The Ecopetrol Group, in partnership with the Humboldt Institute, managed to identify a total of 2,426 species of flora and fauna during the study phase of the Ecoreserve Network project, in a work that was developed through the use of camera traps, sound recorders and direct observation work.

The studies also identified 163 endemic species, that is, those that are unique in the country, as well as 29 classified as threatened, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and 20 landscapes in critical danger, because they face challenges to their permanence over time. The result of this work is released ahead of the International Day of Forests, which is commemorated on March 21.

The 15 eco-reserves owned by the Ecopetrol Group have an approximate area of 15,000 hectares of natural ecosystems with the presence of forests, savannahs and wetlands and are located in areas of operation of their companies in 8 departments of the country.

Ecopetrol made the decision to voluntarily allocate these lands to conservation management and the strengthening of ecosystem services. There, studies are carried out and actions are carried out to take care of nature and strengthen the sustainability of the territories.

Biomonitors Help Conservation

Within the framework of these conservation actions, the Biomonitors project was created, with the participation of 13 volunteers from the community, who worked voluntarily as co-researchers along with 32 undergraduate and graduate students, with the aim of generating scientific knowledge to take care of the areas.

Thanks to the work of the Biomonitors, 24,786 DNA barcodes of the studied species were built, which are shared with national and international databases, in order to identify new species, combat illegal trafficking of fauna and flora and identify populations of species that may be at risk, among others.

The work carried out in the ASA la Guarupaya Ecoreserve, located in Acacias, Meta, with the universities of Los Llanos, Caldas, Nacional, Distrital, del Cauca and del Valle, which consisted of taking data on more than 27 thousand species of flora and fauna, including 112 that were not genetically registered, is highlighted.

'From the Ecopetrol Group we will continue to contribute to the protection of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the territories where we have a presence, seeking to contribute to the adaptation and mitigation of climate change and the improvement of water security through the conservation and restoration of terrestrial ecosystems,' said Santiago Martinez, Sustainability and Decarbonization Manager at Ecopetrol.

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