Category: Wildlife Habitat: National Parks

1. Argentina set to get its biggest National Park

   Posted on 9:00am Tuesday 31st Jul 2018

   The British Birdwatching Fair takes place every August.  Birdfair takes place between 17th and 19th August 2018 in Rutland, the smallest county in the UK.     This year, bird lovers in the UK support the creation of largest Argentina’s National Park! Let me tell you more. The fifth largest salt lake in the world, Mar Chiquita is South America’s second largest water body.  And it’s home to most of the world’s Chilean flamingo (about 318,000 of them, they are Nearly Threatened) and nearly half of its Andean Flamingo (18,000 in winter (Vulnerable) and Puna Flamingo as well (and they’re Near Threatened). ©Pablo Rodriguez Merkel Mar Chiquita is home to about 318,000 Chilean flamingos In addition, there are tens of thousands of American Golden Plover, White-rumped and Lesser Yellowlegs who migrate here. Oh, and don’t forget the 600,000 Wilson's Phalaropes – about a third of the world’s population. So let’s move away from the Little Sea (as Mar Chiquita means) to grasslands.  These are home to the Greater Rhea, Bearded Tachuri, a Maned Wolf and Sickle-winged Nightjar (Near Threatened).  The swampy areas have  Dot-winged Crake, and Dinelli's Doradito, while Crowned Solitary Eagles Buteogallus coronatus fly over Chaco forest. Absolutely stunning... Mar Chiquita has all the credentials but... Mar Chiquita is a Ramsar Site, one of Argentina's top Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA), a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve and a provincial reserve so you would have thought that would keep it safe. Unfortunately dear reader, that is not the case.  It’s in danger. Why?  Well, the human race is at it again. Water extracted from the lake at an unsustainable lake The lake is polluted, thanks to local industry Agricultural intensification Above average deforestation rate Unregulated tourism. And action is needed urgently.  Which is where the supporters of Birdfair in the UK come in and the human race is working to put things right.   Aves Argentinas is a partner of BirdLife International.  It has undertaken bird surveys, raised awareness, improved management of the area and clarified land ownership at Mar Chiquita for years. Then came its light bulb moment – a plan to create what should become Argentina’s largest national park. Creating a national park to keep the area safe The plan has been developed with provincial and national authorities.  Back in 2017, a concordat was signed by Argentina’s environment minister, National Parks Administration and the governor of the Córdoba province.  And the Ansenuza National Park will protect up to 800,000 hectares which will be managed at the national level. Crucial to the plan is the involvement and engagement (how I hate that word but I can never think of another) of the local community. Planning involving them, empowering local stake holders and establishing a network of local conservation guardians has been a key part of Aves Argentina’s strategy from the start. And there’s more – bolstering the local economy through nature-based tourism is essential to the project’s success.  So the Ministry of Tourism is very pleased indeed. Ecotourism will lengthen the tourist seasons and help provide sustainable livelihoods over a wider area.  That should also help local communities commit to the long term conservation of the area. ©Spencer Wright This is a Maned Wolf - also dubbed the Fox on Stilts!  They live on nearby grassland. And the lake’s colloquial name in the national park title says a great deal. The British Birdwatching Fair helps in two key ways: Raising awareness An international event like this is vital in building political awareness back in Argentina as to why this area needs to be protected.  It will help build support from the bird world and show that the Ansenuza really is a birding paradise. As a bird lover, I want to go and see birds in a beautiful, natural environment.  I don’t want to go to see a polluted lake where a lot of the water has been sucked out and drive through an area where local forests have been destroyed to get there.  Raising funds to support the project In 2017, the theme was ‘Saving paradise in the Pacific’.  The aim was to remove invasive predators from the French Polynesian island of Rapa Iti.  Last year, Birdfair raised a jaw-dropping £333,000 was raised towards the work. The 2018 project is an ambitious one.   A project to create and protect a national park and all its wildlife, whilst helping locals through eco-tourism.  And surely a model for other conservation organisations to look at?  Useful links Visit the Birdfair website here.  It's been conserving nature worldwide since 1989. Aves Argentinas - I hope you speak Spanish!  But do take a look anyway.   BirdLife International - BirdLife International is a global partnership of conservation organisations (NGOs) that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources. 121 BirdLife Partners worldwide.

2. First jaguars born in the Iberá National Park in Argentina in over a century!

   Posted on 8:00pm Wednesday 13th Jun 2018

   There’s great news for jaguars in Argentina.  Two jaguar cubs have been born – the first to be born from the Tompkins Conservation’s Jaguar Reintroduction Programme and the first jaguars to be born in decades in the region. So how did this come about? Back in 1983, 3.2 million acres was established - the Iberá Natural Reserve in Corrientes province, North East Argentina.  It created a tremendous opportunity for jaguar restoration. And the Conservation Land Trust (CLT) was established there;   it is ecologically restoring 370,000 acres of former cattle ranches to establish Argentina’s largest national park inside the larger Iberá reserve. And CLT started a programme to reintroduce those large mammals that became extirpated inside Iberá during the XXth century.     After re-establishing the presence of giant anteaters and pampas deer there, jaguars are next.  The Tompkins Conservation team in Argentina consists of vets and scientists, community stakeholders and policy makers – and they’ve all collaborated with the goal of breeding a generation of jaguars that could be released into their natural habitat and survive in the wild on their own. There are about 200 individuals in the wild in Argentina today, and about 15,000 jaguars roam the wild worldwide. The goal is to restore a stable 100 jaguar population to Iberá National Park – these jaguar cubs are a great start.  For more information on this Jaguar programme, click here

    

3. Ecuador declares new National Park for the first time in 9 years

   Posted on 7:00am Tuesday 6th Mar 2018

   Ecuador declares new National Park Good news from Ecuador! It’s just declared the protection of the country’s first national park in 9 years – the Rio Negro – Sophadora National Park. It’s an important protection.   The reserve fills a big gap in a Páramo and Cloud Forest down the eastern Andes.  It’s between two national parks – the Sangay and Podocarpus.   What’s more, a recent survey of its incredible wildlife has discovered 3 news species – a frog, a caecilian and a salamander, so it’s very exciting. This has been achieved through a number of groups working together: Nature and Culture International Municipal governments The Ministry of the Environment Local communities The new reserve covers 75,654 acres.   Nature and Culture International undertook a Rapid Biological Assessment which showed the region’s ecosystems to be unique for its biodiversity and endemism, and having dramatic altitude changes over short distances. These altitude gradients encourage the evolution of diverse species and provide a critical “escape valve” for climate change.  They give an upward migration path to cooler temperatures which help species survive as the climate gets hotter.  The Rapid Biological Assessment showed 43 species of mammans in the area, including threatened specials such as the Spectacled Bear, Mountain Tapir and Andean Condor.   And there are also 546 species of plants, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals.  And there’s more from the Nangaritza Reserve Supporters of the UK based charity World Land Trust helped fund a 447 acre extension to protect other areas in the Sangay – Podocarpus Corridor, namely the Nangaritza Reserve.   It has foothill forests close to the Podocarpus National Park.   It’s really critical to connect large protected areas such as national parks, to ensure the health of wildlife population.  It's home to birds such as the Orange-throated Tanager, Cinnamon-breasted Tody Tyrant and Ecuadorian Piedtail. You can help by donating £25 to the World Land Trust’s Buy an Acre programme, and help it continue to fund land purchase and create nature reserves to protect threatened habitats and wildlife.

4. Good news from Colombia - Chiribiquete National Park is to be extended

   Posted on 9:00pm Monday 5th Mar 2018

   Good news from Colombia. The President, Juan Manuel Santos, has announced plans to extend the country’s largest national park by 1.5 million hectares.  At the moment, the Chiribiquete National Park covers 2.8 million hectares in the Amazon region, so this planned extension is enormous.   The National Park has got one of the highest rates of plant diversity in the northern Amazon, and it’s famous for its tepuis (table-top rock formations) which rise out of the forest.   In fact, the forest is located on one of the world’s oldest rock formations, the Guiana Shield.  The park is rich in wildlife and it has traces of ancient human life.  Francisco Forero Bonell, a phpotographer, documented ancient paintings on the sheer rock faces depicting animals and humans.  They are thought to have been made by one of the indigenous groups which lived in the area way before the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors. The Colombian government is hoping that Chiribiquete will be added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites this year;  it’s on the tentative list at the moment, and the World Heritage Committee will study the application in June.

5. Côte d’Ivoire's forests get a financial boost

   Posted on 8:00pm Monday 5th Mar 2018

   The Côte d’Ivoire has only two million hectares of forest – nearly 90% less than in the early 1960s.   80% of its forests vanished in 50 years, but Ivorian forest cover has slowly risen to about 12 million ha in 1970 and 4 million in 2000, according to the Director of Cabinet of the Ministry of the Environment. To stop deforestation and forest degradation, a loan and grant agreement for FCFA 7.5 billion (that’s about 11.4 million euros) was signed in February 2018 between the Ivorian Minister of Economy and Trade and the Director of Operations of the World Bank for Côte d'Ivoire in favour of the Forest Investment Program (FIP).  The 5-year project will support the sustainable management of classified forests and the monitoring capacity of Taï National Park.  Communities depending on it will be involved, and there will be incentive mechanisms to generate other forms of income to reduce human impact on the area. Global Forest Watch for the Côte d'Ivoire   Find out about the Rainforest Trust's work to protect the Tanoé Forest in the Cote d'Ivoire and how you can help