30 December 2024
MEDIA RELEASE by SAVE THE GOLDEN LION TAMARIN
(contact@savetheliontamarin.org)
The 10-year plan to save the golden lion tamarins
Save the Golden Lion Tamarin (SGLT) is pleased to announce the development of conservation goals for 2025, 2028 and 2035 to save the golden lion tamarin, a small monkey found only in Brazil’s lowland Atlantic Forest, approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of the city of Rio de Janeiro.
Golden lion tamarins are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’ Red List of Threatened Species.
Through the creation of tree-filled corridors to connect isolated forest areas that GLTs call home, the long-term goal is to have more than 4,000 GLTs living in one large, uninterrupted forested area of about 50,000 hectares (123,550 acres). GLT conservation efforts for the 2025 and 2028 goals, including the growth and protection of the forest corridors, will support progress toward this 2035 target.
The goals were developed during a two-week gathering in August 2024 in Brazil that included representatives from SGLT, its Brazilian partner Associação Mico-Leão-Dourado (AMLD), and other international partners. Participants examined recent GLT population census data to develop the plan of action.
James Dietz, vice president and founding director of SGLT and who participated in the August meetings, said he, scientists and conservationists feel optimistic about the work ahead and the benefits it will bring GLTs, as well as other species. “We’re really putting these ecosystems back together,” Dietz said.
Forest corridors are formed by planting native tree seedlings and caring for them until they can survive on their own, which takes about three years. Work is already underway on one of the corridors, named after Jennifer Mickelberg, a career conservationist, AMLD advisor and SGLT board member who passed away in 2023.
The reforestation not only helps GLTs and all other forest inhabitants, it also helps people. It preserves the regional watershed providing water for local communities and it boosts the local economy by providing forest-friendly jobs. Additionally, forest restoration benefits everyone by mitigating climate change.
SGLT’s Grow Trees for GLTs campaign is raising awareness of this need and 100% of contributions go directly toward growing the corridors connecting the forest fragments.
To learn more about these efforts, please visit this SGLT webpage.
About SGLT: Save the Golden Lion Tamarin (SGLT) is a United States 501(c)(3) public charity, providing technical and financial support to help Associação Mico-Leão Dourado (AMLD, or Brazil’s Golden Lion Tamarin Association) save golden lion tamarins in perpetuity.