23 Mar 2007 - Santiago
de Cali, Colombia – A new national park
in Colombia will add to the protection of
flora and fauna in the Amazon basin.
The Complejo Volcanico Doña Juana–Casacabel
National Natural Park, located in the country’s
south-west in the Amazon piedmont, covers
65,858 hectares of diverse forests and is
home to such threatened species as the Andean
bear and mountain tapir.
Four new plants have recently been recorded
in the area, and 471 bird species, representing
27 per cent of the Colombia’s birdlife,
are found there.
The water sources originating in the Doña
Juana–Cascabel feeds several major tributaries
of the Amazon River, providing drinking
water for 11 municipalities in the region.
“The declaration of the park represents
a highly valuable conservation opportunity
for the ecosystems which connect the south-east
Colombian Andes with the Amazon,” said Luis
German Naranjo, WWF Colombia’s Ecoregional
Conservation Director.
“It is now important that we help ensure
that the management plan for the park is
implemented. We are developing a model to
assess ecosystems in order to select conservation
targets and prioritize collective actions
within the watershed.”
WWF has been active in the creation of
the national park, sharing technical information
on the region’s biodiversity and carrying
out environmental education and public awareness
projects.
“The successful management of the park
will only be possible through continued
cooperation between governmental and non-governmental
organizations, and the local communities
living nearby,” Naranjo added.
END NOTES:
• The Complejo Volcanico Doña Juana–Casacabel
Natural Park is Colombia’s 52nd national
park, adding to the more than 11 million
hectares of protected areas throughout the
country.
• Some US$200,000 has been invested in
the creation of the park through the Colombian
Macizo Páramos and Forest Conservation
Project (BIOMACIZO), financed by Global
Environmental Facility. Institutional support
comes from local authorities, regional environmental
authorities, civil organizations such as
Corpo Doña Juana, the Red de Voces
Vivas, a local radio stations network, and
WWF Colombia (through additional support
from the British Department for International
Development, the MacArthur Foundation, the
EU and WWF-UK).
Maria Ximena Galeano, Press Officer
WWF Colombia
