YARÉ: Yariguíes assessment and research of endangered species

Blanca Cecilia Huertas-Hernandez

Serranía de los Yariguíes is an isolated spur of Colombia’s Eastern Andean Cordillera. It straddles three endemic bird areas (EBAs), two of which are rated critical, but remains almost completely unexplored biologically. Yariguíes’ pristine forests are endangered due to pressures from surrounding human settlements. Two fieldwork strategies will be used: “Rapid-Assessment-Protocols” to produce a preliminary inventory and ecological assessments of indicator taxa (birds, butterflies, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, dung beetles, some plant families) and to identify zones of greatest conservation importance; and a community approach using “Research-Action-Participation” strategy will explore environmental problems and possible solutions.