Tapirs are worldwide threatened species due to poaching and habitat loss. Although they are not so charismatic animals like, for instance, pandas or tigers, the public interest for their conservation is increasing step by step.

Since 1999, AndígenA Foundation, a Venezuelan non-governmental organization devoted to the environmental conservation, has kept a joint work in favor of tapir (Tapirus terrestris) conservation in Venezuela with a positive impact in other countries of the species’ range. Though tapir hunting is forbidden by law, this activity is still common in several rural areas of the Venezuelan territory, even inside of the protected areas. For this reason, during last years, we have promoted a series of educational activities in one of these areas (Waraira Repano national park and surroundings). This is probably one of the last refuges for tapirs in the Central Coastal Range of the country.

Tapirs are protected by the Venezuelan environmental laws, but the enforcement of the laws has been unsuccessful in to avoid the threats to the species. This situation can be explained due to lack of motivation and commitment amongst the environmental authorities (park rangers, national guards, etc.), besides access to logistical resources, inadequate training or lack of financial support, among other factors. Likewise, the interest toward the study and conservation of the species is scarce or non-existent in the academic field (professionals, students and professors) as wll as the general public. This situation obliges the implementation of a well-built educational strategy in order to reinforce a long term tapir’s conservation in Venezuela. Through the AndigenA Foundation’s environmental education initiative called Tapir’s House (La Casa del Tapir), the general public (with emphasis in children) has been receiving qualified information regarding biodiversity conservation issues.

We propose now, the strengthening of a new stage which involves more visits to schools for teaching the children about the tapir importance as a national conservation symbol. These actions will be carried out in partnership with Guarenas Repano Foundation, with whom we coordinate the Waraira Repano Tapir Project inside and around Waraira Repano national park, where the species is critically endangered. This stage, it will allow us to reinforce the local capacity in order to assure the future of the conservation initiatives regarding the tapir in Venezuela. Environmental education activities and public awareness campaigns are the most effective tools to achieve this aim.

BACKGROUND

Tapir’s House arose on 2010 as an shared idea of the venezuelan geographer Denis Alexander Torres and the colombian biologist Sergio Sandoval. At the beginning, we worked as a virtual center for spreading scientific and popular information about all tapir species through Internet. However, in Venezuela, we have an active presence attending educational centers and public events in order to reach a better educational impact. In this way, we produce visually attractive science-based educational materials in Spanish because is the language mainly spoken in the tapirs’ range in Latin America. In this respect, our materials have been used by hundreds of teachers and thousands of students all across Latin America. Thanks to this original and professional work, Tapir’s House is currently an important reference and regional leader regarding tapir conservation.

Tapir’s House activities are carried out as a volunteer work . However, we must recognize an important and valuable support offered by a small group of people identified with our noble cause (friends, honoray members and collaborators). Because we want strengthen and sustain the educational success reached until now, today we ask for your kind attention, generosity and sincere support.

“In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand and we will understand only what we are taught.” — Baba Dioum, 1968.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR NOW?

Venezuela is a megadiverse and developing country where people’s daily survival takes up almost all time and energy. Faced with this shocking reality, we must admit that the environmental conservation issues are always a low priority for the attention of most people. It is precisely in this scenario where we must outreach the limitation to reach the goal to establish a people-nature future in harmony. In this regard, we believe that tapirs are excellent symbols to promote the biodiversity conservation. Tapirs are very threatened and they fulfill important cultural and ecological roles in the rich tropical ecosystems, so vital for humanity and the planet. Environmental education is one of the best strategies to promote tapir conservation in Venezuela due this is still an unknown species to most people.

In spite our presence on Internet is useful to reach a greater international audience, we consider very important the direct contact with the people who live near or inside the tapir's habitat in Venezuela. For this reason, we want to reinforce our environmental education work through a series of visits to educational centers. In the framework of these activities, we want to offer first-hand information about tapir conservation through a series of public talks with interactive presentations and giving free educational materials (pamphlets, educational games, stickers, posters, among others).

At schools, we want to highlight the ecological and cultural importance of the tapir in Venezuela to enhance the local pride and sense of belonging. In this way, we will look for the teachers’ involvement in a most proactive way. Likewise, we will keep our educational presence through Internet and we will carry out several virtual meetings to share information about tapir conservation.

Saving the tapirs and their habitat will contribute towards:

• To conserve the tropical ecosystems, especially the rainforests.

• To protect the watersheds, vital for the people, to irrigate the lands and to produce electric energy.

• To protect the soil from erosion so that the land will continue to support agriculture and to prevent natural disasters.

Tapirs are flagship species in the tropics; the symbol to foster important conservation efforts in the most biodiverse regions on Earth.

AIMS

Increase people awareness in favor of tapirs' conservation and their habitat in Venezuela with emphasis in the Central Coastal Range:

• by developing hands-on, education activities for various grade levels.

• by using in the environmental education, the most updated information about tapir ecology.

• by creating and distributing educational materials for free use through Internet, in educational centers and other community-base organizations.

• by using the lowland tapir as “focal species” for the conservation in some wild areas from Venezuela, especially national parks.

Evaluate the effectiveness of the environmental education for future implementation in specific areas of the lowland tapir’s range in Venezuela:

• by measuring attitude changes in students and parents regarding the tapir conservation within the work areas.

WHAT DIFFERENCE CAN YOUR CONTRIBUTION MAKE?

Maybe one dollar means nothing to many people in developed countries, but for us in Latin America is a concrete possibility to sustain a wonderful long-term wildlife conservation project based on environmental education as strategy to spread interest and love toward tapirs' conservation and their habitat. One single dollar can help us to sustain an active work to spread the word in favor to wildlife conservation.

Every contribution you make to this campaign will allow us to provide education to our closest neighbors, especially children in urban and rural areas, and maintain our informative sites about tapirs on Facebook, Instagram, and Blogspot. Your support is a valuable opportunity to recognize the true value of nature and our responsibility to its future. Please, consider your sincere support today so that t we can make together a difference in this world full of contrast.

WHAT THE MONEY RAISED WILL BE USED FOR?

The money raised through this campaign it will allow us to sustain the educational initiatives during next quarter or more (year 2026). We will produce new original educational materials in order to reinforce a distance learning program through our page on Facebook “La Casa del Tapir” and our website: https://lacasadeltapir.blogspot.com.

We Want:

• Pay professional fees linked to the production of educational materials (pamphlets, posters, educational sheets, multimedia slideshows, etc.).

• Pay administrative expenses (communication: mail, phone, internet, etc.).

• Pay hosting and domain for our Websites.

• Eventually pay the living expenses (meals, accommodations and fuel) during the visits to educational centers (mainly elementary schools and high schools): 1 visit each 15 days / 3 people.

PROJECT OUTPUTS

• Publication of regular information through our mass media and website which can be freely used as educational tool by teachers at schools as well as the general public.

• Production of a pamphlet for children entitled "My Neighbor, the Tapir" as well as a new series of didactic games focused on tapir natural history and conservation.

• Production of stickers.

• Development of a series of virtual conferences and talks as part of a Distance Learning Program.

OUTCOMES

• Students and their parents will get qualified information about tapirs and related environmental conservation issues.

• Children and adults will wake up a stronger awareness and commitment toward the tapir conservation and the environment.

• Government’s staff and community leaders will assume a more active role to reinforce local conservation programs.

• Our environmental education initiative will be used as a joint model for other conservation programs in Venezuela and eventually in neighboring countries.

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT OUR PAST ACTIVITIES?

Download this report here

UPDATES         

We will be providing updates and work progress through:

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/LaCasaDelTapir/ 

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lacasadeltapir

and the website: https://lacasadeltapir.blogspot.com/