On May 22nd, every year we celebrate the International Day of Biodiversity, a day to recognize and raise awareness of the biological diversity of our planet and the threats that biodiversity is facing due to our actions and activities. Every one of us can do small actions and activities to reduce our individual impact on the biodiversity loss crisis. From pressure on our local, regional and national governments to take action to reduce the impact of our development project up to small action such as recycling, sustainable use of natural resources, protecting water sources, reducing waste, among others.

Colombia is a privilege country, home of a high diversity of birds, mammals, including primates, reptiles and amphibians, fish and invertebrates. Knowing what we have is the first step to take care of that high biodiversity. Our geography is part of the reasons for that high diversity that includes animals and plants adapted to different altitude and weather conditions making us one of the hot spots for biodiversity globally.

Zocay Project study area is an incredible area in which many animals and plants live and as part of our activities we look for ways in which cattle ranching areas can maintain biodiversity while meeting their productive goals. Living fences allow wildlife in these transformed areas to move between forest fragments while reducing their exposure to predators and even find food. Cattle ranching water sources as well as artificial lagoons help wildlife during dry season when natural streams and rivers reduce their flow, allowing them to find water without having to travel longer distances. Occasionally, we plant native fruit trees to increase connectivity in some of the reserves and farms in which we work. We continue learning about how these highly fragmented areas affect monkeys’ lives and how they cope with all the changes that human activities make in their environment. So, today we celebrate their resilience and flexibility to live in small and medium size forest fragments surrounded by human productive activities.

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