This project will allow the jaguares DE LA selva maya program to focus on expanding the number of ranches intervened to avoid conflicts with jaguars, reinforce the capacity building of local livestock…

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service awarded a $297,505 Project Grant under the Latin America Regional Program (CFDA 15.640) to the Mexican non-profit organization Bioconciencia A.C. The grant will fund a 2-year project (12/1/2024 - 11/30/2026) to expand the Jaguares de la Selva Maya program's efforts to mitigate human-jaguar conflicts in the Southern Maya Forest region of Mexico and Guatemala. Key activities include: (1) training 3 field schools to educate livestock producers on improved husbandry practices, (2) installing 15 electric fences and night enclosures to protect livestock from jaguar predation, (3) launching a "jaguar-friendly" green certification program for livestock producers, and (4) strengthening the binational conservation group's capacity through strategic planning, exchanges, and workshops. The project aims to reduce threats to jaguars and their habitat through collaborative, community-based approaches.

This project will allow the jaguares DE LA selva maya program to focus on expanding the number of ranches intervened to avoid conflicts with jaguars, reinforce the capacity building of local livestock producers, and improve education and outreach activities. IT also seeks to consolidate and strengthen coordinated actions between mexico and guatemala to protect jaguars in the southern maya forest. Activities will include: (1) education of livestock producers through the development of training modules on improved livestock husbandry for three field schools in southern mexico, the provision of technical assistance to livestock producers in the region, and by carrying out awareness-raising activities to explain the advantages of sustainable livestock practices (2) build electric fences and night enclosures in 15 ranches to protect the most vulnerable livestock from jaguar predation (3) launch a jaguar friendly green certification for livestock producers and (4) strengthen the capacities of the binational group to conserve the jaguar and its habitat through strategic planning, experiential exchanges, and workshops.