
Reserva Natural
La Pedregoza
A 1,200 hectare or 3,000 acre natural reserve in Vichada, Colombia, located along the banks of the Río Bita RAMSAR wetland in the Orinoco River basin.
La Pedregoza has 4 distinct and fragile eco-systems, each one unique. The best way to inform and educate the general public is with an interpretive center explaining the inundation forest, gallery forest, morichals, savannas and the wildlife that depends on those eco-systems to visitors. This is an ambitious project, but one that is important as a hands on way of doing environmental education, while also promoting conservation and an understanding of the region's amazing biodiversity.
Vichada and the llanos orientales or eastern plains of Colombia are famous for their varied local and nearctic bird life. We have some 140 confirmed bird species that live at or visit La Pedregoza at various times of the year.
Besides being an articulating organization for new natural reserves registered with Colombia's national parks system or PNN, we also enter into Conservation Agreements with landholders to ensure they use sustainable practices.
Our passion is the conservation of Orinoco River basin native tree species. We have done projects with WCS and with the renowned Humboldt Institute. Now we're doing technical studies of native trees with Fondo Acción.
Visitors and ecotourists can stay in our comfortable Ecotel La Pedregoza, and eat their meals in Mi Viejo Congrio, an on-site restaurant, while enjoying tours, hikes, swims and other adventures in the natural reserve.
As part of the Proyecto Vida Silvestre with WCS and Ecopetrol, we demonstrate to local landholders alternatives to cutting down native trees in order to make fence posts. This includes planting living fences as the best alternative.
The local environmental authority, Corporinoquia, drops birds and animals that have been injured or are victims of the illegal pet trade off at La Pedregoza, so that we can try and rehabilitate them so that they can return to the wild.