After a rigorous application and evaluation process, Women for Conservation and the Asociación Colombiana de Herpetología (ACH)
officially announce the five women selected as fellows of the Women in Science and Conservation Scholarship Program, an initiative aimed at strengthening women’s leadership in amphibian and reptile conservation in Colombia.
The program, launched during the IV Colombian Congress of Herpetology, received proposals from different regions of the country, reflecting the territorial, thematic, and methodological diversity of the work women are carrying out in favor of Colombian herpetofauna and community-based environmental education.
After evaluating criteria such as relevance to conservation, educational and community impact, clarity and feasibility of the proposals, innovation, gender approach, and geographic diversity, the joint committee of the Colombian Association of Herpetology (ACH) and Women for Conservation selected five women-led projects. Each will receive an individual grant of USD 500 for implementation.
"In a context of environmental crisis, it is essential to support conservation and research projects where women are at the forefront. Through our Women in Science and Conservation Scholarship Program, we are committed to backing key initiatives led by women investing in a new generation of conservationists,” said
Sara Lara, President, Women for Conservation.
Below, we present the selected women fellows, along with a brief overview of their profiles and the projects they will develop:
Valeria Obando
Valeria is a young Indigenous leader from the Pastos people and a biology student. She is committed to habitat protection and environmental conservation in the Pan-Amazonian Indigenous Reserve of Gran Tescual, in Nariño. Her work integrates environmental research, organizational strengthening with youth and women, and dialogue of knowledge rooted in Indigenous worldview.
She combines research, environmental education, and photography as tools to highlight biodiversity and cultural identity, promoting territorial governance, women’s leadership, and the comprehensive protection of nature from a biocultural perspective.
Project title: Guardians of Song and Sun in the Pan-Amazonian Biosphere of the Gran Tescual Indigenous Reserve
Summary: The Pan-Amazonian Indigenous Reserve of Gran Tescual, located in the municipality of Puerres (Nariño), covers 36,175 hectares that strategically connect the Andes–Amazon ecosystems. Its territory includes Andean forests, Amazonian transition zones, páramos, and hydrological systems, favoring high amphibian diversity. However, there is currently no detailed record of the reserve’s herpetofauna, and existing knowledge remains largely oral, preserved in the memory of elders and knowledge holders, without formal scientific documentation processes.
In response, the project proposes a participatory process led by an Indigenous woman that integrates basic research, environmental education, and dialogue of knowledge to recognize, document, and highlight the importance of amphibians in the territory. The initiative aligns with the Runakaypacha Life Plan and the spiritual vision of the Reserve, in which amphibians are considered indicators of environmental balance. The project also contributes to strengthening Indigenous governance and biodiversity conservation in the face of threats such as climate change and the alteration of hydrological cycles.
Angie Julieth Lozano Valbuena
Angie Lozano is a technologist in hotel management and a tourism guiding technologist. She is the legal representative of Asociación Suigeneris, a community-based organization focused on nature tourism and regenerative tourism in the rural area of the municipality of Sevilla, Valle del Cauca.
In this role, she leads biodiversity conservation processes with a special emphasis on the ruby poison frog (Andinobates bombetes), a species classified as Vulnerable. Her work integrates monitoring actions, habitat strengthening, environmental education, and community participation, promoting active conservation and sustainable territorial development.
Project title: Rescuing the Jewel of the Andes: Conservation Program for the Ruby Poison Frog (Andinobates bombetes)
Summary: The project seeks to contribute to the conservation of the ruby poison frog (Andinobates bombetes), classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), through an integrated approach that combines population monitoring, habitat enrichment, and community environmental education in the Central Cordillera of northern Valle del Cauca. By strengthening local bromeliad populations, which the ruby poison frog depends on for reproduction, the project improves habitat for the species and evaluates its population sustainability, while promoting local participation and generating key information for habitat management and conservation.
Deisy Joana Acero Agudelo
Deisy Acero is a coastal ecology specialist. Her work with reptiles began during her university training through an undergraduate thesis focused on unintended wildlife mortality (for example, wildlife killed by human vehicles) which revealed reptiles as one of the most affected wildlife groups.
As a professional, she develops environmental education processes with local communities and workers, with an emphasis on snakes and the reduction of human–wildlife conflict. From this experience emerged Guardianes de Escamas, an initiative focused on reptile conservation in the Urabá region.
Project title: Guardianes de Escamas: Reptile Education and Conservation
Summary:
The project focuses on creating educational materials for locals of the Urabá region, with an emphasis on the community of the Currulao district in Turbo (Antioquia). Through training processes with youth, children, and adults, the initiative promotes the formation of community reptile monitors aimed at improving local perceptions, debunking myths, and strengthening knowledge about this group of fauna.
The project fosters conflict prevention and coexistence between communities and wildlife, and includes the development of a community-based reptile inventory supported by the use of the iNaturalist app as a tool for biodiversity recording and local knowledge appropriation.
Stefanny Quintero Arévalo
Stefanny Quintero Arévalo is an environmental educator, musician, and cultural manager born in Palmira, Valle del Cauca. She is the founder of the collective and community school Música para Todos and La Ruta Sonora, initiatives through which she leads environmental education and citizen science processes and supports the strengthening of community and territorial leadership for environmental conservation and wildlife protection.
For more than eleven years, her work has focused on promoting new ways of relating to nature, based on the belief that we can only care for and protect what we truly know.
Project title: La Ruta Sonora: Environmental Education, Bioacoustics, and Participatory GIS for the Identification and Conservation of Amphibians on the Western Slope of the Central Cordillera of Valle del Cauca
Summary: La Ruta Sonora is an environmental education and participatory research initiative focused on the conservation of glass frogs (family Centrolenidae) on the western slope of the Central Cordillera of Valle del Cauca, in rural areas of El Cerrito, Palmira, and Pradera. The project integrates environmental education, community-based bioacoustic monitoring, and participatory use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to identify microclimatic habitats with potential for the persistence of these bioindicator species.
The initiative includes the creation of a sound database and a map of potential refuges, while strengthening local capacities through community training, women’s leadership, and the consolidation of a local environmental monitoring network.
Mara Selena Mesias Bastidas
Mara Mesías is a biologist from the University of Nariño in Ipiales. Her research focuses on the ontogeny and genetics of the genera Epipedobates and Gastrotheca, as well as on the study of the chytrid fungus (Bd), contributing to knowledge and conservation of species in her region. She also carries out science communication processes across Latin America, promoting women’s leadership in science and conservation.
Project title: Guardians of the High-Andean Forest
Summary:
The project takes place in the mountains of southwestern Colombia, within high-Andean forest and páramo ecosystems, and aims to strengthen women’s participation in the conservation of local herpetofauna. Participants will be trained in herpetological monitoring, including recording amphibian presence, identifying vocalizations, and detecting threats such as the chytris fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.
The initiative includes the creation of a bioacoustic library of the high-Andean forest and the development of a community booklet that integrates scientific information and local knowledge. The project seeks to build local capacity, strengthen women’s leadership, and promote conservation actions based on territorial knowledge.
Promoting women’s leadership in conservation
In addition to financial support, the fellows will receive an official certificate and gain access to the Women in Science and Conservation mentorship network, which aims to strengthen capacities, increase visibility of women scientists’ work, and foster national and international collaboration networks.
With this new cohort of fellows, Women for Conservation and the Colombian Association of Herpetology reaffirm their commitment to a more inclusive, participatory, and gender-responsive approach to conservation, recognizing the fundamental role of women in biodiversity protection and community-based conservation work.
