Five technical documents related to the management and sustainable use of vicuña fiber in the Apolobamba National Integrated Management Natural Area (ANMIN Apolobamba) were published in September, helping to strengthen conservation, management and the sustainable use strategy for this species in Bolivia.
This is the result of several months of work developed between the Community Association for the Commercialization of Vicuña Fiber in Bolivia (ACOFIV Bolivia), the Ministry of Environment and Water, through the General Directorate of Biodiversity and Protected Areas (DGBAP), the National Service of Protected Areas (SERNAP), through ANMIN Apolobamba, and the technical support of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS Bolivia).
During the official inauguration of the shearing season, held on September 26th in the ayllu of Puyo Puyo, in the municipality of Pelechuco in Apolobamba, the Vice Minister of Environment, Magín Herrera López, presented the documents that reflect the experience of many years of work by the communities, technicians and institutions involved in vicuña management, especially in ANMIN Apolobamba.
The publications are: Technical manual on good animal welfare practices and sanitary measures in the sustainable use of vicuña fiber; Good animal welfare practices and sanitary measures in the use of vicuña fiber (practical manual), Guide for fleece handling and pre-selection of vicuña fiber, Guide for mechanical shearing of vicuña fiber and Biosecurity protocol for the use of vicuña fiber in Bolivia.
The Technical Manual on Good Animal Welfare Practices and Sanitary Measures for the Sustainable Use of Vicuña Fiber, aimed at technical personnel, provides guidance on the management of vicuñas using animal welfare and animal health standards during herding, capture, shearing and release.
The document Good Animal Welfare Practices and Sanitary Measures in the Utilization of Vicuña Fiber (practical manual) is aimed at vicuña management communities. It includes guidance on best practices throughout the process, as well as sanitary, preventive and curative measures during the harvesting of vicuña fiber.
The Guide for handling the fleece during shearing and preselection of vicuña fiber is a key document for knowing the best practices during and after shearing and for preselection of vicuña fiber, giving it greater added value.
The Guide for mechanical shearing of vicuña fiber is a manual that provides guidance on all the steps and stages involved in mechanized shearing of vicuña fiber.
Finally, the Biosecurity Protocol for the harvesting of vicuña fiber in Bolivia provides guidance on all biosecurity measures that should be adopted by vicuña technicians and managers during the handling of the species, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
All of these documents complement the technical guidelines defined by the State, such as the National Vicuña Management Plan and the Technical Guidelines for Sustainable Use, among others.