COMMUNITY MONITORS FOR CONSERVATION AND PARTICIPATIVE RESEARCH IN NATURAL PROTECTED AREAS

Abstract

Biodiversity is lost day after day despite government policies directed at stopping environmental deterioration, and particularly that of wild fauna. A federal strategy for the conservation of biodiversity consists in establishing Natural Protected Areas (NPAs); however, these do not have sufficient qualified staff to address the social demands. Therefore, in order to contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and natural resources, Colegio de Postgraduados en Ciencias Agrícolas (Colpos) in coordination and support of the National Commission for Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) and the German Cooperation Agency (GIZ), has trained 49 Community Wild Life Monitors since 2014, on central themes such as: Diversity, fauna conservation and habitats; Community territorial planning; and Practices for livestock management and ruminant feeding. This is directed at preventing the attack of carnivores on domestic animals that belong to families in the communities of natural protected areas in the states of San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo and Puebla, México. Training rural inhabitants as community monitors allows them to act as dynamic agents for the conservation of wild life in communities located inside NPAs, and to support the development of participant research projects.