Annual Report 2013

©Proyecto Mono Tocón First published 2014 Jr. Reyes Guerra, 422 Moyobamba, Perú

Text by Jan Vermeer Design and composition by Jan Vermeer and Antonio Bóveda Photography by Proyecto Mono Tocón

he year 2013 has again been a year with much expansion of the activities of Proyecto Mono Tocón.

Despite all efforts by local communities, authorities and non-governmental organisations, the situa- T tion of the San Martin titi monkey (Callicebus oenanthe) is critical. There is an ever increasing human pressure on its habitat and little of its forest remains. We are supporting several local communities with the conservation of their forest, home of the San Martin titi monkey. But the question that keeps us occupied is if this is enough to safe the species from extinction. Without more political involvement, it will be very difficult to create safe havens for viable populations of titi monkeys. The Regional Government of San Martin will have to review their intentions for the territory and decide if it would not be better to change the designation of many thousands of hectares of production forest into in conservation areas.

Our conservation work concentrates on the Central Huallaga area, as this is the region where we still can find the titi monkey’s habitat and maybe even more important, local communities that want to protect their forest.

To better understand the needs of the titi monkeys, we have started in 2013 several long term research pro- grammes, focussing on titi monkey densities in different types of forest and on (feeding) behaviour. These studies will be continued in 2014 for comparisons.

Although the conservation of the San Martin titi monkey remains our principal goal, we conducted additional studies on the other primates of the San Martin Region, including the critically endangered yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda), and the San martin mountain uakaris (Cacajao calvus ssp.). We even made an expedition to central Peru, to study the taxonomy and distribution of titi monkeys and other primate species that live in that region. The results are important to understand the evolution of all primate species in Peru and will help other organisations with the conservation of primates.

Local interest for forest conservation is increasing. Communities hear about the work Proyecto Mono Tocón is

doing with their neighbours, and come to us to ask for support. We were pleased to see how many zoos and other organisations have joined in 2013 Proyecto Mono Tocón in our struggle to protect the wildlife of Peru. Their mor- al and financial help is indispensable if we want to continue to support local communities and the (regional) government with the conservation of San Martin’s nature.

In this report we summarise our activities of 2013. Please do not hesitate to contact us for additional information.

Thank you all for your continuing support.

Jan Vermeer, Project Director

Vicky Pérez Tello, President

Local team in 2012 (left to right) Julio C. Tello Alvarado Victoria Pérez Tello Eder Murrieta Villabos Margarita Del Aguila Mejía Administration Alexander Amasifuén Pérez

Mercy Del Aguila Pinedo

Administration

NGO-D ment is that we now have “fast” internet, which safes us much time. For our different projects, especially for the behavioural studies, we need the Since September 2010 the Proyecto Mono Tocón is registered as a help of students and volunteers. They work for free, but those that do NGO-D(evelopment) in the registers of the Peruvian Agency for not live nearby need lodging. Therefore we rented a spacious house International Cooperation (APCI). In February we held the annual with several rooms. Some of the foreign volunteers pay for the room. meeting of the board, with four of the five board members being present. All employees of Proyecto Mono Tocón that are not part of the board Personnel were also invited. During the meeting we reviewed the preceeding year Victoria Pérez Tello is heading the Conservation department. She is also and approval de plans for 2013. the President of the NGO. Julio C. Tello Alvarado continued coordinating Financial administration our Research department and is the treasurer of the NGO. Alexander Amasifuén Pérez is leading our Education department. Mercy Del Agui- Our new external accountant continues to help us with the improvement la Pinedo works with Victoria and Alexander on the Education and Con- of our financial administration. The full financial reports are available to servation departments, and is responsible for tasks as communication, organisations that financially support Proyecto Mono Tocón. sustainable development and volunteers. Eder Murrieta Villalobos joined Research permits Julio on the Research department and is responsible for the ICAM project. In 2012 we received a research permit for a period of five years, there- Although we have organized the association in three departments, all fore no time had to be invested in making a new application, as had to team members collaborate in the execution of our projects, each of them be done in the preceding years. . often including education, research and the initiation of conservation In August we also received the new permit to study primates in the measures. Bosque de Protección Alto Mayo, a project tin collaboration with Conser- As mentioned before, Proyecto Mono Tocón has a large group of stu- vation International Peru. dents and volunteers that help our team with their activities. Office and House The project is coordinated by Antonio J. Bóveda Penalba, since the be- Due to the large number of volunteers and students the office is on ginning involved in the project. To make his work for the Proyecto Mono some days, when few are in the field, almost too small. A good improve- Tocón possible, he founded the Spanish NGO Sugkamat. His work is

Volunteers

Through the years, the numbers of requests of people who wanted to volunteer for the project has increased. This year we implemented a volunteer programme for Peruvian and foreign volunteers. Foreign volunteers that stay shorter than three months will have to pay a fee, which is used to pay the rent of the house. We always try to have a mix of paying and free volunteers, to have minimal rental costs. Volunteers are not just a help to our team, but some of them have special skills and experiences that increase the professional development of our team members and other volunteers.

Organisational chart for 2013 partly remunerated, but much additional voluntary time is invested in the project. Further help with the coordination comes from Noelia Venegas Martin, also member of NGO Sugkamat.

Audrey Gaultier, employed by Le Conservatoire pour la Protection des Primates, assists us in preparing funding applications.

Jan Vermeer, Director of the Proyecto Mono Tocón and President of Le

Conservatoire pour la Protection des Primates, coordinates the project on a voluntary basis and has the final responsibility.

Conservation areas

Conservation Areas Alto Mayo region

1.247 hectares and includes primary and secondary humid rainforest. The management is in hands of the local authorities, and Proyecto Mono Tocón supports as a member of the working group, the management of the area.

View of Morro de Calzada Morro de Calzada Since 2009 the Morro de Calzada has been the focus of our conservation initiatives. Forest is rapidly disappearing in the Alto Mayo Valley and conservation is very difficult due to the high number of people living in the area. Earlier surveys showed that there are many San Martin titi monkeys living in the forest on the Morro de Calzada, and its protection is very important for their survival. The site is also popular with tourists, as it offers a great viewpoint over the Alto Mayo Valley. Since Mai 2012 Morro de Calzada is officially registered as a “Zona de Pro- tección y Conservación Ecológica (ZOCRE)”. The total protected area is

Conservation Areas Bajo Mayo region

In the lower Mayo region we work with two communities that want to Conservation Concession Pailayco – Villaneuva protect relics of the rare dry forest that once was more common in Peru but that has almost disappeared. The dry forest habitat is home many With the members of the local conservation association that is managing uncommon animal species (especially birds, plants and amphibians) CC Ojos de Agua we discussed the need to expand our conservation and San Martin titi monkeys (Callicebus oenanthe). Titi monkey are work to the neighbouring communities, to increase the protected area elsewhere mostly encountered in humid forest and it is interesting that and to decrease the human pressure on Ojos de Agua. Thanks to the they can also survive in this habitat where many trees are deciduous. association we came into contact with the “Asociación de Conservación Ecológica Comunal los Bosques de Pailayco” in the small town of Villa- Conservation Concession Ojos de Agua – El Bosque del neuva. They were in the process of creating a conservation area of Futuro some 800 hectares, connected to Ojos de Agua, but needed technical and financial support from Proyecto Mono Tocón. This Conservation Concession was created in 2010 and covers 2,400 Our team organised several workshops to train the members of the as- hectares. In 2013 our activities for Ojos de Agua involved a density sociation in all matters concerning nature conservation and the manage- study and environmental education, including the work with the youth’s ment of a conservation concession. nature club. This club, with the name “Jóvenes Pucacaquinos Em- prendedores para Conservar el Ambiente”(JOPECA) will come together There were some boundary conflicts, but these have all been resolved. twice a month, and will organise several activities connected to nature Meanwhile the application for the Conservation Concession has been conservation. presented to the regional authorities and we are waiting for the final approval. Once that has been done, we can start on the management plan

for the area.

Conservation Areas Bajo Mayo region

Conservation Areas Central Huallaga region

meetings were executed to collect the information for the management plans. With the members of the local association we defined the activities that have to be developed in the next five years.

To increase support for the conservation of the area we continued with our educational programme and started with a sustainable development project. After discussions with the local community, local authorities and travel agents, it was decided to focus on ecotourism and the manu- facturing of handicrafts. Proyecto Mono Tocón helps the communities with the promotion of the sites, and the people are trained to receive tourists. Itineraries have been determined, leading to waterfalls or other interesting sites. The tourists will also learn about the daily life in the villages and the production of cacao. Handicrafts are being produced to sell to visiting tourists. At the same moment Proyecto Mono Tocón nego- tiates the selling of these handicrafts in souvenir shops in nearby towns.

The work in the area was not always easy. Although the community had Conservation Concessions Shitariyacu and Tres Que- requested our help for the creation of the conservation concessions, the bradas participation to the workshops was not always good, especially in the beginning of the year. After a good discussion on this subject, participa- In 2012 we assisted the communities of Ricardo Palma and Bagazán tion improved much. Another problem that we encountered was a con- with the creation of the two connected Conservation Concessions flict on the boundaries of one of the CCs. The land of the CCs is officially Shitariyacu and Las Tres Quebradas. These areas, almost completely owned by the government, but each communities claims ownership of covered with primary forest, are together approximately 6.000 hectares. certain areas. As this ownership is not official, boundaries are not de- The areas was approved at the end of that year and in 2013 we contin- fined on official papers, and rely on the assumptions of local habitants. ued our support. While discussing with the neighbouring community of El Eden the crea- Now that the Conservation Concessions (CCs) have been approved we tion of a conservation concession, we found out that the area that they need to compile the management plans. All the necessary surveys and wanted to protect was already within CC Shitariyacu, as the villagers of

Conservation Areas Central Huallaga region

Ricardo Palma believed that the area “belonged” to them. After several meetings we managed to get an agreement on the management of the area, but it shows how careful we need to be when creating a new conservation concession.

No olvidar fotos de artesenia y talleres

Conservation Areas Central Huallaga region

Nuevo Chimbote vest our time and money in a project with Alto el Sol.

The community of Nuevo Chimbote approached us in 2012 with the request to help them with the protection of the forest. Although they claimed that they had 80.000 hectares, we quickly found out that most of is was designated in the zoning of San Martin (Zonificación Ecológica y

Económica, ZEE) as forestry concessions which cannot be changed in conservation area. Potentially only 2240 hectares could be changed into a protected area, and we quickly found out that half of that area was claimed by the neighbouring community, Marisol. The situation is com- plicated, but we try to make a conservation concession that is managed by both communities. Much time has been invested in creating a good partnership with this community and the first educational activities have been executed.

Sanchima

Sanchima is a community that has forest bordering the existing CCs of Shitariyacu and Tres Quebradas. With the creation of a protected area in Sanchima we could expand the protected forested area in this zone with another 1000 hectares.

Alto el Sol

This community also requested our help for the creation of conservation concession. However, when visiting the site we noticed that there was very few forest to protect, and most of it was fragmented due to agricul- tural activities. Furthermore we had the impression that there was little support for nature conservation, and we decided that we should not in-

Research

Research San Martin titi monkey distribution

Distribution of the San Martin titi monkey (Callicebus oenanthe) in central San Martin, Peru.

Thoiry-Peaugres Conservation supports since 2011 a project to conduct a study on the distribution of C. oenanthe focussing on areas where conservation measures could lead to the establishment of nature re- serves for viable population of the San Martin titi monkey.

A total of seven fieldtrips were organised. The study showed once more that the situation for the species is critical. Although titi monkeys were heard or observed in several areas, deforestation is continuing as high rates and most titi monkeys live in small, isolated populations. There is not much future for these populations, and the connection of some of the larger protected areas and forested areas is necessary to safe the species from extinction. Our team encountered the species also on the southern side of the Huayabamba River. We thought that that river served as a geographical boundary for the species, and we need to investigate how for its distribution extends southwards. Considering the topography of the area we expect that this is just a small enclave, just like we have seen before on the eastern side of the Huallaga River.

A full report of the study is available on request.

Research San Martin titi monkey behaviour

Until 2013, research had mainly focussed on the distribution and taxono- the next few years, as the secondary forest around the borders of the my of the San Martin titi monkey, Callicebus oenanthe. That was a delib- concession is rapidly being converted into farmland. erate choice: if you do not know where a species lives, you cannot pro- Danica Schaffer-Smith and Jennifer Swenson (Duke University) started tect it. Now that the distribution range of the species is rather well known their study on the possibilities to create corridors for the San Martin titi (we still have some gaps in our knowledge to fill), we want to study the monkey, in order to secure genetic exchange between the population on ecology and ethology of the species, as this could help us in our conser- the Morro de Calzada and neighbouring forest fragments. For this study vation work. they analyse high-definition satellite images, but field studies are neces- Carolina Garcia-Suikkanen (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador) sary to compare the images with the actual situation on the ground. conducted with the help of volunteers and students an extensive study Finally Rosario Huashuayo Llamocca started with a study on the behav- on the density of San Martin titi monkeys on and around the Morro de iour of the San Martin titi monkey which will be continued in 2013 and Calzada. Density was measured at areas with different forest types and expanded to other groups of titi monkeys in different forest types. varying grades of human disturbance. The results of this study are cur- rently being analysed.

Silvy van Kuijk (Oxford Brookes University) conducted a comparable study in the dry forest of the Ojos de Agua Conservation Concession. Assisted by two volunteers and members of the local association she followed for a period of more than two months the titi monkeys in this rare forest type. The study showed that density of titi monkeys is highest on the borders between primary and secondary forest, and that the animals use both types of forest. Density is high (26 groups/km²) on these borders, but low (3.6 groups/km²) in primary forest. This complicates the conservation of the species, as the borders around areas of (protected) primary forest are also the most at risk for human disturbance. Silvy es- timated that there may be between 500 and 1000 individuals living in Ojos de Agua. However, the number may decrease considerably during

Research Primates of San Martin

ICAM Project there in recent time. Therefore we can conclude that they are probably restricted to the mountains of San Martin. The study has been complete- In 2011 Proyecto Mono Tocón started to cooperate with Conservation ly finished, but we have not yet been able to get permission to enter on International Peru to do research for their conservation project the native territories to continue our research. “Iniciativas de Conservación del Alto Mayo” (ICAM). For this study, we During our visit in one of the areas it became clear that a native commu- have to conduct base-line studies around six important water sources nity made a deal with a oil company, which will be a threat for the water in the Bosque de Protección Alto Mayo (BPAM). quality in a large area. The federation of native communities was not The study was continued in 2013, with the addition of one locality and pleased with this news, and has planned to take measures. the monitoring of the primates in the areas where studies had been done After our visit to the area we sent 2000 comic books of “Carlos and the before. The species most often encountered is the yellow-tailed woolly tropical forest”, in the local Awajun language, to the federation. During monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda). our meeting with one of the communities we noticed that there was The distribution of mountain uakaris (Cacajao calvus ssp.) much distrust to conservation organisations, but after the reception of in north-eastern Peru the comic books we were invited to discuss how they could develop conservation actions. However, considering the large distance from This is a continuation of the study we conducted in 2010. A population of Moyobamba, with the resulting high travel costs, Proyecto Mono Tocón red uakaris was discovered by us in Cahuapanas mountain range of is not able to offer any help. However, we hope that we have prepared San Martin, at a distance of almost 400km from the known population in the path for other conservation organisations. The area is of much inter- the eastern lowlands of Peru. est, there is still much forest cover and the rivers and lakes are full of To investigate the extend of the distribution of the new species, we con- manatees and river dolphins. Unfortunately there is also a huge problem ducted surveys in the lowlands north of the Cahuapanas, more precisely with unsustainable hunting. We encountered only squirrel monkeys and between the mountain range and the Maranon River. As uakaris were tamarins, all larger bodied primates seemed to have become extinct. known to have a preference for lowland forest, we were expecting the presence of the species in that area. Although our expeditions were made difficult by bad weather and inhospitable native communities, we were able to determine that the uakaris do not live in the lowland forest A full report of the study is available on request. between the Cahuapanas and the Maranon River and have not lived

Research Titi monkeys of Central Peru

Presence of San Martin titi monkeys in the Cordillera

Escalera Regional Conservation Area The organisation responsible for the compilation of the management The distribution of Callicebus in the Atalaya region, plan of the above mentioned regional conservation area requested our help for a short survey on the presence of San Martin titi monkeys in its central Peru. southern and central parts. Unfortunately no evidence of its presence The Atalaya region in Central Peru is very interesting for primate distri- could be found, and we can conclude that no titi monkeys live in these bution studies, as the four rivers that join each other here could be im- parts of the protected area. portant geographical barriers for several primate species. At least three Callicebus species have been reported from here, that were identified as being Callicebus discolor, C. cupreus and C. brunneus. In No- vember and December we conducted six weeks of surveys in the area, on foot and by boat. We indeed encountered three species of titi mon-

keys. One was identified by us as being Callicebus toppini, a species that has been described in 1914 but has been neglected since then. This species has its distribution range in the area where according to the literature either C. cupreus or C. brunneus would live. We also encountered brownish animals that had been identified as C. brunneus (a species living in Brazil), but we think that this is an undescribed species. Finally we encountered titi monkeys with a white frontal band and a

brownish back. Animals of this phenotype have been described in 1917 as C. subrufus, but since then they have been synonymized with C. discolor. The results of our study will change our thoughts about titi monkey taxonomy and dispersion. We also observed several other species of primates, and collected evidence on sympatry between two species of

woolly monkeys. The area is still covered with vast areas of lowland for-

Environmental Education

Nature club JOESUCNA

The education programme in Bagazán and Ricardo Palma During 2013 our education team has organized with both local associations “Asociación Desarrollo Sostenible y Conservación Ricardo Palma” and “Asociación Área de Protección y Conservación las Tres Quebradas” activities for sustainable development, focussing on the appreciation of traditions and the nature resources around the villages. The people should learn to take a critical position towards practices that harm nature and take action to conserve their environment.

Nature education is an important part of the ecotourism project. As the main attraction of the villages is nature, local guides need Theoretical programme of Environmental Education to learn about biodiversity and nature conservation and It is very important to accompany conservation activities with an environ- need to be trained to share their knowledge with the tourists. mental education programme. We do not only need to create aware- The activities were finished with an environmental festival. ness for the importance of nature conservation, but also assure a continuing support for the activities. Therefore our educational team is Librito del toçon active in all communities that we help with the creation and manage- Comic book ment of their conservation areas. Just like in the preceeding years, thousands of comic books and othe Theoretical programme in Calzada and Yantaló reducational materials were distributed in villages and schools.

Practical programme in Calzada and Yantaló

Publicity and participations

Theses Through the year we have communicated several times per week our activities on our Facebook page. The page is very well visited, with more One of the important goals of Proyecto Mono Tocón is to educate a new than 2600 “likes”. generation of Peruvian conservationist. Therefore we always offer students the possibility to do their theses work or internships with the project. In 2013 we rented a house to be able to receive also students from other regions in Peru. These students are an indispensable help for the execution of our projects.

This year we had the following thesis students:

Juanita……..: Participate strategies for the management of the Conser- vation Concessions Shitariyacu and Las Tres Quebradas, Pachiza Dis- trict, Mariscal Cáceres.

Ricky………: Reinforcement of environmental and organisational capac- ities for the creation of a conservation concession in Nuevo Chimbote, Pachiza District, Mariscal Cáceres.

Facebook

Newsletter Moyobamba (March).  We had several meetings with the GIZ (German Society for Interna- One English and one Spanish newsletters were produced and distribut- tional Cooperation) and other organisations about the creation of cor- ed in 2013. ridors for wildlife in San Martin. Website  Our team attended several meetings of the Provincial Environmental Our webside is constantly updated: http://www.monotocon.org/ Education Committee. Regional Environmental Committee  We participated to the Community Conservation workshop, organized by NPC and AMPA. Members of all local associations that have a Regional Conservation System conservation concession where we are active have also participated.

Participation to External Events 

Members of Proyecto Mono Tocón were present at a large number of events, workshops, meetings and courses:

 The Environmental Ministry organized a workshop on capacity build- ing for the conservation of forest and preventing climate change (February).

 Proyecto Mono Tocón was present at a meeting about environmental education, organized by the Regional Educational Authorities of San Martin (February).

 A workshop on the administration of biodiversity information was organized in Tarapoto (February).

 Proyecto Mono Tocón participated to a march through the streets of Moyobamba to celebrate “Water Day”. Educational materials were prepared and distributed (March).

 We participated to a meeting of the Environmental Committee of

We want to thank our supporters and partners for their continuing

The work of Proyecto Mono Tocón is only possible thanks to the generous financial support of:

We want to thank our partners for their collaboration.