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Parana Pine Forest Project

by Kristina Cockle

Children from San Pedro planting a Parana Pine.

I am writing to let you know some of the developments in our Parana Pine Forest Project over the last few months.

Since November 2004, we have been using the equipment donated by the Birders' Exchange: a GPS, rechargeable batteries, solar charger, and caps from Brunton; a book on field methods for bird surveys; and a digital camera.

This equipment has been very important for our work surveying birds in the Parana Pine forest, and in our outreach program in the local community.

The GPS allows us to measure the altitude of our study sites, georeference bird habitat such as bamboo patches and Parana Pine patches, and ground-truth vegetation cover. We use the solar panel and batteries to run the GPS.

Showing photos of parrots.

The GPS data allows us to work with a combination of 1) recent LandSat Images of Misiones from October 2004, 2) soil maps, and 3) maps of property boundaries, in order to determine relationships between birds and habitat type, and location of key sites. This helps us to decide our conservation strategy.

The camera has been very important in documenting bird habitat and illegal logging, and its most important use has been in our outreach program. We use photographs of animals, forest, and "conservation threats" to illustrate our conservation message. This is particularly important in rural areas, where many people do not read. We have used the pictures in pamphlets, newspaper articles, presentations, a museum exhibit, stands at local events, and on our website.

I want to thank you again for this equipment, which has held up perfectly in the field, and has allowed us to involve new volunteers in our project.

PARANA PINE FOREST PROJECT UPDATE

September 2004 – February 2005

Proyecto Selva de Pino Paraná, Fundación de Historia Natural Félix de Azara, San Pedro, Misiones, Argentina, CP 3352. kcockle@dal.ca.

Vinaceous Parrot and friends in Araucaria Prov Park.

This October marked the end of our first year of work in the Parana Pine Forest Project. We celebrated with an historic event: a three-day "Araucaria (Parana Pine) Festival", organized in collaboration with the Provincial Park Ranger School and the Municipality of San Pedro, and attended by over 500 people.

Conservation Priorities
The first year of our project has allowed us to hone our objectives and methods to meet the conservation needs of Argentina's Parana Pine forest species. In the Department of San Pedro, environmental problems, such as biodiversity loss, derive from social problems and a lack of long-term planning. The area has received very little scientific study, and the status, threats, and habitat requirements of endangered species are not known. Decisions about land management respond directly to the desire for short-term benefits for industry (currently lumber and tobacco), and to the immediate necessities of a growing population that is primarily rural and poor. The lack of planning leads to a rapid loss of soil fertility, and, consequently, the burning of forest to create new crop land.

Photographing logs cut in Yaboti Biosphere Reserve.

We believe that this model must be changed. Eventually, it is necessary to offer continuous technical and logistical support in the management of small farms. The first steps, however, are to generate interest in conserving forest for future generations, and to reduce direct impacts on endangered species, through public awareness campaigns; identify key patches of forest and key habitats; understand the threats and the biology of forest species; and help farmers make choices compatible with forest conservation.

When we began our work, many local people mistakenly believed that the forest and its species "went on forever". Although our results suggest that the Blue-winged Macaw was extirpated from San Pedro (and Argentina) in the past 50 years, local residents did not recognize the possibility of species extinction. Our outreach program is helping to change these views. For the first time, people are visiting parks and taking pride in the Parana Pine forest. This spring, many rural families protected Vinaceous Parrot nests on their property, in an effort to ensure the species' future. Perhaps most importantly, rural families are beginning to take the forest and its species into account, when making decisions about land use and production.

In Action: September 2004 – February 2005
In the last six months, we have worked to identify priority sites for conservation, determine habitat requirements of endangered birds, and evaluate threats to the forest bird community. We have used Mackinnon Lists to collect data on the bird community in Esmeralda Provincial Park and the Yabotí Biosphere Reserve, on small properties near Tobuna, and around San Pedro. Our results led to the inclusion of two new sites under BirdLife International's Important Bird Areas (IBAs) initiative. We wrote up six sites for the upcoming IBAs book, which will be published in September. We are also preparing papers on the natural history and distribution of several endangered bird species, for publication in scientific journals.

Outreach work near Paraje Cruce Caballero.

We have continued with our public awareness campaign to reduce deforestation and curtail nest-robbing of the Vinaceous Parrot. To reach rural people, we continued our regular visits to some 50 farms, we conducted bi-weekly interviews on the radio program "Una Mañana Distinta", and we participated in a workshop organized by the Small Farms Commission of Paraje Santa Rosa. In the town of San Pedro, we co-organized the First Annual Araucaria Festival, and participated with a stand at the local "Expo". We led educational activities at two rural schools and in three different provincial parks, including: 1) an "end of year camping trip" for two Grade 7 classes from Colonia Esmeralda, at Esmeralda Provincial Park, 2) a "Field Day" for approximately 90 children from San Pedro, in Araucaria Provincial Park, and 3) "Guided Visits" to the provincial parks "Cruce Caballero" and "Araucaria". Finally, in a public event, we presented the local museum (Museo Bonifacio Maidana) with an exhibit on the region's fauna and flora.

We are also working at the national level, to raise awareness about the problems that affect both the Parana Pine forest and the rural poor that depend upon it. Our public awareness campaign included a 20 minute television program, aired nation-wide in December, as part of the series "Científicos: Industria Argentina", and an article which will be published in the magazine "Naturaleza & Conservación".

In all aspects of our work, we have collaborated with local, national, and international volunteers. By participating in our project, local professionals such as park rangers and teachers, as well as students, farmers, parents, and scout leaders, are gaining skills and knowledge to educate their community about forest conservation.

The Next Steps
Over the next few months, we will prioritize: 1) counting Vinaceous Parrots at roost sites to estimate the size of the Argentinian population, 2) surveying birds at priority sites, 3) disseminating the results of our first year of field research, 4) building local capacity for environmental education, and 5) emphasizing, in our outreach work, the role of the forest for protecting water and soil, and the need for long-term sustainability of production on farms. We will also seek funding for the next stage of our project (2005-2006).

Our work is supported financially by a Rufford Small Grant for Nature Conservation from the Rufford Whitley-Laing Foundation, a Flagship Species Grant from Fauna and Flora International, and a Bergstrom Memorial Research Grant from the Association of Field Ornithologists. We collaborate with the Ministry of Ecology of the Province of Misiones, Guira-Oga Center for Rehabilitation and Captive Breeding of Endangered Birds, the National Commision on Activities in Space (CONAE), and the Provincial Park Ranger Program at the National University of Misiones.

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Birders' Exchange
Sharing Tools, Saving Birds
A Program Across the Americas

Birders' Exchange translation project ~ A Neotropical Companion

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