Campaña de educación ambiental: Hogares libres de fauna silvestre en cautiverio, en la ciudad de Villavicencio, Meta

Abstract

According to Colombia's Biodiversity Information System (SIB, 2020), the country ranks first worldwide in birds and orchids, second in butterflies and amphibians, third in reptiles, and fourth in mammals, making it a megadiverse country. Nevertheless, Colombia ranks second among the countries with the highest illegal wildlife trafficking. This dynamic is reflected in the area under study, since the department of Meta was taken as a reference for the development of this practice, a place that due to its physiographic conditions such as the relationship it has with the Andean systems, its formation of the Amazonian- Orinocense complex and the Macarena mountain range, is one of the departments with the greatest biodiversity in the national territory. Villavicencio, the department's capital, is also an area of high affluence for illegal trade and the clandestine sale of wildlife, especially birds such as macaws, mammals such as monkeys, and reptiles such as morrocoy turtles. The environmental authority in the department is CORMACARENA, which is currently in charge of leading environmental education strategies and campaigns to voluntarily hand over wildlife, as well as rescue operations. This is under the coordination of the "Biotics group”, which is in charge of administering and managing the natural resources corresponding to the flora and wildlife components, carrying out monitoring and control through operating licenses for zoos, scientific research permits, safe-conducts for the movement of biodiversity products, prevention of illegal trafficking of wild flora and fauna species, among others.