Ensuring the Harlequin toads conservation (Atelopus) through community-based conservation actions in Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SNSM) Key Biodiversity Area, Colombia.

Our project provides a unique case where we will use the most threatened group of amphibians in the world to unite visions and solutions promoted by farmers and indigenous people in the SNSM, promoting a better administration of the territory and a better relationship with local environmental authorities. Therefore, we hope to jointly establish an action plan for the conservation of Atelopus in the SNSM, generating sustainable economic alternatives for conservation that promote the protection of biodiversity through effective actions designed and implemented subsequently with local communities and articulated in conjunction with the national amphibian conservation plan.

The conservation of endemic amphibians through the help of the communities is of utmost importance to preserve these populations and allows us to implement participatory monitoring with focus groups, collective creations of environmental awareness and community empowerment; These are important social strategies that complement a solid, innovative and successful conservation strategy.