Angela Maria Maldonado Rodriguez
Other projects
21 Jan 2004
The Woolly Monkey Project: Status and Conservation of Primates in Amacayacu National Park (Amazonas Department, Colombia) - A Community-Based Project
15 Jan 2010
Locally Based Monitoring of Wildlife Utilisation at the Colombian-Peruvian Border: Enforcing International Wildlife Trade Regulations
26 Apr 2012
Enhancing Environmental Law Enforcement and Conservation Awareness at the Colombian-Peruvian Border using the Night Monkeys as Flagship Species
28 Nov 2017
Bi-National Strategy for the Conservation of the Genus Aotus at the Colombian – Peruvian Border
To improve law enforcement to curb the trade in wildlife using the night monkeys as flagship species, through community-based research and the improvement of living standards for local people.
This multi-disciplinary project aims at assessing and addressing novel threats to biodiversity and long-term survival of indigenous people where anthropogenic and environmental pressures are constantly increasing. Our preliminary results suggest that the illegal trade in night monkeys (Aotus spp) for the biomedical research market decimated wild populations and drastically affected their ecosystems. We are using the night monkeys as flagship species to curb the illegal trade of wildlife and for Amazonian ecosystem protection while increasing the limited knowledge of this cryptic genus. After winning a public benefit law suit that was filed in order to protect the rights of civil society, that were violated by the long-term (35 years) illegal trade of night monkeys (Aotus spp.), used for the elaboration of a malaria vaccine, we identified that the only way to effectively protect biodiversity is through law enforcement. On the other hand, law enforcement affects the income of local people that have been trading natural resources for decades. In order to weight the effects of law enforcement on local economies we are improving their access to potable water in order to help them to develop family and community economic activities such as tourism. The Aotus project aims at:
To balance the importance of law enforcement to protect biodiversity, while continuing improving living standards, providing clean drinking water and advance in waste management, enabling local people to implement sustainable livelihoods.
To continue our community-based data collection to monitor wildlife populations and their harvest, helping the Amacayacu National Park (ANP) in the implementation of their management plan.
To increase our knowledge in the genus Aotus, quantifying use of space of a group of night monkeys.
To maintain our law enforcement activities at the Colombian-Peruvian frontier while documenting wildlife trade and continue with follow-up of the verification committee for the long-term implementation of the court’s ruling.
To implement an awareness campaign disseminating project’s results at regional, national and international level
To improve capacity building at local level, through the training in administrative processes related to community and wildlife tourism.