ABC and The
Alliance for Zero Extinction
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| Pale-headed Brush-finch. Photo: Fundacion
Jocotoco |
Across the Americas, large numbers of bird
species are facing extinction, and more than one hundred of
these are now restricted to a single remaining site. It is
time for practical, immediate steps to halt this crisis-this
is why ABC is dedicating a major effort to the Alliance
for Zero Extinction (AZE), a global initiative of biodiversity
conservation organizations, which aims to prevent extinctions
by identifying and safeguarding key sites where species are
in imminent danger of disappearing. The goal of the Alliance
is to create a front line of defense against extinction by
eliminating threats and restoring habitat to allow species
populations to rebound.
Not only will this initiative help birds,
but many other species, along with key watersheds and unique
habitats, will also be protected as a result.
In 2001, biodiversity conservation scientists
came together over a common concern: that landscape-based
conservation approaches alone could not conserve all species,
and that many extinctions would occur imminently if key sites
were not identified and protected. These concerns led to the
formation of AZE, which set about creating a global plan to
avoid site-based species extinctions. The Alliance aims to
prevent extinctions by identifying and safeguarding key sites,
each one of which is the last remaining refuge of one or more
Endangered or Critically Endangered species.To date, AZE has
identified 595 sites that each represent the last refuges
of 794 of the world's most highly threatened species.
From the start, ABC has been a leading
member of AZE, identifying key bird sites in the Americas,
and helping to coordinate AZE's work. We are also actively
involved in conservation at a number of AZE sites.
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| Dusky Starfrontlet. |
In 2004, ABC received a grant of $2.37
million from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to protect
a network of key sites in southern Ecuador and northern Peru,
including three AZE sites. The project is being implemented
in collaboration with Fundación Jocotoco in Ecuador,
and Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos in Peru. ABC has
also helped partner groups in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru
purchase more than 20,000 acres to create five new private
bird reserves, and expand five others for AZE species. These
include the Dusky
Starfrontlet, Colorful Puffleg, Blue-billed Curassow,
Long-whiskered Owlet, Jocotoco Antpitta, and Pale-headed Brush-Finch.
One of the Colombian reserves also has the dual benefit of
protecting an important wintering population of the declining
Cerulean Warbler.
Even when not triggered by a bird species,
important bird conservation objectives can be achieved by
conserving AZE sites. For example, Mississippi's Pascagoula
River, the AZE site for the Yellow-blotched map turtle, is
also an ABC
Globally Important Bird Area; and Mexico's El Cielo Biosphere
Reserve, selected for the salamander Chiropterotriton cracens,
is a key site for the globally threatened military macaw.
ABC is currently directly supporting partners
throughout the Americas working on bird conservation projects
at 19 AZE sites, and we are advancing plans for many more.
For information on these and other projects, visit ABC's
International Programs
To learn more about AZE visit www.zeroextinction.org
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