiative by reducing to zero hunting and deforestation, appropriate domestic livestock management and friendly production practices in their farms, ensuring habitat for jaguar and its prey. This is the basis for restoring the connectivity for these species between protected areas both in the Talamanca Mountains in Costa Rica and Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. Now as part of the Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network, our corridors are protecting jaguars while ensuring the livelihoods and improving wellbeing of local communities by protecting our largest predator. Also, our Lazarus population of the Harlequin Frog is been successfully protected, with the support of the Arizona Centre for Nature Conservation, Zoo Miami, among other organisations, including the establishment of a biosafety protocol and fully studying and understanding Chytrid fungus dynamics in this population, while ensuring the habitat by conservation enforcement and community involvement. Our work has also been featured in national and international media, expecting for a larger impact of our work and I was selected as the Environmental Protagonist of the year in Colombia.”
We expect to keep moving forward towards ensuring these charismatic species for the long term, conservation science and community conservation hand-to-hand for the future of our nature. – Dr. José F. González-Maya
