The planning meeting consisted of the evaluation of the Strategic Plans 2012 and feedback from all the teams involved, a review of the most significant achievements of the previous year and the design of the new Strategic Plan, setting goals and priorities to develop during the next year.
The meeting of Protected Areas staff included the participation of 20 rangers where each made an individual presentation of the work done in their Reserve, achieving valuable feedback and interaction between all the teams,
“To ProAves it is very important that our management team and our rangers actively participate in planning activities for the conservation of our biodiversity” stated Alonso Quevedo Gil, Executive Director of ProAves.
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The rangers’ training is one of the most important activities during the protected areas. During this meeting they participated in four training sessions: 1. The importance of conservation in Colombia 2. The uses, handling and care of GPS and camera traps 3. A Basic Photography Workshop and 4. Snakebites.
Is important to highlight the important and valuable role that our rangers fulfill in the conservation of our biodiversity and ecosystems under threat of extinction in Colombia.
The GPS (Global Positioning Systems) are a very important cartographical tool for ProAves. We use them to get information on the location and extent of the reserves, information that is vital when analyzing strategically the creation, expansion and impact of these reserves on the creation of ecosystems and biodiversity.
The objective of the training is that the rangers have the knowledge necessary to make good use GPS technology to provide accurate information concerning boundaries, zoning, reforestation areas, regeneration areas, fauna records, trails, external and internal signage. This information can facilitate their work in the field and also provides the necessary mapping information for each reserve.
ProAves has a large number of camera traps in use by the rangers in their reserves, therefore training them in the proper use of camera traps allows them to obtain more and better photographic records of wildlife species present in the reserves. These records help to channel the development of conservation and research activities in the medium term in protected areas and the records of protected species provide evidence of conservation achievements.
The photography workshop was conducted with the aim of improving photographic records of the conservation and education activities conducted in reserves. The snakebites workshop was undertaken to raise awareness about conservation, care and respect for venomous snake species that can be found in many of the reserves.
Another activity developed was the third Environmental Education meeting, to develop the strategy for strengthening this activity and improving the processes carried out with the community.
With the participation of environmental educators, the educational processes developed in each of the municipalities and the main achievements in 2012 were analyzed, and the Strategic and Operational Plan for this area was developed, establishing new goals for 2013.
Delivery of the new equipment for the team
The commitment of ProAves to its conservation team was emphasized by the delivery of various new equipment for the entire team, mainly for rangers and staff working in the field.
Ecotourism Presentation:
Angela Gomez and Luisa Fernanda Conto of Ecoturs made a presentation on the organization and how it helps ProAves , which also provided an opportunity for feedback between rangers, sub-directors and Ecoturs staff on tourism in the reserves and how to improve these processes.
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