In Panama’s Darién forest, Indigenous communities test a new way to fund conservation

Illegal logging and agricultural encroachment threaten the lands of four Indigenous Wounaan and Emberá-Wounaan villages in Panama's Darién forest. To safeguard their environment, these communities initiated a biodiversity monitoring project, monitoring a 18,000-hectare (44,500-acre) stretch of threatened forest. This monitoring project identified more than 200 species, including three "umbrella" species: jaguars, Baird's tapirs, and crested eagles.

Fifteen of these species are classified as threatened. The data gathered by the Indigenous communities is now being utilized as a baseline for participating in the biodiversity credit market, aiming to generate income in an area with limited economic opportunities. Employing bioacoustic monitoring and camera-trapping techniques, with support from the Panama-based NGO FSC Indigenous Foundation and Health In Harmony, the communities are employing a methodology developed by Savimbo, a biodiversity credit company founded by Indigenous members.

This methodology relies on 15 indicator species as a proxy for forest health. Community member Samuel Cheucarama shared that the monitoring efforts have already altered community behavior, as individuals refrain from hunting and now place "No Hunting" signs.