Paper short abstract:

Jorge and his wife protect four hectares of forest in Colombia. They share this forest with other ‘people’, as he refers to animals living there. They use sound recordings to learn more about them and to invite other local communities to protect the forests and different species that inhabit there.

Paper long abstract:

The Andean forest at San Pedro municipality in which Cucusonic members have been working is the result of a 44-year natural regeneration process. Don Jorge and his wife, Beatriz, who consider this land part of their home, have been taking care of a forest in an area that historically has been used for cattle raising and agricultural activities. With the protection of four hectares of forest, they have favoured ecological connectivity, the conservation of water sources and the existence and transit of different species. Jorge has also been collecting weather data (precipitation and temperature) for about 15 years, as a way of making evident climate change. Jorge and his wife have been also working not only to promote environmental but also social changes among local communities near the land they protect. So, while allowing forest recovery, they have also promoted the development of economic activities that seek to generate less environmental impact, by reducing the use of pesticides in agriculture, or showing that crop diversification might actually help to soil recovery and the arrival of new animal species. Jorge and Beatriz want the all the knowledge Cucusonic collective is generating about species of frogs, birds and bats get to be transmitted to different audiences so that they also promote biodiversity protection.