An Overview Of Our Solution
This project was born from the initiative of Mr. Arthur Francis Cruz Ochoa, human rights defender (Deputy Ministerial Resolution No. 004-2022-JUS/VMDHAJ), head of the Centro Arenal native community and the members of this community, with the support of La Actuar Structural Litigation Legal Clinic and member of the San Marcos Environmental Volunteer Service. The project seeks to promote the conservation of wildlife in the native communities on the banks of the Amazon River in the Punchana district, through awareness talks, training in the management of technological instruments to denounce the crime of illegal wildlife trafficking, creation mechanisms and pilot prevention plans, as well as a regional and national campaign focused on raising awareness about this problem using conventional media and social networks.
- Population Impacted: 600
- Continent: South America
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Context Analysis
Peru is a country full of culture and diversity; - reason for which it has managed to be considered among the "megadiverse countries in the world" (CEPAL, 2023, para. 1); And it is for this reason that our country has become a clear victim of trafficking in wild animals. In this sense, according to SERFOR (2017), that "between 2009 and 2012, approximately 13,033 live animals have been seized, and only in 2014, close to 4,000 specimens" (p.30).
Likewise, unfortunately, with the course of each year, animal trafficking continues to intensify, due to the great demand for exotic animals from our Amazon, made up of collectors, zoos, the biomedical industry that involves experiments with them to produce medicines, those that they want to obtain them in order to turn them into pets, among others.
In addition to this, when we observe the traffic by group of species between the years 2000 - 2016, it is possible to appreciate that there is a greater preference for birds with 56% as opposed to other species, these being: 3% in amphibians, 13 % in reptiles and 28% mammals (SERFOR, 2018).
These statistics are not unrelated to the native communities that live on the banks of the Amazon River, since given the proximity to the city of Iquitos and the existence of land access by road, many people access our communal reserve areas and extract our fauna. , without any authorization, this situation puts the conservation of our wildlife at risk, because despite living in the community we no longer observe wildlife specimens, another pillar to analyze this problem is the house that the members of our communities build to consume the meat from these animals, which also goes against conservation. For this reason, it is necessary to carry out a training program so that our communities change some habits and we can recover the wealth of our forests.
Describe the technical solution you wanted the target audience to adopt
The Program for awareness and prevention of wildlife trade in native communities, arises from the initiative of civil society and proposes to carry out activities to change the perspective of people regarding the consumption and trade of wildlife, this project is divided into three activities that will be carried out simultaneously and which we detail:
- Training talks and interactive workshops with members of the six communities and the general public: it will include awareness talks and training in the use of technological instruments.
- Communication campaign: disseminate scientific and legal information to sensitize the population.
Complementary activities: 3.1 Volunteering of defenders of wildlife, 3.2 Preparation of a pilot plan for the identification and denunciation of environmental crimes in native communities.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N9QbtrKs9Mqrdw4qLZx1ESAdANwY0Mo8/view?usp=share_link
Describe your behavioral intervention.
First, it should be mentioned that the native communities are the ones in charge of optimally preserving wildlife within the ecosystem they share. First, it should be mentioned that the native communities are the ones in charge of optimally preserving wildlife within the ecosystem they share.
After an in-depth analysis of the problem, we have been able to realize that said objective constitutes a behavioral challenge; For this reason, solutions are needed that may be able to influence and change that habitual behavior that is harmful to the environment.
In this sense, with the training that is intended to be provided, the target audience will become able to realize that there are mechanisms to which they can turn, such as creating an anonymous reporting system to make complaints about infractions, as well as that Environmental authorities have the obligation to effectively comply with their functions in order to reach a resolution of actions.
Likewise, thanks to the knowledge acquired in the training, the communities will be able to realize that the access and management of their resources can be done by themselves, guaranteeing, in addition, the achievement of the following purposes:
- Preservation of its natural resources by confronting the illegal trafficking of wildlife.
- Reinforcement of their worldview and respect for biodiversity.
Behavioral Levers Utilized
Describe your implementation
- It is considered as a solution to the activities of the identified problems:
- Continuous wildlife trafficking.
- Lack of educational training on environmental issues in Loreto
- There is a need to systematize complaints about wildlife trafficking
Activities as a solution:
- Planning training and/or workshops with an emphasis on wildlife protection.
- Elaboration of flayers, banners, photographs, videos, journalistic notes, report of activities.
- Dissemination of the material produced through Facebook, Tiktok, YouTube, Web Pages, local and national radio stations.
- The Centro Arenal Native Community and the other communities around it have allowed this project to be carried out in order to contribute to the proper management of their resources that they have in their territory, the method is flexible.
- Not knowing the target audience on flora and fauna issues does not mean a problem for the project, but rather; which is an alternative and opportunity for our proposed solution to be developed and run efficiently. With the greatest interest, we propose to train communities in issues of wildlife protection, articulating with public and private organizations, putting into practice tools that allow the target audience a change in behavior and the option of using it in the improvement of their community.
- We believe that the key factor is found in the training, each presentation is oriented to strengthen capacities and concepts in a very friendly way and to acquire new knowledge in an intercultural and gender approach.
At first the community members showed disinterest in the training, the adverse weather conditions in the region are also a point against it that was identified in the project, the rainy season is evident in the area and the access road to the community is impassable Native to the Arenal center, she is motivated by prizes and we are transported to the waterway.
Describe the leadership for your solution. Who is leading the implementation?
The implementation of this project is led by Francis Cruz Ochoa, who directly assumes the coordination of this project with the communities. Likewise, our team involves young people between the ages of 18 and 29 with an interest in raising awareness and preventing the wildlife trade in native communities.
It is important to highlight that our team is made up of a diverse set of people and perspectives, since we are professionals and students from different universities and specialties in Peru, who share similar interests linked to the need to prevent the trade of wildlife in the native communities. Share some of the key partners or stakeholders involved in developing and implementing your solution. Likewise, we have the collaboration of allied organizations, such as ACTUAR - Legal Clinic of Structural Litigation of the UNMSM and VAS of UNMSM.
Share some of the key partners or stakeholders engaged in your solution development and implementation.
This project manages to establish cooperative relations with the Actuar Structural Litigation Legal Clinic of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos and Environmental Volunteering of San Marcos because its members will participate actively during the development of the project through the writing of notes. legal and environmental information. In addition, the academic talks that will be offered are organized by the technical team of each entity mentioned above, in addition to the participation of the educational institutions of the native communities of Centro Arenal, San Antonio de Picuro Yacu, Picuro Yacu, Barrio Florido, in the formation of volunteers who will receive advice and accompany the advertising campaign. We will also count on the support of specialists from SERFOR and the PNP Iquitos police station, as speakers in the talks and allies in the development of legal defense pilots against environmental crimes.
Who adopted the desired behavior(s) and to what degree? Include an explanation of how you measured a change in behavior.
The objective of the project is that the communities and the population in general through talks and training so that they identify wildlife trafficking and know how to respond by making their complaints anonymously through the application and are trained to know how to respond before this type of situation. . This in order to continue control actions for the protection and conservation of wildlife. Therefore, the population that will change their behavior will be the members of the communities, mainly young people.
Before starting the talks we will carry out a survey to find out how much they know about the wildlife of their region, about trafficking crimes and consumption of fauna, after the awareness talks, and other activities we will carry out a survey to find out what is the change in the behavior that the participants have had, in the measurement the variables of knowledge, notoriety, attitudes, other
How did you impact the environment (biodiversity conservation, ecosystems, etc.)? Please be specific and include measurement methodology where relevant.
A positive impact on the environment is expected; The central axis of the training cycle is to provide the necessary knowledge to the population of Maynas, Loreto, for the recognition of wildlife, as well as to act against events such as illegal wildlife trafficking; With this we expect an increase in the registration of complaints against this crime, as well as a decrease in the registration of contraband species, statistics that we will obtain based on the annual bulletins managed by GERFOR, as well as the corresponding FEMAs. In the Amazon, the rivers play a fundamental role since they house many fish, reptiles and mammals, therefore it is necessary to take care of the water, the starting point is to see the level of contamination that the Amazon river and the streams have, for this we will use tests and alkalinity, with this information we can denounce those responsible and alert the authorities about the risk of fauna.
How has your solution impacted equity challenges (including race, ethnicity, social class/income, indigenous communities, or others)?
With this innovative proposal, we seek to raise awareness in the community to stop carrying out these practices, thus contributing to reducing zoonotic infectious diseases, likewise, with awareness, the members of the native communities will take leadership in the fight for the conservation of wildlife, for which the native communities must be articulated as protagonists, since they have a fundamental relationship with nature, they know their environment and can efficiently support the prevention of wildlife trafficking, making use of of the technology and conventional instruments that the corresponding institutions have enabled. One of the most important consequences of the activities of this project is that wild animals increase their quantity, and other collateral programs can be promoted, such as tourism based on observatories for birds and reptiles and mammals.
What were some sustainable development co-benefits?
The sustainability of our project will not only allow us to continue training native communities, reaching the youngest to learn and be prepared to respond to wildlife trafficking in their communities, but also to raise awareness among the general population through social networks for taking action and conservation of wild species. In addition, this would mark a precedent so that these good practices can be continued.
Sustainability: Describe the economic sustainability of your solution.
The sustainability of our project will not only allow us to continue training the native communities, reaching the youngest to learn and be prepared to respond to wildlife trafficking in their communities, but also to raise awareness among the general population through the social networks for taking action and conservation of wild species. In addition, this would set a precedent so that these good practices can be continued in the community and promote more sustainable alternatives on the use of resources.
Return on investment: How much did it cost to implement these activities? How do your results above compare to this investment?
The first stage of the project had an approximate investment of 1,000.00 soles, which will not have a recovery of the investment at the disposal of the participants, the resources obtained will be optimized and distributed exclusively for the execution and implementation of the proposed activities.
This project is focused on changing people's behavior and therefore does not have a lucrative affinity, but rather training. The results of this project will be the increase in reports, complaints and sentences of the crime of wildlife trafficking in the Amazon. .
How could we successfully replicate this solution in Latin America?
This project has extremely beneficial effects not only for Peru, but also for Latin America. Given that there is a close link between the indigenous communities, their territories and their natural resources, this project becomes an important advance for Peru; and, above all, for the Latin American region, as it allows combating a problem as serious as wildlife trafficking. this project for having the vision of strengthening leadership in the members of the native communities and students, with the support of academic organizations and citizen participation such as legal clinics, environmental volunteers to organize training activities. It can be copied by all native communities in Latin America, peasant communities, Afro-descendant communities and government agencies such as municipalities. non-governmental organizations.
Peruvian Regions Applicable
Describe how the technical solution addresses wildlife trafficking in the Peruvian Amazon.
The associations involved have extensive experience in free education campaigns, such as specialized workshops on environmental law, law of native communities. Likewise, the volunteers of San Marcos have vast experience in environmental projects, having recognition in the area of Lima; therefore, we have the logistics to apply the workshop methodology in educational campaigns focused on prevention. The participating associations anticipate the quality in the delivery of manuals, bulletins, brochures, comics, and other didactic-educational material. The education service is guaranteed since among the people who will give the talks we have volunteers who have taken public speaking courses, are teaching assistants or provide private classes in various areas.
Describe the sustainability and scalability of your technical solution
This project is sustainable over time since it is focused on educating the members of the native communities and promoting their leadership. The instruments obtained to develop this project represent an investment in technology that can be used in other similar programs. Addressing other issues, therefore, our initiative seeks to promote the education and participation of the communities in an autonomous way, which will represent progress.
If applicable, explain the level of progress of the solution
The innovative solution has already completed the design stage, it is currently in the stage of seeking financing to execute it, in addition the team has previous experiences developing activities similar to those proposed in the project.
What are the additional sources of funding for the solution?
This project does not have additional sources of financing at the moment. however, their design will allow us to access the collaboration of institutions, which will reduce the cost of implementation. For example, for the first stage of the project, which consists of preparing it, the means used belonged to the members of the team, the expenses consist mainly of the use of internet data, electricity, time for preparation and unpaid research, For the execution stage we will have the financing of the resources that the native community Centro A Renal has, who will make available the camera, the drone, the computer, the motorbike van to transport personnel from the city of Iquitos to the communities. and the place to give the talks the communal maloca. likewise we will use the premises of educational institutions prior agreement. With this we seek the sustainability of the project.
Cost of Innovative Solution
Our project will initially need a total budget of S/ 75,421.00 soles ($20,000), this includes the fixed costs of the activities that amount to 6,127.00 which include the purchase of equipment, uniforms, certificates, stationery, USB flash drives, poles for volunteers , microphones and more and variable costs amounting to 69,294.00 which include: transportation, food, electricity, lodging, fuel. We have detailed the costs of the project according to each activity, so that you can observe the detail of this we will attach a link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1F-swBAQXg0LS7pb-jJ_bjMgj_nco-NQt/edit?usp=share_link&ouid =101996299667579654550&rtpof=true&sd=true