Newsletter "El llamalluvia" I-2023

Llamalluvia El 2023

Who are we?

Proyecto Mono Tocón (PMT) is a non-pro t peruvian NGO, registred as a development NGO with the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation (APCI). It was created in 2009 by the French association Le Conservatoire pour la Protection des Primates, that supports a number of conservation projects from primates all over the world.

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

STEERING COMMITTEE

About us

TECHNICAL ADVICE DIRECTOR

CONSERVATION MANAGER

ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNICATION

ADMINISTRATION RESEARCH

Jan Vermeer has been working since 2005 for the conservation of nature in Peru and founder of Proyecto Mono Tocón. He is the zoological director of the Sainte-Croix animal park in France and chair of the EAZA Larger New World Monkey Taxon Advisory Group.

Jan Vermeer specializes in the taxonomy of titi monkeys, as well in the distribution and systematics of other (Peruvian) primates.

Jan Vermeer DIRECTOR

Change of office

At the end of 2022 we found a new (and cheaper) location for the office and volunteer house. In January we moved with all our stuff to the new place where we have a renewable contract for three years. Our new address is: Jr. Independencia 421 (second floor), Moyobamba.

Restoration of the titi monkey habitat.

The work for this project continued this year with several activities.

During the first three months of the year we planted in the demonstration plots another 200 small trees to the 700 that we had already planted here before. Out team continued to monitor the plantations, to check of no disease would endanger the plants and to evaluate the effects of different restoration conditions

on the development of the plants. The monitoring of the planted trees makes it possible to adapt our restoration work if we find out that certain tree species are not doing well and need a different treatment than others. If we learn now more about the best restoration methods in the soil and climatic conditions that we work in, we can make our future restoration work more successful.

In the forest we monitor each month the phenology of the trees that could be useful for titi monkeys, and therefore for restoration activities. We have identified

hundreds of trees in the home ranges of the titi monkeys, and are still labelling others. With binoculars we register the presence of flowers, fruits and development of leaves. With this information we may become more successful in collecting at the right moment seeds. A good quantity of seeds from 10 trees species were collected in the past few months and were placed in the germination beds.

We have carried out the maintenance work on the different beds where seeds are germinated and the saplings are being planted, until they have the size that they can be used for reforestation.

RESEARCH

Before initiating corrective measures to protect a species and its habitat, we must know basic aspects about its biology, biogeographical or ecological aspects and clearly determine the true threat status of the species.

Ravines of the city of Moyobamba

Although the protection of large forest areas is vital for the survival of the San Martin titi monkey, the protection of the species in the forested ravines (barrancos) within the city of Moyobamba is also important. People familiar with the monkeys, because they live in the barrancos near their house, will be more motivated to support the protection of the species around Moyobamba. Furthermore, the barrancos serve as the green lungs of the city, and the (critically endangered and endemic) titi monkey can serve as a flagship for the conservation of the vegetation in the barrancos.

To learn more about the presence of titi monkeys in the barrancos, our bachelor student Victor Bardález studied the relation between the vegetation cover in the barrancos and the presence of titi monkeys, and recently defended successfully his thesis.

Fungi inventory

at Morro de Calzada

As part of our commitment to strengthen the management of the Morro de Calzada Ecosystem Conservation and Recovery Zone (ZoCRE), we carried out a study of the macrofungi community assembly. Our study showed that most macrofungi belong to the groups of the basidiomycetes and ascomycetes. Fungi fulfil vital functions for the sustainability of ecosystems, participate in nutrient recycling and the succession of forest ecosystems, and are also there important. Unfortunately they have been studied very little in the San Martin Region.

With these types of studies we hope to contribute to the knowledge of the biodiversity in the "Morro de Calzada", making comparisons with areas of the same habitat type and altitude possible. With the development of a quick identification guide of macrofungal species we can also interest tourists in this important part of the ecosystem.

We create awareness of the importance of nature conservation in and around protected areas, through environmental education projects integrating the local population.

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Tales to conserve

Inspired by the Kamishibai technique, which is an ancient Japanese technique for telling stories, we try to bring on a different way the importance of nature conservation under the attention of the public. Kamishibai consists of a transportable theatre in which some sheets are passed manually that serve as support for the story told.

Four stories with biodiversity themes and the importance of the barrancos in the city were created. The illustrated sheets that function

as support for the narration of the stories are being prepared ad will be used when we show our performance at different points in the city, either as part of the Fair I love my Ravines or during other events.

Useful vacation

Summerholiday school “Know the monkeys”

In the towns of Calzada and Moyobamba Proyecto Mono Tocón organized during the school holidays 15 workshops. The participating children learned about the diversity of monkeys in Peru, their threats and importance in ecosystems. The heard

what positive attitudes support care and respect for nature. During the workshops the children participated in different activities, such as making a puppet show, making handicrafts with recycled objects, the preparation of a herbarium, the preparation of compost, a visit the tree nursery. In the forest they learned how to collect behavioural data from a group of titi monkeys.

Useful holidays "Public speaking"

As part of the agreement with the municipality of Calzada, we lead this initiative intending to teach children how to prepare presentations oriented to the theme of biodiversity. During workshops the children prepared their texts and recorded their narrations. As a product four

radio spots were broadcasted on the radio, local television and other mass media of the Municipality of Calzada.

The parents of the participating children and many other listeners were very happy to hear the creations and voices of their children on the local radio.

Listen here!

YO mis barrancos

Environmental Festival: I love my ravines

With the aim of promoting knowledge of the biodiversity of the ravines and generating appreciation for these urban natural spaces, a festival with lots of entertainment and fun space was initiated to capture the attention of the local population for the biodiversity present in the Moyobamba ravines.

The inhabitants of Moyobamba were invited to participate in the event that was coordinated with the Municipality of Moyobamba and a neighbourhood organization. The festival was designed to create interaction through different recreational activities for children, and to share a coherent message about the importance of the vegetation in the barrancos for the health of people. The festivals were held in two places in the city (Punta Doñe and Tahuishco) reaching more than 100 people, including adults and

Knowing and Valuing the San Martin Titi Monkey

This project, for which we teach at schools about the San Martin titi monkey, already exists some time. This year we have adjusted the workshops focusing on children from 8 to 11 years of age, who attend the primary level in educational centres. At the same time, we have designed workshops aimed at adolescents from 14 to 16 years of age who are in secondary school, with the aim of raising awareness among the participants about the importance of conserving regional biodiversity focused on the San Martín titi monkey.

We have made progress with the coordination of the UGEL (Local Educational Management Unit of the Municipality), as it is important that these courses are officially recognized. The goal for this year is to execute the programme at 14 locations.

Discovering nature

In coordination with the NGO Compassion International, we will execute four workshops at 12 different locations in the Alto Mayo. As with most of our other educational activities, the workshops intend to increase at each locality the local knowledge of the forest by providing a learning experience in contact with nature. We hope to generate more appreciation for the forests around their locality and create awareness of the importance of caring for this environment.

Volunteer program

Professional volunteering

Tania Vasquez, a microbiologist from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (Lima) and master student from the Universidad Austral de Chile joins the team for three months.

PMT has a national and international volunteer network that strengthens our projects. In this way, we have the support of young people from different localities and countries involved in the conservation of Peruvian biodiversity.

Pre Professional practices

For many years we receive each year volunteers from the Casa MundoWelthaus Bielefeld, a German developmental organization that gives volunteers the opportunity to work everywhere on the world together with local associations for global social justice and sustainable development. During the regional San Martín meeting of the

partnership, Casa Mundo-Welthaus Bielefeld organized for tutors a training workshop on interculturality and mental health.

Jeison Coronado Copia, student of the Environmental Engineering studies at the National University of San Martín.

We were invited by the Management Committee of the Alto Mayo Protection Forest (an important conservation area, with titi monkeys living in its low-altitude parts) to participate in the meeting where

they presented the activities of 2022 and the plans for this year.

The Fernando Belaunde Terry highway was constructed in the 1970s through the Alto Mayo Valley. It made travel in the region much easier, but also opened up the titi monkey habitat for settlers from other parts of Peru, resulting in extremely high deforestation rates. A new governmental project, the “Great Green Crusade for the Alto Mayo”, intends to plant 10.000 trees along the highway. The team of Proyecto Mono Tocón participated in the reforestation of the Moyobamba sector.

Students of the Faculty of Ecology of the National University of San Martín from the Technology Applied to Soil course visited our restoration demonstration plot, where they received lessons related to their professional development and learned

about our conservation actions. We participated to several meetings for the creation of the Local Environmental Management System (Municipality of Moyobamba), which will work on different environmental issues.

Social media

Proyecto Mono Tocón has expanded its presence on Social Media with a Linkedin account, on which 43 publications were published the last few months.

Proyecto Mono Tocón was also invited to talk about the EDUCCA Program of the Municipality of Moyobamba (a program to develop activities on education, culture and environmental citizenship).

Proyecto Mono Tocón

WE THANK THE ZOOS THAT SUPPORT OUR PROJECTS!

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