The Black Oak (Trigonobalanus excelsa) is a species that is on the IUCN red list, in danger of extinction (EN). Its forests are highly fragmented by deforestation and one of its last remnants is in the Alto Rio Fonce micro-region south of Santander, Colombia. We, the peasant communities of the area, have decided to protect these forests through voluntary conservation agreements, Participatory Community Monitoring (MCP) and environmental education for rural and urban children and youth.
Forests of a ENDANGERED SPECIES The Trigonobalanus excelsa is an endemic tree of Colombia, which forms forests dominated by the species. The remnants in Colombia are isolated hundreds of kilometers in different places in the Andes Mountains, where the species has declined due to different pressures and possible reproductive limitations of the species. Changes in tree cover are accompanied by a strong fragmentation process.
We have 5 permanent monitoring plots, 2 of Black Oak and 3 of White Oak (Quercus humboldtii) and 2 meteorological stations, thus we cover an oak corridor between 1800 and 3300 meters above sea level. We farmers adopt science and technology to learn from our forests and contribute to their protection. Our foundation with respect to education and communication is to generate and transmit Information that serves people and communities to build the image of the world they inhabit through workshops
We are in the area with the greatest biodiversity in Santander, Colombia and these forests allow the connectivity of the species of the Andean, high Andean and moorland forest ecosystems between 1250 and 3900 meters above sea level. Our work allows peasant families to have a quality of life while guaranteeing the conservation of ecosystems
