WWF, together with other organizations, has carried out conservation work in areas where the jaguar lives. WWF's Jaguar 2030 Strategy identifies a series of interventions required to conserve the jaguar on a large scale. The WWF Mesoamerica Strategic Plan includes the jaguar as a priority conservation species.
Within this framework, the project “Saving the Jaguar, an ambassador for the Americas” is developed, which will be carried out in two highly threatened strategic landscapes within the distribution range of the jaguar:
• Maya Forest, which covers the territory of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala and
• Atlantic Forest, which includes Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.
In the Maya Forest, the project seeks to support and complement conservation actions of the jaguar and its prey in this landscape, in coordination with local partners, within a period of 5 years. Among the topics to be discussed are: management of protected areas, dam conservation, mitigation of human-jaguar conflicts, reduction of jaguar and prey poaching, sustainable management of productive areas, establishment and strengthening of biological corridors for the jaguar, promotion of alternative productive activities for communities, promotion of public policies and biological monitoring, among others.
GENERAL OBJECTIVE
By 2023, key sites within two strategic and threatened landscapes throughout the jaguar distribution are protected, through the sustainable management of critical habitats, the reduction of poaching and the killing of the species by retaliation due to human-jaguar conflicts, achieving stable or increasing jaguar populations, as well as the well-being of the communities that coexist with this feline.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
1. Ensure the integrity of the Maya Forest, through an integrated approach that guarantees the effective management of protected areas and productive zones.
2. Promote government support for jaguar conservation, transboundary cooperation, and capacity building in the region to support the implementation of the Jaguar 2030 Agenda.
Under specific objective 1, WWF Mesoamerica will carry out conservation activities for the species in the Maya Forest of Guatemala, in the northeast region of the Maya Biosphere Reserve and in Belize in the Chiquibul National Park, as well as in the Cockscomb Nature Reserve.
• Intervention area
The project covers two strategic landscapes: "Selva Maya" that includes Mexico, Belize and Guatemala and "Bosque Atlántico" that includes Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.
• Importance of the areas These landscapes represent two of the most important strengths to maintain the genetic diversity of this species.
• Multi-country cooperation
The project is an excellent opportunity to strengthen intergovernmental cooperation.
• Duration 5 years
1. The jaguar is the largest feline in the American continent and the third largest feline in the world.
2. This species plays an important role in the maintenance of natural systems that provide vital ecosystem services for human well-being.
3. The jaguar is classified as an “umbrella” species whose adequate conservation contributes to the maintenance and protection of ecosystems and biodiversity that cooperate with this species.
4. It is a highly threatened species mainly due to the loss of its habitat, poaching of its prey and conflicts with humans, which generally result in its excessive persecution and the decrease in the size of its populations.