The Project led by Proyecto Tití aims to restore 805 hectares of Tropical Dry Forest in the municipality of San Juan Nepomuceno (Department of Bolívar, northern Colombia). The project area includes 12 properties (or property clusters) owned by Fundación Proyecto Tití, composed of mosaics of fragmented forest patches and degraded pastures. The project area borders the protected area National Park “Santuario de Fauna y Flora los Colorados”, home of wild cotton-top tamarins (Oedipomidas oedipus), a critically endangered species endemic to the region. The Project’s main objective is to protect and restore the natural habitat of this species. Fundación Proyecto Tití contributes to the restoration of the Tropical Dry Forest by propagating and planting more than 37 native tree species in their properties, such as Ceiba (Pseudobombax septenatum), Olla de mono (Lecythis minor), and Guamito (Inga hayesii), which can provide shelter and food for the cotton-top tamarins and other native species. Besides, Fundación Proyecto Tití works with other non-governmental organisations, environmental authorities and communities in the municipality of San Juan Nepomuceno to reach conservation and restoration agreements with farmers and landowners. These agreements result in the creation of corridors that connect protected forest fragments and facilitate the continuity of habitat that the cotton-top tamarins need to maintain healthy populations. In return, landowners receive support to increase the productivity of their land and receive higher incomes while making a voluntary, long-term commitment to protect and restore the forests within their properties.
