Project Description and Current Status:Our goal in this integrated campaign for community education and conservation of the Hispaniolan Parrot is to advance protection for this threatened species through coordination among groups across national boundaries, providing easily replicated tools that can be applied locally, and by training Dominican and Haitian biologists, students and local park rangers to build technical capacity and to generate local interest and conservation commitment.
These goals are being advanced through a series of presentations in rural communities near national parks, an aggressive advertising campaign with a common poster design and message, the creation of teams of paid volunteers for patrolling nesting sites to inform local authorities about any parrot poaching activity in the area, recuperation of old poached nesting cavities, location and protection of roost sites, and capacity building through field training of individuals, institution building, and the promotion of multi-national cooperation among Dominican and North American conservation organizations.
In the near future we hope to expand our campaign to Haiti through a collaborative agreement with the Societe Audubon Haiti. The importance of coordinated conservation efforts between Haiti and the Dominican Republic can not be underestimated, and our efforts to build a cohesive and comprehensive campaign for the conservation of this threatened parrot can serve as a model for future conservation efforts across the island at a variety of scales.
Recent Results:
Designed, printed, and distributed 2,000 posters promoting Hispaniolan Parrot conservation. (Download the poster in Spanish, French or Creole.) (pdf, <100K.)
Organized one new bird conservation group integrating local youths and residents near parrot breeding areas.
Presented one training course for community members, biology students, and conservationists from communities near parrot breeding areas, with presentations focused on the importance of conservation, bird biology, and ecotourism.
We rescued twelve Hispaniolan Parrot chicks and provided evidence leading to the arrest of two parrot traffickers. This was made possible with the collaboration of the Secretary of the Environment, the Secretary of the Armed Forces, and the National Zoo.
Several articles about Hispaniolan Parrots were printed in national newspapers during 2006.
Nineteen nests that had been damaged by poachers were repaired and their locations mapped for long term monitoring of use by parrots.
Funding and In-Kind Donations:This project has been supported by the National Aviary and Natural Encounters, Inc. The poster promoting parrot conservation was developed by graphic designer Molly Schachner and the cage drawn by artist Barry Shields, both of Pittsburgh, PA. The funds for this project were raised at the summer free-flight bird show presented by the National Aviary and Natural Encounters, Inc.
Related Scientific Publications
Latta, S. C., C. C. Rimmer, and K. P. McFarland. 2003. Winter bird communities in four habitats along an elevational gradient on Hispaniola. Condor 105:179-197.
Latta, S. C., C. C. Rimmer, A. R. Keith, J. W. Wiley, H. A. Raffaele, K. P. McFarland, and
E. M. Fernandez. 2006. Birds of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J. 258 pp.
Keith, A., J. Wiley, S. Latta, and J. Ottenwalder. 2003. The birds of Hispaniola: Haiti and the Dominican Republic. British OrnithologistsÍ Union, Tring, UK. 293 pp.
