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WCS Colombia
HIGHLIGHTS
Total Area
45,000 Sq Km (Total Country: 1.14 Million Sq Km)
17,600 Sq Km (Total Country: 445,000 Sq Mi)
Habitat Type
Rain forests, north Andean montane forests, inter-Andean dry forests, mangroves, paramos (highlands).
Wildlife Present
Bicolored Antpitta (Grallaria rufocinerea)
Brown-banded Antpitta (Grallaria milleri)
Cauca Guan (Penelope perspicax)
Golden-plumed Parakeet (Leptosittaca branickii)
Hooded Antpitta (Grallaricula cucullata)
Moustached Antpitta (Grallaria alleni)
Pacarana (Dinomys branickii).
Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus)
Wattled Guan (Aburria aburri)
WCS Involvement
Since 1984
Contacts
Name: Gustavo Kattan
Title: Country Program Coordinator - Colombia
Email: colombia@wcs.org
Phone: +572 683 1103
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WCS in Colombia
The WCS – Colombia Program focuses on the conservation of Andean ecosystems and their wildlife. The Central Andean region of Colombia is a hotspot of biodiversity and endemism of global significance. In an area of influence of 4.5 million hectares, two National Parks and other protected areas are immersed in a patchwork of agricultural areas that include the most important Colombian coffee growing region, called the “Eje Cafetero."
The work done by the WCS Colombia Program has been fundamental in developing science-based alternatives for the conservation of wildlife and the restoration of Andean forests and their biodiversity.
The Human Aspect
The Central Andes region of Colombia has fertile valleys at an altitude of 1000 meters (3000 ft) framed by snow-caps above 5000 meters (15,000 ft). The topography in between is home to vast biological diversity and includes dry forests and wetlands, cloud forests and grass and shrublands in the paramos, or highlands. This incredible diversity is threatened by habitat fragmentation (a result of agricultural activities), as well as hunting and poaching.
Threats
Habitat fragmentation is the main threat to biodiversity in this heavily populated region of Colombia. Poaching and hunting also pose a threat to fauna, while flora is under constant menace from settlers. The good news is that, since coffee growers depend largely on a constant water supply, they are participating actively in conservation programs.
Some of the species affected are the spectacled bear, the Cauca guan, the red howler monkeys and the Pacaranas, which are medium-sized rodents that have been pushed to live above the 3000 meter (9,000 ft) level.
WCS Activities
The activities and projects of the WCS-Colombia Program fit within five strategies:
Important Next Steps
Consolidate a long-term monitoring program for a network of protected areas in the coffee growing region of Colombia. (see Conservation Policy)
Use criteria based on scientific facts to guide the design of resource management policy in the Central Andes of Colombia.
Gain a better understanding of the conservation needs of key wildlife species and their habitats.
 Develop restoration strategies for the recovery of Andean cloud forests, keeping in mind that planting trees can accelerate forest recovery, but these trees can also have profound effects on the resulting ecosystem. Such effects can last even beyond the lifetime of the planted trees.
For a detailed description of the program’s projects see Research and training in conservation for the Colombian Andes.
Click here for a description of the Fundacion EcoAndina project, funded by the Nando Peretti Foundation--"Threatened species in the Central Andes of Colombia: population status and habitat availability."
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