Ranching Dendrobates

completed

The project will establish a business to sustainably breed and export Poison Dart Frogs (PDFs) that live in the rainforests of Peru. The project will breed the PDFs via a production method called ZIRA (under current patenting) that only functions in standing forests. It was invented after meticulous study of the frogs’ breeding cycle. The production method consists of artificially improving breeding sites in the frogs’ natural habitat. These greatly enhance breeding success, thereby allowing a "surplus" of PDFs to be harvested from artificial structures, put in grow-out cages on the forest floor, and exported. The frogs, which are spectacularly colored and display an interesting behavior, will be sold in the international pet trade. The frogs will be produced near Tarapoto, Iquitos, and Pucallpa.In addition, the project will include complementary activities aimed at maximizing the long-term conservation-related benefits associated with the export business. First, it will provide agricultural assistance to participating rural inhabitants so they are able to move away from slash-and-burn agricultural methods. Second, it will provide ecological education to foster greater awareness among the participating community members and other stakeholders regarding the project’s conservation-related objectives. Third, it will establish a strategic partnership with a credible local ecotourism operator in order to create an additional revenue stream from tours of the project’s facilities and implementation sites. Finally, the project will help to strengthen the management of several protected areas because the export business will use some of its revenues to hire full-time conservation specialists, including forest rangers. The project will be implemented by Asociación Curmi and the Institute for Research into the Biology of the Eastern Andes (INIBICO). INRENA as the Peruvian Fauna and CITES authority will participate in project implementation in order to oversee the production process and to avoid any inappropriate applications of the production methods.