Making It Real
We reported in March that after eight years of FSC leadership and on-the-ground work, 40,000 acres of Andean land in critical Amazonian headwaters along the South American Continental Divide came under permanent protection--at least in theory. Now Randy and the FSC staff are in the thick of creating the regulations, management plans, and tax infrastructure needed to turn the legislation and documents that created The Provincial Area for Conservation and Sustainable Use in the Eastern Mountain Range of Carchi into a working system that will guarantee that this land maintains its biodiversity and provides essential ecological services for centuries to come.
FSC Leads the Way - Again!
Later this year, Randy will join colleagues to lead a workshop on developing long-term conservation strategies for Colombia's Rio Mira watershed. The workshop will bring together local and provincial governments, local communities, and NGOs to begin planning for the protection of this critically important river system, which descends from the Andes Mountains to the lowland forests of Colombia's Pacific Coast, close to the Ecuadorian border. Known throughout South America (and beyond) as an expert in building broad-scale land protection and conservation structures, Randy's leadership will be a critical factor in the success of this work.
Climate Change Hits Home
Home in this case is the Cofan village of Zábalo, which Randy and his Cofan friends and family members founded in the early 1980s when oil companies and nonindigenous settlers despoiled the area where they had previously lived. Zábalo sits along the banks of the Aguarico River, which provides not only water for drinking, cooking, and bathing, but the turtle eggs and fish that are important parts of the Cofan diet. The community's homes are designed to withstand the normal seasonal floods with no problems. This year, however, the floods reached record highs and, instead of lasting a few days, lasted well over a month. Many in the village had to use boats to get to and from their houses. And so it happens that even those living in the lands we are counting on to keep us from the worst of global warming are now experiencing its effects.