Building Local Leadership to Secure an Isolated Population of Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey in Peru

Gerson Johnny Ferrer Pardave

Other project team members: Michela Olaya Chira, Walter Kevin Lopez Becerra, Maria Kelly Albornoz Salazar and Miguel Wilfredo La Rosa Uribe

The yellow-tailed woolly monkey is one of Peru’s most threatened primates, and an isolated population was only recently confirmed in the forests of Calabaza, Junín. This project seeks to prevent the local extinction of this population by combining community-led ecological research with territorial leadership strengthening in an Indigenous QuechuaWanka landscape facing increasing deforestation and infrastructure pressure.  The project will generate baseline data on the monkey’s distribution, minimum population size and key habitat areas through participatory field surveys supported by thermal drone observations and satellite analysis. In parallel, participatory forest assessments will identify priority conservation areas, degraded zones and native species relevant for habitat recovery. These activities will be implemented alongside a community-based environmental mentoring process that strengthens local leadership, builds confidence in using ecological information and supports community-led decision-making. Scientific findings will be translated into accessible formats and used to co-develop a community-validated conservation strategy for the yellow-tailed woolly monkey in Calabaza. By placing local people at the centre of knowledge generation and planning, the project aims to transform existing conservation interest into concrete, locally driven action.

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