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Fundación ProAves – por la conservación en el país de las aves

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ProAves El Jaguar Reserve marks 13 years and adds new biodiversity records in the Orinoquía

The ProAves El Jaguar Reserve, located in Mapiripán (Meta), marks 13 years of continuous work in the conservation of biodiversity in Colombia’s Orinoquía region. For more than a decade, this protected area has established itself as a stronghold for the protection of strategic ecosystems, safeguarding forests and savannas that serve as a refuge for numerous species of fauna and flora, many of them threatened or little studied.

Thanks to these sustained efforts, the Reserve continues to generate valuable biodiversity records that demonstrate the good conservation status of its ecosystems. One of the most recent is that of Thecadactylus rapicauda, known as the “turnip-tailed gecko,” a species that stands out both for its characteristics and its ecological importance.

? Record by Luis Gabriel Mosquera

This small lizard belongs to the gecko family (Phyllodactylidae). It is characterized as an arboreal and scaly species, with toe pads that facilitate climbing. Its diet is mainly based on invertebrates, although it occasionally consumes fruits, small mammals, and reptiles. 

Thecadactylus rapicauda is an oviparous species that inhabits tropical forests (both humid and dry) and savannas, with a wide distribution across the Americas; it is also one of the largest geckos on the continent.

Its common name comes from its most distinctive feature: a thick, cone-shaped tail that noticeably widens. This appendage is vital for its survival, as it can be detached to distract predators or vigorously waved as a warning signal. The record of Thecadactylus rapicauda in the ProAves El Jaguar Reserve not only expands knowledge about the species’ distribution, but also serves as an indicator of ecosystem health. Findings like this reaffirm the importance of strengthening conservation efforts in strategic territories, where each recorded species reflects the balance and natural richness that still persist.

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Annual Management Report: Results That Strengthen Biodiversity Conservation in Colombia

We are pleased to present our 2025 Annual Management Report, a document that highlights the key progress, achievements, and lessons learned over the past year as we work to protect Colombia’s biodiversity.

2025 was a year marked by the commitment, dedication, and hard work of our entire team: rangers, researchers, administrative and financial staff, legal team, project managers, protected area staff, human resources, communications, and volunteers. Thanks to this collective effort, we were able to build on a year of institutional strengthening, strategic growth, and concrete conservation results.

Among the most notable achievements is ProAves’ leadership in convening and organizing the meeting to develop the National Conservation Plan for the Blue-billed Curassow (Crax alberti), an initiative that brought together environmental authorities, the scientific community, strategic partners, and civil society organizations to advance the protection of one of the country’s most endangered species.


Internationally, we strengthened our presence in key conservation forums through our active participation as members of the Colombian Committee of the IUCN and our attendance at the World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, a forum that allowed us to highlight ProAves’ work, promote the exchange of experiences, and build partnerships for the future.

We also made progress in research and knowledge generation regarding priority species and strategic ecosystems, expanded key scientific information for conservation, and continued to promote scholarship programs and participation in national and international conferences, thereby strengthening our role as a technical and scientific leader in conservation.

At the regional level, we have consolidated efforts to protect and expand our Nature Reserves, strengthening ecological connectivity and ensuring our institutional presence in areas critical to the country’s biodiversity. We also continue to coordinate with regional environmental authorities to advance the designation of protected areas and the long-term protection of strategic ecosystems.

This report reflects the coordinated work of all areas of our organization and our ongoing commitment to protecting our birds, our forests, and Colombia’s natural wealth.



“On a personal level, this report holds special significance for me. After 18 years of continuous work at the Foundation, dedicated to the conservation of our country’s birds & ecosystems, and after having led the accounting and finance department for several years. Today I have the honor of presenting it as Executive Director.
This journey has been an experience of learning, commitment, and deep love for nature. I thank every person who has been part of this institutional history, whose work and trust have allowed ProAves to continue growing and establishing itself as a leader in conservation in Colombia.”
Kruzi Paloma Carrillo León,
Executive Director of ProAves




We invite you to learn about the results, progress, and challenges that defined this past year:

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Field Guides Investigación News Noticias El Dorado Noticias Reservas Proaves @en Revista Conservación Colombiana

The Flora of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Documented in a New Guide for the ProAves El Dorado Reserve

The ProAves El Dorado Reserve continues to strengthen its position as a leading site for biodiversity research and conservation in Colombia. Recently, the Plant Guide of the ProAves El Dorado Reserve was officially published on the Field Museum’s Field Guides platform, one of the most internationally recognized scientific institutions.

This guide is the result of a collaborative effort led by researchers and botanists¹ who, throughout the project, documented and systematized a significant portion of the plant diversity found in the Reserve. The ProAves El Dorado Natural Reserve is located in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, one of the most biodiverse and unique ecosystems on the planet.

The publication of this material represents a key contribution to the knowledge of the region’s flora, as it provides identification and reference tools for researchers, students, local guides, and visitors interested in understanding the botanical richness of the territory.

As a next step, the research team plans to submit a scientific article derived from this work to the journal Conservación Colombiana, which will further expand the dissemination of the results and reinforce the importance of research applied to conservation.

The guide is freely accessible through the Field Museum’s platform: https://science.fieldmuseum.org/fieldguides/guides/guide/1729, reaffirming ProAves’ commitment to generating and sharing scientific knowledge in support of the conservation of Colombia’s biodiversity.

Additionally, as part of this same research effort, the article “Orchids in the Caribbean: Characterization of the Orchidaceae Family in the ProAves El Dorado Reserve”, was published in the journal Conservación Colombiana. Authored by researcher Miguel Ángel Gómez Riaño, this study deepens the understanding of one of the most diverse and representative plant groups in the region, providing detailed information on its diversity and distribution.

Both the plant guide and this scientific article are the only publications of their kind available for San Lorenzo, a key sector of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. This highlights their scientific value and their relevance for conservation, research, and environmental education.

These products not only expand knowledge of the floristic diversity of the ProAves El Dorado Reserve, but also strengthen conservation management and planning by providing essential information for monitoring, decision-making, and the appreciation of the territory’s natural heritage.

At ProAves, we recognize and thank the commitment and dedication of the individuals who made these works possible. Their impact extends beyond the Reserve and contributes to a broader understanding and appreciation of the plant diversity of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta as a whole.

¹ Photo credits: The photographs included in the Plant Guide of the ProAves El Dorado Reserve were taken by Yeison Herrera Medina, Alyssa T. Kullberg, Camilo Palacios, Juan Camilo Osorio Ospina, Maria Paula Contreras, Riley P. Fortier, and Lina Aragón, as part of the collaboration agreement developed for this project.

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2024 Impact Report: A Year of Progress and Challenges in Biodiversity Protection

2024 marked significant achievements in our mission of conservation, environmental education, and research. Through collaborative efforts, we protected the most threatened wildlife, preserved their habitats, and promoted initiatives for biodiversity conservation.

This report provides a detailed overview of the conservation actions carried out in Colombia, including the designation of two ProAves Reserves as Regional Natural Parks, the protection of endangered ecosystems, the strengthening of our scientific projects, and our participation in COP16. Additionally, we highlight the positive impact on communities through our environmental education strategies.

All of this has been possible thanks to the integration of multiple processes in key areas such as conservation, research, environmental education, communication, sustainability, as well as in legal, financial, and administrative matters.

We invite you to explore the progress, challenges, and impact of our work:

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Annual Reports Informe Anual News Proaves @en

Impact Report 2023: A Year of Great Achievements for Conservation

We present our Impact Report 2023, in which we share the results of a year filled with challenges, opportunities, experiences, and significant learnings in our work to conserve 12% of the world’s birds and 67% of Colombia’s birds. This journey has been undertaken hand in hand with our park rangers, our team, the communities, partner institutions, and donors, all of whom have been integral to our efforts to preserve biodiversity.

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US Fish & Wildlife Service Spotlights ProAves Executive Director Sara Inés Lara for her Bird Conservation Leadership

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has highlighted our Executive Director, Sara Inés Lara, as one of the women making history in bird conservation in the Americas.

ProAves has participated in several projects supported by the USFWS’s Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA) Program. Our project “Protecting a crucial gateway to South America for neotropical migrants” has been one of the most successful and rewarding for us. With this project, we protect birds such as the Cerulean Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler, and Canada Warbler in our ProAves El Dorado Reserve.

ProAves is proud to be led and supported by many incredible women conservation leaders. We believe in the power of grassroots conservation initiatives to protect and care for the wildlife and flora of our planet. 

We thank the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for supporting our conservation projects, and for using their platform to celebrate women conservationists from Latin America!

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News Women for Conservation (Mujeres por la Conservación)

Sara Inés Lara recognized at L’Oréal-UNESCO’s For Women in Science festival

With the conviction that the world needs science and science needs women, the L’Oréal Foundation and UNESCO held the first edition of the #ForWomenInScience festival, where they invited 40 brilliant female researchers from different parts of the world, including our executive director, Sara Inés Lara. These innovators were part of last Tuesday’s virtual event, sharing their inspiring stories about how they are changing the world through their love for science, research and the environment.

Thanks to her hard work, resilience, and incredible passion, Sara has managed to bridge the gender gaps in the conservation sector and has become an example for future generations. Under her leadership, ProAves and Women for Conservation have empowered rural women in the buffer zones of the Foundation’s Nature Reserves to become guardians of conservation, and undertake the important challenge of protecting the environment and its species.

“The planet is being devastated, and the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems are in great danger of disappearing. Today, more than ever, nature needs women. Our ability to manage and protect natural resources is a solution that has yet to be discovered. This is why it is time for women to raise their voices and be heard,” says Sara.

Despite the immense obstacles and disparities that women face daily in the protection of nature, their strength and determination have increasingly made them the voice of hope for conservation.

We thank the L’Oréal Foundation and UNESCO for highlighting the admirable work of women in science, and working towards a more inclusive future.

  • The Fundación ProAves is committed to women in conservation, learn more about our project here.
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ProAves Appoints Sara Inés Lara as Executive Director

Medellín, Colombia – Fundación ProAves, a leader in the protection of threatened birds and biodiversity in Colombia, announced today that Sara Inés Lara has been appointed Executive Director.

In this role, Sara will build on ProAves’ two decades of conservation success and lead the next phase of the organization’s growth and conservation impact.

Sara Inés Lara is Colombian with indigenous ancestry and has almost two decades of conservation experience across Colombia and Latin America, working closely with local communities and conservation organizations to develop and manage conservation initiatives. In 2019, Sara was recognized as one of 100 Great Latin American women of the century and her biography was published by Billiken, giving recognition to her life story as a conservationist and her quest to protect endangered species and their habitats. Her story inspires and encourages us to save our planet.

Sara was actually the first Executive Director of ProAves from February 2003 to 2009 when she oversaw the transformation of ProAves from an amateur small group of bird conservationists to an effective professional conservation organization with over 60 full-time staff, producing lasting impacts to protect birds and their habitats across Colombia. She grew ProAves from four projects to manage and supervise over 150 projects through this period with over 70 donors and partners. Sara had originally stepped back into the role as temporary part-time Executive Director this past February in order to help reorganize and restructure the organization, but the Board unanimously acted to permanently appoint her to this role.

Sara graduated from the University of Cauca, Popayan as an engineer and worked in major infrastructure projects with Halliburton, such as the UK Channel Tunnel Rail Link. Sara then went on to manage Fundación ProAves in Colombia in 2003  before joining American Bird Conservancy in 2009 to become the Vice President of International Programs.

“Sara is a true conservation leader with decades of experience and a long commitment to ProAves’ mission to Save Birds and their Habitats in Colombia,” said ProAves Board Director and Founder, Pablo Florez. “And the Board is delighted that she has agreed to return after eleven distinguished years working with major international conservation organizations. Her leadership, enthusiasm and dedication have inspired real conservation action for Colombia.”

“With rapidly escalating threats to the birds and biodiversity of Colombia there is no more important time than now to scale up conservation actions,” said Sara Inés Lara, “So I’m proud to return to lead ProAves to once again advance our great mission to assist local and indigenous communities and protect our unique natural heritage. While these are challenging times, I intend to scale-up ProAves as a leading conservation entity in the America’s, run by and led by Colombians, for Colombians to protect our amazing natural treasures.”

Sara’s principal interests include preventing extinctions, working with local communities, migratory birds, women’s empowerment, and climate change.