By: Isadora Angarita-Martínez (Manomet, WHSRN Executive Office), Carlos Ruiz-Guerra y Yanira Cifuentes-Sarmiento (Asociación Calidris)
Biodiversity conservation is a huge challenge that at times requires overcoming social, cultural, political and other obstacles. These obstacles exist not only for those who work in the conservation sector, but also for landowners, resource managers and users of biodiversity, the people who implement –or not practices that favor biodiversity conservation.
The first step to overcoming the obstacles is to recognize them. This story focuses on two challenges, building trust for participatory conservation work, and taking gender dynamics into account to ensure that conservation is inclusive, diverse and dynamic; and how Asociación Calidris (Calidris) overcame those challenges at the beginning of their work with local communities at the WHSRN site Sabanas de Paz de Ariporo y Trinidad in the Colombian Llanos.
Trust between all the parties involved is fundamental to develop biodiversity conservation processes that will be lasting and successful. In some places and with some stakeholders, establishing trust can be difficult because of differing visions about resource use, previous processes between similar parties that were unsuccessful or in which at some point trust between the parties broke down, and differing agendas related to the desired outcomes.
This is the case with the local communities at Sabanas de Paz de Ariporo y Trinidad, where the only previous attempt to broach natural conservation themes with them had been through the inclusion of some ranching lands within the Colombian protected area system via the Reservas Naturales de la Sociedad Civil (Private Nature Reserves) program. In 2012, when Calidris identified the region as important for grassland shorebirds, especially for the Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis), they decided to approach the local communities with a view to initiating a long-term conservation and habitat management process. After nine years of work, the trust building is still ongoing, but important steps have been taken to make collective successes possible in the protection, management and conservation of the site. Honest communication and respect are the key factors to build trust between Calidris, local communities and families within the WHSRN site.
Left: The Arenas Parada Family estate owners in the WHSRN site Sabanas de Paz de Ariporo y Trinidad. Right: Germán Hernández monitoring the Buff-breasted Sandpiper. Families like these are key to learning more about the Buff-breasted Sandpiper, as they carefully note the arrival and departure times of this shorebird from their estates, and share their observations with Asociación Calidris. Photos: Asociación Calidris
Transparency and the recognition of differences are fundamental in establishing trust-based relationships and in ensuring that these relationships last. For the Llanero,[1] the spoken word is considered a contract, and in many cases is valued more than signed documents. With this in mind, when Calidris approached the local communities it was with a clear and honest message, that was without pretensions or pressures, and which explained the need to work together at the site to protect the shorebird habitat and improve living conditions for everybody. Calidris began by listening carefully to the participants, requesting authorization for entry at every visit and to carry out every activity, including the local communities in decisions at every step, and learning about the environmental needs that the people have.
Through meetings with representatives of local communities, as well as personal visits to the estates, it was possible to establish dialogue with each of the stakeholders at the WHSRN site and to deepen the established trust. With exchanges with producers from other sites across the region and the country, and with visits and meetings from national and foreign conservation professionals, new capacities were developed in the community that increased their trust in the process, as well as increased their confidence in themselves. This success was demonstrated by the increased attendance by members of the community at the workshops, as well as in their willingness to speak and be heard at them, and even in their activities outside of the WHSRN sites and in other environments such as in the departmental capital city Yopal.
Left: The capacity building workshops, information meetings, and diverse activities planned by Calidris jointly with the local community, are spaces for the building and strengthening of trust. Right: The work of men in the Llanos is focused mainly on ranching, the work of women is mainly in the care of children and home-making. Photos: Asociación Calidris
The Llanos is a hostile environment, where strength, ability and resilience shape youths and adults that are proud of their determination and bravery. Demonstrations of courage and bravery are not restricted to the men, however. Every morning, and despite the heavy rain or extreme drought, the women ensure a delicious meal is present on the table, and teach their children to respect their customs and to be proud of their savanna. When the men dedicate themselves to the ranching, or the search for food by fishing and hunting, the women invest their time in cultivation of plants that provide food or medicine, and take care of the farmyard animals, while the children learn the skills and trades that they will need when they are older.
Calidris quickly identified this dynamic and in a concerted process took steps to increase the involvement of women in discussions, conservation activities and capacity building, encouraging them to express their opinions and proposing spaces and activities that expand their daily experiences. These spaces were exclusively for them, such as the current Melipona Flower Bee Breeding Project which is carried out in partnership with the Asociación Becarios de Casanare (ABC). During the rainy season the families and women from each estate are totally isolated from their neighbors, and providing a meeting space is also important from a social point of view. The Project is in the process of being established and, although the commercialized production of honey is being considered, for now it is viewed as a second step.
The priority of the Meliponiculture Project is to build and consolidate the self-confidence of women individually and as a group, as well as generating capacities in leadership through the project. Photo: Asociación Calidris
The atmosphere of trust that has been built between the local communities and Calidris over the last nine years, the identification of unfavorable local dynamics towards certain sectors of the population, and their active inclusion in conservation and management activities, has resulted in numerous achievements. These include the designation of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA), the restoration of the Moriche Palm (Mauritia flexuosa) (a typical environment of the Llanos and which act as a refuge for wildlife), and in the particular case of shorebirds, the declaration of a second WHSRN site in Colombia which supports 1,25% of the global population of Buff-breasted Sandpiper during their northbound migration.
These are just some examples of the importance of establishing lasting relationships, based on building trust and respect for differences, whilst at the same time assuring the inclusion of sectors of the population which are less favored or disadvantaged.
We are sure that other partners in WHSRN sites have faced obstacles with similar solutions, and this is an invitation for them to share their stories of inclusion and explain how they have strengthened or eased the conservation processes. You can do this from your Twitter or Facebook accounts using the hashtag #inclusionshorebirds , #inclusionavesplayeras and tagging our account @WHSRN.
Over the last nine years the work by Calidris at the WHSRN sites has been supported by Fundación Bobolink, the US Fish and Wildlife Service through the Conservation of Migratory Birds Law, the International Program of the US Forestry Service, the Natural Riches Program of USAID, BirdFair, BirdLife International, Manomet and theWHSRN Executive Office.
If you would like to learn more about how Calidris approach this and other challenges at the WHSRN site Sabanas de Paz de Ariporo y Trinidad you can communicate with Carlos Ruiz-Guerra and Yanira Cifuentes-Sarmiento.
[1] Llanero: inhabitant of the Savannas of Orinoco in Colombia and Venezuela.
Cover Photo by Asociación Calidris
