Fundacion Entropika
Latest News
Whitley Awards – May 2010
Dr Angela Maldonado gave up a lucrative career in business to dedicate her life to conservation after rescuing a woolly monkey from the pet trade. A few days later the research centre where she took the monkey before release into the wild was torched by revolutionary guerrillas.
Unperturbed she went on to study biology in Britain and now works on the dangerous Colombia-Peru border to stop the removal of an estimated 4,000 wild night monkeys a year for use in biomedical experiments.
The "owl monkeys" as they are known are one of the few monkey species to be affected by the same form of malaria as humans and so are extremely lucrative, but are almost extinct in the wild. The trade, worth up to £60,000 every year, was outlawed by international agreement more than 30 years ago.
As project director of the Fundacion Entropika, Dr Maldonado offers new ways for local people to earn a sustainable living from rainforest resources, for example by freeze drying forest fruits.
“Our aim is to find a sustainable activity that will substitute the income from illegal extraction of resources," she said.
She is also finding out more about the mysterious night monkeys – the world’s only true nocturnal primate – that are also known as earless monkeys on account of their tiny ears.
Dr Maldonado, a graduate of Oxford Brookes University , was presented with the Whitley Gold Award by the Princess Royal at a ceremony in London.
She also received £60,000 towards the project.
The Whitley Fund for Nature, backed by David Attenborough and the Princess Anne, rewards projects helping communities and wildlife around the world.
Georgina Domberger, the director of WFN, congratulated Dr Madonado for her brave stance.
"The judges were particularly impressed by her brave stand against the illegal trade in night monkeys for biomedical research, which is said to be responsible for the loss of 4,000 wild monkeys a year, and for her efforts to reduce the pressure on rainforest communities to hunt for primates by helping them to develop alternative and sustainable ways to benefit from rainforest resources, such as by collecting forest fruits to dry and sell," she said.
Louise Gray - The Telegraph (13 May 2010)
The Whitley Awards 2010 at The Royal Geographical Society in London, May 12, 2010.
Link to pictures of the ceremony.
Link to Caracol News.
Link to El Tiempo article.
Press contact: 00573135374990
November-December 2007
Entropika Trustee speaks at Universidad Nacional, Leticia
On 1st November 2007, Entropika UK trustee, Peter Bunyard, was invited to be a guest speaker at the “Fronteras en la Globalizacion” (Frontiers in Globalisation) conference at the National University of Colombia, Leticia campus. The two-day event featured numerous speakers on the subject of globalisation in the Amazonas region, raising some interesting discussions on the balance between the move towards globalisation whilst taking into consideration the need to conserve this unique area.
Peter’s talk was on the theme of climate change and the effect of over-development and exploitation of resources on the forest’s ability to maintain its function as our planet’s most important oxygen producer. The talk was well-received and a wonderful opportunity for members of the Entropika Amazonas team to work directly with one of our UK team members. The talk was also attended by Mamerto Gregorio and Azulay Vasquez, who had worked with Peter in the UK in the Meeting of Minds conference (see July News).
Inauguration of the Maloka – San Martin de Amacayacu
On the 15th of November 2007, the Entropika team was invited to attend the inauguration of the maloka (traditional communal home) in San Martin de Amacayacu. Traditionally, the Tikuna people lived in these large shared houses, which formed the focal point of the community as a home, a venue for ritual and traditional practices and celebrations and as the site for the abuelos (elders) to pass on their extensive cultural and practical knowledge to the younger generations. Over the years, the number of malokas has diminished and now the majority of indigenous groups have formed communities instead, with each family building their own house and the maloka becoming less and less of a feature.
The community of San Martin de Amacayacu had decided to build the first maloka in decades with the hope of recapturing some of the traditional values and practices associated with it by providing an area for education, communication and discussion at the heart of the community. The 15th of November was the day on which the maloka was to formally opened and the entire community, plus numerous guests turned out for the occasion.
The day itself comprised of traditional dances, a seed exchange, artisan exhibition and sale, traditional games and the finale was the “dance of the masks”, with various participants from the community, having created beautiful costumes from natural materials, taking part.
Special thanks was given to Entropika for their support of the community.
Salida to the Purite River
In collaboration with the National Park’s unit, the Entropika Amazonas team participated in a 9-day field-trip to the Purite river, in the Amacayacu National Park. Before the trip, very little was known about the area as, although it is traditional hunting territory for the local communities of Mocagua, San Martin and Palmeras, there were no permanent trails cut and therefore human infringement in the area was rare. The idea of the trip was to conduct a reconnaissance of the area and commence the characterisation of the plant and animal life in the region. The trip was also used as an educational activity for two local children, who were taught how to manage equipment such as GPS as well as compass navigation, map-reading and basic research and cataloguing skills.
During the nine days, three trails were cut and investigations carried out with regard to soils, plant life and animal populations, raising some interesting starting points for future projects and work in the area, as well as being a wonderful experience for those involved.
Entropika is now in discussion with the National Park Unit and the local communities to look for ways of working together in this area in the future.
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News Archive
June-July 2007
Meeting of Minds Seminar: Science and Indigenous Knowledge in the Colombian Amazon – June 22nd 2007 (The Living Rainforest, Newbury, UK): Explore the Colombian Amazon through a fascinating series of presentations from leaders in the field of rainforest conservation.
Featuring working sessions and keynote speakers including...
- Professor Sir Ghillean Prance, world-renowned botanist and former Director of Kew Gardens
- Don Azulay Vasquez and Mamerto Gregorio, community leaders from the Tikuna indigenous community, San Martin de Amacayacu
- Peter Bunyard, climatologist, author and founding science editor of The Ecologist Magazine
- Insights into Tikuna culture and history, issues facing the Colombian Amazon and work being carried out to preserve it
- Plant tours from two perspectives: traditional use in Tikuna culture and in western scientific research and application
- Special preview of the ‘Spirits of the Forest’ Photo Exhibition, exploring traditional beliefs about spirit guides and guardians of the forest
The cost is £45 (£22.50 for students) and includes lunch. This is a not-for-profit event – costs are to cover the transport of our guest speakers from Colombia. Any excess will be donated to the community of San Martin de Amacayacu in return for their work on this event.
Please visit www.livingrainforest.org/charity/ameetingofminds for more information and how to book.
The Spirits of the Forest Photographic Exhibition – June 23rd – July 20th 2007 (The Living Rainforest, Newbury, UK): A unique photographic exhibition exploring the traditional belief of the existence of spiritual guardians of the Amazon Forest. Taken by Colombian biologist and photographer, Nelson H. Pinilla Moreno, these remarkable images aim to show visitors the Amazon Rainforest through the cultural beliefs of the Tikuna indigenous people. Visit our online gallery to purchase limited edition prints www.photoboxgallery.com/spirits
