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Community Park Guards in Oyacachi, Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve, Condor Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador
As Hector Parión continued on his daily patrol, he suddenly came upon a dead cow in the middle of the páramo, two hours on foot from the village. This was not the first time this had happened, and unfortunately, since last year this had become a common sight. Historically, the Oyacachi community, nestled in the Cayambe-Coca Reserve (in the heart of the Condor Bioreserve), has lived with attacks from Andean Bears on grazing cattle. However, since EcoCiencia, The Nature Conservancy’s partner in the Parks in Peril Program, has worked with community members on research of Andean Bear population and habitat, the community members are more sensitive to the bear’s presence and its importance in the ecological functions in the Reserve. A few years back, the people in Oyacachi would have resolved to kill bears that had killed cattle. This time, they decided to manage the conflict by moving their cattle to areas of less conflict. There have been more than 30 dead cattle, but the community does not want to kill the bears. The community has worked with EcoCiencia to hire six community park guards who now patrol the areas of greatest conflict. There has been a significant reduction in attacks since October 2003 (over 50 percent), and although it is hard to prove that it has a direct relation to the presence of the community park guards, the community supports their work and is willing to continue collaborating for bear conservation.
Read more about Condor Biosphere Reserve...
Condor Biosphere Reserve
Ecuador
Ecuador Partners |
