The eleventh hour for the Grey-breasted Parakeet
2009 Update
Flagship for a unique forest
The first phase of the project, to update information on the present distribution of this species, indicated that the Serra de Baturité in Ceará State is the last refuge for the species in the wild.
The Baturité Mountains are about 100km south of the coastal capital city of Fortaleza. Surrounded by semi-arid lowlands with caatinga vegetation, they rise up to 1,115m above the lowlands and above 600m present a unique type of moist forest. The Serra de Baturité concentrates the highest area of remaining preserved moist forest in the region, and also the majority of known sites of the Grey-breasted Parakeet.
Although the whole area above 600m occurs within a state protected area (State Environmental Protection Area of Serra de Baturité), it is poorly managed by state authorities. The “protected area” is of sustainable use designation, which has been so widely interpreted that apartment buildings, small towns and farms using pesticides can be found within its boundaries. More effective in preserving the moist forest habitat has been a state law that limits the amount of land use in the Baturité Mountains above 600m of altitude. Even so, there is little enforcement of the law, and the vegetation cover is being systematically cleared for development.
The second phase of the project, investigating the reproductive cycle of the species and its distribution in Serra de Baturité, revealed that the major threats currently are the lack of suitable nesting habitats (trees big enough for nesting cavities) and the poaching of existing nests to sell the parakeets to the pet market.
A series of recommendations was made for a population recovery programme for the species, and these are being implemented by AQUASIS in the present phase of the project. The aim is to increase the availability of nesting habitat, and to make the Grey-breasted Parakeet a symbol for the conservation of the Serra de Baturité, mobilizing stakeholders and involving the local communities in the conservation effort.
Nest boxes
One objective is to increase wild population by using nest-boxes, and so far 19 have been installed in carefully selected sites. The nest-boxes have been monitored and, although no nests have yet been occupied, the AQUASIS team has seen pairs of Grey-breasted Parakeet inspecting the artificial nests. Mating behaviour has been observed at about three meters from one of the nest-boxes and several individuals have been observed close to them.
The project intends to install 60 nest-boxes, but it is difficult to find safe places to hang them because bird trapping, although illegal, is a socially acceptable activity and it is still widely practised in the region. Cages with songbirds, parrots and parakeets (mainly Aratinga cactorum and Brotogeris chiriri) are a very common sight in many houses in the Baturité region.
In order to reduce the risk of poaching of the nest-boxes, areas have been selected close to natural nests, where the landowner has demonstrated an interest in cooperating with the conservation project and is willing to help monitoring and protecting the nests. When the parakeets start occupying the nest boxes, studies of the reproductive biology will be conducted.
One unexpected obstacle encountered with the nest-box initiative has been the resistance of some landowners to let the field team place artificial nests on their properties. The more the value of the land increases in the Baturité Mountains, it seems, the more people tend to avoid strangers on their lands. The social profile of the Serra de Baturité is gradually shifting from rural communities, who were very hospitable and keen to meet outsiders, to a vacation and leisure destination for urban elites who are used to tighter security methods to protect their property.
Most owners today can only be found during the weekends in their second houses in the Serra de Baturité. Thus the field team has had to evolve the appropriate approach to communicate successfully with every type of landowner. The best results are obtained when the owners that are keen to contribute with the project contact their neighbours and explain to them that they are already helping put the nest-boxes on their lands, and that they too should help, in order to achieve more effective conservation results, i.e. the peer-to-peer approach.
Protecting the species and its habitat
The awareness poster: Play fair with Brazil’s most threatened parakeet © Aquasis
Another principal objective is to promote the Grey-breasted Parakeet as flagship species, and two local organizations have already agreed to join the partnership to conduct long-term action to protect the species and its habitat.
One is a local ecotourism business called Parque das Trilhas (Trails Park), and the other is a local NGO called AGUA (Friends of Guaramiranga Association). Parque das Trilhas is an important ecotourism enterprise in the Baturité region, located close to the main town of Guaramiranga where they operate an inn, and conduct various guided activities in the region. It attracts a lot of people during weekends and holidays, and AQUASIS is exploring with Parque das Trilhas ways to integrate the awareness campaign with the ecotourism activities. There is also interest to create a private protected area.
AGUA is probably the most active and influential NGO in the region, and is also based at
Guaramiranga municipality. Its main focus is the education of young people, mainly through art and music, and by providing them with access to digital technologies and tools.
Having learned from AQUASIS about the Grey-breasted Parakeet and its critical situation of the species, AGUA wishes to be part of the long-term conservation of the species and its habitat. As an important community group, AGUA has been extremely helpful in introducing the project to some key stakeholders in the local society, including teachers and directors of local schools, municipal authorities involved with education and environmental issues, and people involved in the tourism business.
A further objective is to build capacity for bird-watching, and in the process develop awareness and create alternative livelihoods. To begin to fulfil this objective, AQUASIS has established an important partnership with the best hotel in the Baturité region, the Hotel Escola SENAC Guaramiranga. This is not a large hotel (about 20 rooms) but it operates as a training facility for SENAC (Brazilian Trade Federation’s National Training Service). AQUASIS will begin to hold the bird-watching courses proposed in the hotel’s auditorium, as well as other related activities, such as training potential bird guides and giving presentations to the community.
With the involvement of local partners and stakeholders, and enriched with project results, experiences learned, and the consolidation of local partnerships, AQUASIS expects to initiate a regular event, the Guaramiranga Bird Festival. With these actions, and using the Grey-breasted Parakeet as a flagship species, AQUASIS is helping to fulfil a fundamental part of its mission, to avoid biodiversity loss in Ceará State.
If you would like to help in the effort to save this species, please email the author at environment@loroparque-fundacion.org.
www.loroparque-fundacion.orgReferences
BirdLife International (2007) Species factsheet: Pyrrhura griseipectus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 08/11/2007.
Olmos, F., Silva, W.A.G and Albano, C. (2005) Grey-breasted Conure Pyrrhura griseipectus: an overlooked endangered species. Cotinga 24: 77–83
SACC (2005) A classification of the bird species of South America: Split Pyrrhura griseipectus and P. pfrimeri from P. leucotis (Proposal #181 passed 16 Dec. 05). South American Classification Committee, American Ornithologists’ Union. http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCRecentChanges.html
