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…includes proposals that mitigate human-jaguar conflict
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has launched an international #JaguarKing campaign to create awareness on jaguar protection and to spur governments to develop Jaguar Corridors in Latin America.
Guyana, together with French Guiana, Nicaragua and Venezuela have been asked to join the initiative. With this campaign, WWF underscores the importance of the jaguar and will ask governments, among which is Suriname, to advance in the implementation of the Jaguar Roadmap 2030 and launch conservation efforts.
The four pathways to be used include regional cooperation, development and implementation of national strategies, jaguar-friendly productive practices, and sustainable financing.
It is estimated that nearly 80 percent of the entire jaguar population (57,000 out of 64,000) live in the Amazon and the Guianas. The subpopulations found outside of the Amazon are threatened because of the small size of their habitat, isolation, lack of protection and high density of human populations.
The Jaguar is already extinct in El Salvador and Uruguay, and virtually gone in the United States. The Jaguar Roadmap 2030 from the United Nations (UN) and conservation organizations like WWF are vital for the future of the jaguar.
“The relatively intact habitats of the Guianas belong to the few remaining jaguar in Latin America and that in order to protect this majestic species, it is vital that we protect the areas where they live and connect the important corridors which maintain connectivity to other habitats in Latin America. There is no time to lose,” Country Manager of WWF-Guianas Aiesha Williams said.
“There are worrying signs that deforestation is increasing in the Guianas and with it poaching of jaguars. The animals are illegally hunted for their skin, bones and other parts that are used in traditional medicines. To prevent the king of our forests from getting threatened and ultimately extinct, we need to give them the space to roam through the continent again, by working with communities and other stakeholders and put in place the measures of the jaguar roadmap 2030.”
In the Jaguar Roadmap 2030 Southern Guianas, covering Guyana and Suriname, is mentioned as a one of the key biodiversity and jaguar areas in Latin America. It connects with the Amazon in Brazil, which will have to be connected to Jaguar Corridors to give jaguars in isolated habitats to the possibility to move through the continent again.
In Suriname, WWF-Guianas will commence its jaguar monitoring this year to define more in detail where jaguars live, also outside the key jaguar area in the southern part of the country. This will give insight to define what and where protection measures are needed.
The Jaguar Roadmap 2030 includes proposals that mitigate human-jaguar conflict, connect and protect the feline’s habitats and support the well-being of local communities and Indigenous peoples who coexist with it.
It focuses on strengthening the Jaguar Corridor, ensuring the connectivity of 30 priority landscapes including Southern Guianas, in order to guarantee the species’ mobility and long-term survival, since it requires large areas of land to find a mate and survive.
