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Conservation of the Marvelous Spatuletail, Peru
Region: |
Amazonas,
Peru |
Partner: |
Asociación Ecosistemas
Andinos (ECOAN) |
Initiation: |
November 2004 |
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| Photo: Mike Parr |
Introduction: The
Endangered, and extraordinarily beautiful, Marvelous Spatuletail
(Loddigesia mirabilis) is an Alliance
for Zero Extinction trigger species that inhabits the dryer
sections of the northern Peruvian Yungas, an ecoregion that
has been ranked among the richest in the world, in terms of
its biodiversity. At least 7,000 species of flowering plants
are estimated to occur in the montane forests of the eastern
slopes of the Peruvian Andes, mostly within this ecoregion.
The section called the Marañon-Alto Mayo Bird Conservation
Corridor is an area of extraordinary richness in bird species,
with 12 endemic birds totally restricted to it and additional
10 birds endemic to Peru also present there.
Unfortunately, by early 2000, nearly
60% of the Peruvian Yungas had already been deforested, particularly
in the areas of Pomacochas and the middle and lower Mayo River.
Slash and burn agriculture had deforested almost 17,000 hectares
(42,000 acres), including parts of protected areas.
Objective:
The objective of this project is to conserve a healthy population
of the Marvelous Spatuletail, using the necessary variety
of conservation strategies, from restoration of native flowering
tree communities to development of a private conservation
area through community-based conservation programs.
Actions:
1. Implement community-based conservation campaigns as a means
of increasing the local awareness of the species’ importance.
2. With the local communities of Pomacochas and Shipasbamba,
develop multi-use tree plantations as a means of starting
to shift away from exploiting the remaining natural forest
and managing the plantations sustainably.
3. Undertake reforestation projects aimed at restoring key
flowering plant communities.
4. Built and equip a Visitor Center at the private conservation
area on community lands, dedicated to disseminating information
about this species and other birds of the region.
5. Train select local people as bird guides and bird monitoring
technicians.
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| Photo: Mike Parr |
Accomplishments:
1. A local nursery capable of producing up to 70,000 saplings
per year was developed at Pomacochas and a second, smaller
nursery was built at the Shipasbamba community.
2. In Pomacochas, a total of 72,500 saplings have been planted
on 29 hectares (72 acres) of communal land, while in Shipasbamba,
the reforestation campaign has planted 24,000 trees over 9.7
hectares (24 acres).
3. The Pomacochas community granted ECOAN the area known as
Huembo (30 hectares or 74 acres), on the condition that ECOAN
conserve and restore its natural habitats. A full-time manager,
three guards, and several workers operate the reserve.
4. In Huembo, ECOAN and the community have also planted 14,000
saplings, over an area of 5 hectares (12 acres).
5. The Visitor Center in Huembo is open and receiving visitors.
6. Areas of occurrence of the spatuletail and patches of remaining
habitat have been mapped from the area of Leimebamba to Pomacochas,
encompassing the entire range of the species.
7. A conservation plan for the Marvelous Spatuletail has been
completed (January 2009), based on information obtained during
the surveys and other ecological studies.
For more information about this project
or ABC’s work in northern Peru, contact
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