The Friends of the Feline Association has launched a competition to find communities that want to develop sustainably in cohabitation with the wild cats already in their environment, such as the jaguar and the puma.
Until next June 22, the Contest of Friends of the Macrons (CAF) will receive proposals and with it will also promote the work of the participating venues. Persons who belong to a community organization established under the Community Development Act (ADIs and ADEs) or to a community group organized in the national territory can participate.
The winners will join the Friends of Felines Association as models for positive interactions with wildlife, further attracting responsible tourism and the conscious consumer. In addition, they will receive training, camera traps for use in environmental monitoring missions, and computers and materials for use in undertakings, among other things.
Artist Carlos Heller will also donate an original mural for a community space where it can be seen that this community is the Amiga de Felinos.
“By participating, you are competing for a great opportunity: business incubation along with environmental monitoring efforts that contribute to building prosperity in communities,” said Ronit Amit, initiative coordinator and researcher at the Center for Research in Biodiversity and the Environment. Tropical University of Costa Rica (CIBET-UCR).
The competition is also promoted by the organization Gente y Fauna, as well as funding provided by the UK Government through the Darwin Initiative. It is also supported by the National Directorate for Community Development (Dinadeco), SPECIES and SOUL.
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coexistence and preservation
[ Tránsito de felinos comprueba conectividad entre Tortuguero y Pacuare ]
The aim of this initiative is to promote the formation of a national network of Friends of Felines that markets wildlife-friendly products and services, particularly puma and jaguars, in order to reinvest locally in conservation. Thus, coexistence with felines will generate well-being in the societies.
Yamelith Perez, president of the Association of Friends of Macron, stated that the idea for the competition arose from a desire to expand the seal project to other communities in the country.
The Amigos de Felinos seal was born as part of a pilot project implemented in three communities of Upala: Dos Ríos, Gavilán and Buenos Aires, all located on the slopes of the Rincón de la Vieja volcano.
These sites witnessed how the Amigos de Felinos seal revalued local production through evidence of co-existence with jaguars, pumas and other wild animals in peri-urban areas. This in turn reaffirms the commitment that biodiversity conservation generates local benefits.
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How do you participate?
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Interested parties can be part of two categories:
- We want to be feline friends: It is addressed to people from communities that have not yet used good practices in their search for coexistence and would like to do so out of competition.
- We are already friends with felines: Targets people from societies that already have good coexistence practices and want to be recognized for their efforts and role models.
With this clarity, they must fill out the registration form that can be downloaded on the site friendsoffelinos.com/contest. There you can also refer to the contest guidelines.
In case of doubts about the instructions or how to fill out the form, there will be an information center that will help people by phone and Whatsapp at 8803-3362 as well as in the social networks Amigos de Felinos, both in Facebook As is the case in Instagram.
[ ¿Es el jaguar un animal peligroso para el humano? ]
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