|
Read about
• New Management Plan
• Women´s Recycling
Project
• Spider Monkeys Are Coming
Back!
• Was missing, BUT NOW FOUND
- Frog
Sign up for our Newsletter by sending your name & email address
to friends@cct.or.cr
NEW MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR MONTEVERDE (Quetzal, Feb.2005)
In 2004, the TSC began to update its management and operational
plan for the Preserve, which dated back to 1985, with some revisions
in 1992. An update is always a good thing when it comes to management,
and this one is supposed to reflect new perspectives on management
methods, and greater ownership of the process by Preserve staff.
New views on management also encourage greater concern for the
communities surrounding the protected area.
An issue of growing importance that catapulted the new management
plan to the foreground is that of visitors. In 2004, 77,000 persons
visited the Preserve, creating concern about overuse, safety and
impact on the biodiversity of the forests. Equally serious is
the impact of growing numbers of people present in the communities
of Monteverde, Cerro Plano and Santa Elena.
The new plan will include strong and permanent monitoring of
biodiversity, environmental protection measures, environmental
education, and training for staff on modern management technology.
Studies for the management plan were directed by biologist and
visitation specialist Fernando Bermudez with the collaboration
of TSC specialists Juan Jose Castro, Moises Leon, Leon González,
Humberto Jiménez., Carlos Hernández (Current Director
of the Monteverde Preserve) and others.
Back to top
WOMEN´S RECYCLING PROJECT (The Quetzal, Feb. 2005)
The Women´s Association most closely linked to a successful
recycling initiative is probably the one in San Luis, a neighbouring
community to Monteverde Preserve. The group´s first efforts
where directed at creating crafts from bamboo cane, such as bamboo
paper, but due to difficulties growing the cane in their area,
they soon found themselves bankrupt. Nevertheless, with the same
enthusiasm that characterized their unsustainable project, they
assumed the idea of producing paper from recycled paper waste.
The raw material was available in nearby Monteverde and the TSC
was willing to support the new idea, as a complement to an already
existing solid-waste recycling program. Thus, with technical aid
from TSC, the women of San Luis were awarded a donation by the
United Nations Small Grants Program in 2003, and today they produce
different paper items that are exhibited in stores throughout
the region and in tourism fairs. Presently, they work hard to
improve the quality of their products and widen their commercial
outlets.
Back to top
 SPIDER MONKEYS ARE COMING BACK
An Interview with Wilford Guindon
Over 50 years ago, when a group of Quakers moved to the Monteverde
area, they were told that Spider Monkeys were good to eat. Wilford
Guindom even remembers seeing Spider Monkeys near a cliff edge
by his property. One used to find these monkeys up here on the
Pacific side and down on the way to the Peñas Blancas shelter.
However, because of illegal hunting, they have become extremely
rare in the Monteverde area. For decades the Spider Monkeys were
rarely found on the Caribbean side and not even seen on the Pacific
side of the Monteverde area.
In 1972, the Tropical Science Center, a Costa Rican non-profit
organization, accepted a proposal to manage the Monteverde Cloud
Forest Preserve. During this time the TSC has ensured that the
Monteverde Preserve continues to exist. This persistence has enabled
the Preserve to become a vital site for the survival of several
species’ including spider monkeys. After so many years,
Wilford is very happy to announce that he just saw a troop of
spider monkeys on the Pacific side of his property, near that
same cliff edge! - This is great news for everyone here at the
Preserve as it shows one of many positive results of the support
so many environmentally concerned individuals, like the support
received from all of You, Friends of the Monteverde Cloud Forest!
We hope that You continue to contribute to our funds to ensure
that every endangered species in our rare and unique paradise
in the clouds will be protected so that they can also be appreciated
by generations to come.
Back to top
 Was missing, BUT NOW FOUND! - Frog
Most of our visitors are aware of the fact that we lost the
Golden Toad somewhere around 1989-1990. But, few people know that
we also lost about 24 other amphibian species between 1987 and
1988. According to our records, there were once 54 species of
amphibians in the Monteverde Area. So, in other words we lost
almost half of the species of amphibians once found in this area.
Nevertheless, last year, Mark Wainright, one of our guides and
an amphibian expert, saw one of these missing frogs. After reporting
his discovery, he went back into the forest to look for evidence
and came back out with tadpoles. With this evidence he was able
to prove that he had found “rana vibicaria” one of
the frogs lost since 1987-1988. By joining Friends of Monteverde
Cloud Forest today, you may help prevent future losses of the
remaining amphibian species. We give thanks to everyone of our
members whose combined efforts have accomplished such apparently
small but significant accomplishment. Nevertheless nature continues
to need our support. We must find a way to purchase the remaining
patches of forest to finish the Monteverde-Nicoya Biological Corridor
and thus protect the habitats of our endangered frogs and other
species.
Back to top
|
|