tapir_proposal

TAPIR SURVIVAL INITIATIVE

GARDENERS OF THE FORESTThree of our planet’s four Tapir species are threatened TAPIR SURVIVAL INITIATIVEwith extinction, being classed as Endangered by IUCN.Experts estimate that only 2,000 Mountain Tapirs The Tapir Survival Initiative (TSI) is an effort to develop(Tapirus pinchaque), 4,500-5,000 Baird’s Tapirs (Tapirus four stable working groups of Tapir conservationistsbairdii), and less than 2,500 Malayan Tapirs (Tapirus working to achieve consistent range-wide conservationindicus) remain in the wild. progress for each of the four Tapir species. The model will be to have country level representatives activelyTapirs are one of the first species adversely affected working to conserve the species and a regionalby human disturbance to ecosystems due to their size, coordinator working on range-wide fundraising forlarge resource requirements, and very slow reproductive conservation and coordination. In the first two yearscycle. Despite this, very few consistent, long-term Tapir of the TSI, we will focus on the Western Hemisphere’sconservation programs exist, which has hindered two endangered species of Tapir, Baird’s Tapirs andconsistent, range-wide conservation progress for these Mountain Tapirs; these two species are arguably thecharismatic ungulates and resulted in continued declines most imperiled Tapir species globally and have thein population numbers for all four species in most range fewest long-term, stable conservation efforts dedicatedcountries. to fighting for their survival.Tapirs play an important role in shaping and maintaining MOUNTAIN TAPIRthe ecosystems in which they occur. They are prodigiousbrowsers with large daily food requirements thatconsume hundreds of different species of plants, seeds,and fruits. Through their extensive selective browsingthey have a large impact on the successional pathwaysof tropical forests, and for this reason we often refer tothem as the “gardeners of the forest.”Recent research has also indicated that the largest seedsin tropical forests tend to be associated with slow growingtrees with dense wood, precisely the species of trees thatsequester the most carbon. Given that large mammalslike Tapirs are the only species capable of dispersingthese seeds, the reproduction of these trees dependsto a significant extent on Tapirs. This means that Tapirsare not only important due to their roles as “gardenersof the forest” but are also some of our strongest allies inour fight against global climate change. BAIRD’S TAPIR

BAIRD’S TAPIRSThe Baird’s Tapir (Tapirus bairdii) is the largest terrestrial mammal in the Neotropics and also one ofthe most ecologically important species across the forested landscapes it inhabits.The Baird’s Tapir is classified as globally Endangered by the IUCN. Experts estimate that the currentpopulation could have as few as 4,500 adults.Massive forest loss across most of Central America in the last decade and including forest loss forthoroughfares that bisect the Baird’s Tapir’s range, combined with significant hunting throughoutthat range has devastated the species and left populations in isolated subpopulations. It is unclear ifall these subpopulations are genetically viable. In addition, much of the species’ northern strongholdof the Selva Maya offers limited water during the dry season. Experts fear that climate change willfurther reduce water availability in these areas and thus substantially reduce the suitability of thislarge protected habitat for Tapirs. In the context of increasing forest loss and continued huntingthat further isolates populations, and the expected impact of climate change, without a substantial,coordinated effort to ensure the survival of the species, we believe that Baird’s Tapirs will becomecritically endangered within the next decade.© Nick Hawkins BAIRD’S TAPIR Nai Conservation

BAIRD’S TAPIR SURVIVAL ALLIANCEBTSA CONSERVATION PROPOSAL In our proposed program, we intend to confront these obstacles by developing the capacityIn coordination with the Houston Zoo’s conservation of the team of Fellows through training anddepartment and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, we will: mentorship while working with them on:1. Select one mid-career conservationist from the ACTION PLANNING majority of Baird’s Tapir range countries (collectively /ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT referred to as Fellows) to develop their capacity Develop country-level and region-level conservation for conservation leadership, action planning, action plans; including, if possible, expansion to the fundraising and outreach. three remaining countries that constitute the Baird’s Tapir’s range: Mexico, Belize and Colombia.2. Design and implement a global educational outreach campaign for the conservation of Baird’s Tapirs that FUNDRAISING PLANNING Fellows in each country will implement at the local Develop a range-wide grant proposal that includes level, cultivating the broad support network needed actions and budgets needed to ensure the survival to sustain their projects over the long-term. of the species.3. Design and implement individual and/or team field projects at high priority sites to reduce threats to COMMUNICATION Baird’s Tapirs. Create and implement an outreach strategy disseminating best practices gleaned from4. Jointly develop a global grant proposal that includes the activities and budgets needed to ensure the local work. survival of the species and actively fundraise to implement it.5. Create a strategic plan to launch and maintain a working group called the Baird’s Tapir Survival Alliance comprised of our Fellows and strategically chosen mentors to ensure the effort’s long-term progress at the regional and local levels.More generally, we will build precisely the substantial,coordinated, long-term regional effort needed tosave this species. To achieve this, we must tackle twosignificant obstacles that have historically hinderedconsistent, range-wide Baird’s Tapir conservation:• Inconsistent funding at the country level resulting from a lack of fundraising and project-building know-how within the Baird’s Tapir conservation community, as well as from poor public understanding of Tapirs’ importance and plight.• Inadequate coordination of the Tapir conservation community to ensure they consistently meet conservation goals and objectives outlined by the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group in The Central American Baird’s Tapir Action Plan (2005).

WE WILL BUILD THESUBSTANTIAL, COORDINATED,LONG-TERM REGIONAL EFFORTNEEDED TO SAVE THIS SPECIES

OUR CONSERVATION PROPOSALTWO YEAR PLANOver two years, we will work with five Fellows – mid-career conservationists, who have already been selectedand who have a history of collaboration – from five of the countries in the Baird’s Tapir range, plus anexperienced Coordinator, Dr. Chris Jordan, to guide the team’s progress and maintain focus on range-widework and Mentors from USFWS, Houston Zoo, GWC, or other institutions as appropriate to provide trainingand ongoing guidance. Through these participants’ work, the project will also engage the various conservationorganizations, universities, and governmental bodies with which the Fellows have ties and additionalconservationists from the three remaining Baird’s Tapir range countries, if possible.The program will serve not only as a capacity development opportunity, but a springboard to direct action,as conservation projects will begin in the second year of the program. The convening, capacity-development,planning and seed projects undertaken as part of the program will create a lasting collaboration to take onthe international challenge of ensuring the survival of the species.YEAR ONE: WORKSHOPS for sustainability. Fellows will then continue to refine the BTSA-CAP proposal, building out its fundraising strategyIn the first year, the five Fellows and one Coordinator will component, and also refine their country-level action andconvene for three multi-day workshops where they will fundraising plans. Fellows will then have the opportunityreceive capacity development trainings from Mentors to develop proposals for funding to support a specificselected by USFWS, the Houston Zoo, and GWC. conservation action defined within this larger plan that they’d like to tackle first - either as a team for region-levelThe first workshop will focus on Action Planning and work or individually for country-level work – and applyAdaptive Management. The Fellows will receive training for a mini-grant from USFWS and the Houston Zoo, whoon building teams, managing projects, collaborating, and have already committed funds for this purpose.resolving conflicts, working within their home countries/programs and across borders. The Fellows will also use The third workshop will focus on communications andthis time to begin defining priorities and developing outreach. Fellows will receive training on best practicesa Baird’s Tapir Survival Alliance Conservation Action for local and global outreach programs and how toPlan (BTSA-CAP), which will guide local/country-based tailor programs to different types of audiences, andconservation action, regional/range-wide conservation then – as in Workshop 2 - Fellows will use their trainingaction, and institutional-level action to ensure the to build out the communications/outreach strategies insustainability of the BTSA. Content of the BTSA-CAP their Regional Conservation Action Plan, then developwill encompass plans for fundraising, communications mini-grant proposals to seed the first actions in their/outreach, fieldwork/research, and more – a master communications plans. USFWS has already committedplan. Then, incorporating budget needs for each plan funds for this communications mini-grant opportunity.component, the BTSA-CAP will be further refined into acomprehensive grant proposal to save the species. In the first year we will also continue to maintain GWC’s long-standing Baird’s Tapir research program inThe second workshop will focus on fundraising and Nicaragua (see following pages); this project will serve asgrant writing. Fellows will receive training on cultivating an example to our team of Fellows.prospects, developing proposals, and managinggrants in the international conservation philanthropycommunity. They will learn about fundraising planning

YEAR TWO: ACTION-BASED Baird’s Tapir’s range. Two three-day summits – one at the conclusion of year one, and one at the conclusion of yearYear two will focus on action – plan-guided direct two – will provide the team additional time to connect,conservation action and outreach, supported by the two reflect, plan together and learn from one another. Thismini-grants, as well as plan-guided fundraising – and will multi-tiered effort by our Fellows and Coordinator willbe bookended by summits where Fellows will convene help to ensure the proper development and sustainabilityand reflect with their colleagues and mentors. of collaboration – so that when the program winds down its two-year run, the Baird’s Tapir Survival Alliance thatDuring this second year, the five Fellows will thus activate it jumpstarted will remain, providing an umbrella forthe BTSA Conservation Action Plan with the continued conservation progress in each country, and maintainingguidance and mentorship of the USFWS, peers, and the vision for range-wide, whole-species work.the Houston Zoo. While Fellows are focused on theircountry-level work, the Coordinator - with his focus onregional coordination, planning and action - will work onfundraising for the comprehensive BTSA-CAP proposaland regional level conservation actions (i.e. landpurchases, bi-national corridor initiatives). We also willreach out to Tapir experts in Mexico, Belize and Colombiato stretch the collaboration to cover the entirety of the© Nick Hawkins USING GPS TELEMETRY TO TRACK BAIRD’S TAPIRS

NICARAGUA© Nick Hawkins OBJECTIVESGWC’s Nicaragua Tapir Project will be the model project Our overall objectives for the next year include:for our Baird’s Tapir Survival Alliance. It is based inNicaragua’s 2,639 square kilometer Indio-Maíz Biological 1. Capture and install GPS collars on 6 Baird’s TapirsReserve. The reserve has historically been Nicaragua’s in hurricane damaged forests in Indio Maíz in 2017.most pristine protected area. It is comprised of lowlandtropical rainforest, Raphia palm swamps, and seasonally 2. Compare pre-hurricane Baird’s Tapir activity patterns,flooded forests and constitutes critical habitat for a habitat use, and home range size with results fromhost of globally regionally endangered and threatened 2017 (post-hurricane).species, such as Great Green Macaws (Ara ambiguus),wild almond trees (Dipteryx panamensis), and Jaguars 3. Write a report/article on the impacts of hurricanes(Panthera onca). on Baird’s Tapir activity patterns, habitat use, and home range size that makes use of camera trapWe will work specifically within the 69% of Indio Maíz that results from a parallel research effort along with theoverlaps with the Rama and Kriol Indigenous Territory. comparison of pre- and post-hurricane Baird’s TapirThis area is the core of the reserve, the most pristine, telemetry data.and an area of critical importance to the cultural survivalof the Rama Indians. The small population of Rama living We have a unique opportunity to understand the effectswithin Indio Maíz maintains a subsistence economy of hurricanes on Baird’s Tapirs given that we have databased around hunting, fishing, and small-scale mixed- on four animals that we collared prior to the hurricane.crop agriculture. They have historically conserved large We propose to capture and collar six animals in 2017 intracts of forests to ensure the sustainability of their order to compare spatial ecology in the aftermath of theeconomy; they are our primary conservation allies in hurricane to what we observed in 2015-2016. We haveIndio Maíz. secured funding for one expedition. In 2016 we caught three Tapirs in one expedition, thus we are requestingIndio-Maíz is one of the last two remaining core areas funds to conduct an expedition in late 2017 and anotherfor Baird’s Tapirs in Nicaragua and forms part of one of in early 2018 that will allow us to reach our target numberthe largest tracts of viable habitat for Tapirs. Indio-Maíz of study animals. We are already in possession of theis thus a critical area for the long-term survival of Baird’s required GPS collars, the required anesthesia, and allTapirs. Nonetheless, Indio-Maíz is threatened by a rapidly equipment needed to successfully conduct this research.advancing illegal cattle ranching frontier and will now We have extensive experience capturing Baird’s Tapirs insuffer a spike in illegal encroachment due to the extensive Nicaragua and all methods are approved by the IUCN/damage wrought by Hurricane Otto in November 2016, SSC Tapir Specialist Group. Our request would be usedwhich damaged over 60% of the reserve’s forests. The specifically to fund: local assistants to build traps anddamaged forests are much easier for colonists to burn cook, food and supplies for the expedition, local andand convert to cattle pasture. national transportation for our team, and a small stipend to allow our veterinarian to participate in the expedition.

INDIO-MAIZ IS ONE OF THE LASTTWO REMAINING CORE AREAS FOR BAIRD’S TAPIRS IN NICARAGUA

MOUNTAIN TAPIRSMountain Tapirs are among the most charismatic and representative species in the Andes, with arestricted distribution from Colombia to Peru. The species has a perilously low global populationmade up of many subpopulations residing on Andean peaks that are threatened by decreasingconnectivity between patches of suitable habitat by a host of threats, making it one of the mostthreatened large mammal species in the world.Mountain Tapirs are classified by the IUCN as Endangered with a mere 2,000 adults estimated toremain in the wild population. The species has received intermittent, yet significant political attentionin its range countries, particularly in Colombia and Ecuador where researchers have publishednational strategies for conserving Mountain Tapirs. Nonetheless, the species has never had theconservation momentum needed across its range to ensure the species’ survival.We know that climate change, lack of habitat connectivity, habitat destruction and poaching areprincipal threats, yet in all range countries many questions about the species’ threats and how toconfront them remain unanswered. For example, in Colombia, it is unclear how the new peaceprocess and potential distribution of lands in the Andean region will affect this species, and therelative importance of existing protected areas for Mountain Tapirs remains uncertain. Without aconcerted effort to reverse recent trends, we believe that Mountain Tapirs are at risk of becomingCritically Endangered within one to two generations.© Armando Castellanos MOUNTAIN TAPIR

MOUNTAIN TAPIR SURVIVAL ALLIANCEMTSA CONSERVATION PROPOSAL After this session, we will interview all key individuals identified by our mountain tapir experts to find two toDespite being a highly charismatic, highly imperiled three individuals per range country who will be theirspecies, as mentioned above, there has not been country’s representatives in the MTSA. We will hold anadequate conservation momentum to bring mountain initial summit with all members in Colombia with thetapirs back from the brink of extinction. Thus, in following objectives:collaboration with the Tapir Specialist Group, we proposeto begin efforts to develop a regional team of researchers 1. Review and revise the results from the Internationaland conservationists, known as the Mountain Tapir Tapir Symposium Workshop and the IUCN/SSC TapirSurvival Alliance (MTSA) that will actively work together Specialist Group Mountain Tapir Conservation Actionto ensure the survival of the mountain tapir. During the Plan.first six months of this effort, we propose to create asmall, global working group known as the MTSA that will 2. Define global and national roles and responsibilitieshold a summit and work together to identify key allies within the MTSA.across all range countries, highlight key gaps in ourglobal understanding of mountain tapir conservation; 3. Define actions that members from each rangehighlight key gaps in capacity at the local level that hinder country they can carry out to promote mountainthe creation of stable, long-term conservation programs; tapir research and conservation in their country inand draft an action plan with specific fundraising goals the short-termthat will outline the steps needed to maintain the MTSA.In the second half of Year 1 of this proposed project we 4. Create a list of obstacles, including skills andwill work to raise the funds needed to implement the knowledge gaps, that might prevent members fromaction plan. Year 2 will focus on implementation of the developing long-term conservation programs.action plan. 5. Develop a joint MTSA action plan with specific fundraisingTo begin this process, we will hold a session with mountain goals that includes the actions required to maintain antapir experts at the International Tapir Symposium in active group able to ensure consistent conservationNovember 2017 in Houston, Texas during which the progress across the mountain tapir range.objective is to identify: Immediately following this summit, C. Jordan will begin1. Key individuals across all range countries who would to coordinate efforts to raise the funds needed to be interested and available for working on mountain implement the MTSA action plan. In Year 2, the action tapir research and conservation. plan will be implemented.2. Historical obstacles to achieving consistent conservation momentum in each mountain tapir range country.3. Key actions needed to ensure consistent conservation action in each mountain tapir range country. uintero © Paulo Andres Q

COLOMBIA© Juan Ortiz ohringerCOUNTRY SPECIFIC MEETINGINITIAL RESEARCH Following initial research, our team in Colombia will hold a meeting with key government and non-governmentAlongside these efforts to develop a mountain tapir actors, members of the Tapir Specialist Group, andworking group, starting in year one of our proposed Colombian universities. The objectives of this countryproject, we will start to develop a pilot country-level specific meeting will be to:program in Colombia given that we already have extensivecontacts in this country. Specifically, we will work with our 1. Present research findings to the larger tapirlocal partners ProCAT to implement a grid based camera conservation community in Colombia.trapping project in the Nevados National Park and bufferzone region. One grid of 16 square kilometer camera 2. Help to catalyze the necessary conservationtrap cells will be overlaid on a protected area and the and political actions identified by the Colombianother grid will be overlaid on an adjacent region that lies representatives of the working group by givingoutside of a protected area but where mountain tapirs them a platform for communicating to the properare known to occur. We will install cameras at suitable stakeholders, national leaders, scientists andlocations within randomly selected grid cells and aim to conservationists.survey a total of 40 cells per grid. Cameras will be left ateach location for a minimum of 50 days. This project is © Mathieu Perrot-Bdesigned to achieve the following objectives: MOUNTAIN TAPIR1. Determine the importance of protected areas to Los Nevados National Park current Tapirus pinchaque distribution.2. Understand the significance of different potential threats inside and outside of protected areas.3. Update the most recent mountain tapir distribution map for Colombia to understand where the species may be affected by the distribution of land resulting from the current peace process, and evaluate the connectivity and needs for habitat corridors across core habitats throughout the Mountain Tapir distribution in the Andean range of Colombia.

FUNDING REQUEST ACTION $ UNIT #$$$ $ UNIT UNITS TOTAL USFWS CCTU GWCCOORDINATION & partnersDr. Chris Jordan (50% FTE) 2100 Month 12 25,200 0 7000 18,200INTERNATIONAL TAPIR SYMPOSIUM 1800Travel grant 600 Grant 8 4800 0 3000 2800 13,350BAIRD’S TAPIR SURVIVAL ALLIANCE 0Workshop and summit expenses 31,300 Workshop 1 31,300 28,500 0 18,450Conservation mini-grants 10,000 Project 5 50,000 36,650 0 4900 0Communication mini-grants 4000 Project 5 20,000 20,000 0 0NICARAGUA TAPIR PROJECT 3600Equipement costs 18,450 Total 1 18,450 0 0 0 0First capture expedition 4900 Expedition 1 4900 0 0 0Second capture expedition 4900 Expedition 1 4900 0 4900 63,100MOUNTAIN TAPIR SURVIVAL ALLIANCEInaugural Working Group Summit 7500 Workshop 1 7500 0 7500COLUMBIA TAPIR PROJECTCamera Traps 180 Camera 60 10,800 0 7200 25 Camera 60 1500 0 1500Supplies for Cameras 10 8500 0 8500(SD cards, batteries, etc.) 850 MonthFieldwork expensesColombia Tapir Meeting 5400 Workshop 1 5400 0 5400TOTALS 193,250 85,150 45,000

Christopher Jordan Ph.D.Tapir Program Manager, GWC Steering Committee, TSG PO Box 129 Austin, TX 78767 Tel: (512) 955-2860