Conserving Argentina

[Donna]

04-11-2009

Aves Argentinas (BirdLife Partner) has announced the winners of "Conservar la Argentina" (Conserving Argentina), a programme aimed at generating conservation action at Important Bird Areas (IBAs) and for threatened bird populations in Argentina.

The programme was launched earlier this year with BirdLife International and several other organisations such as the National Tourism Secretariat, Fundación YPF, AP Leventis Foundation, and Pan American Energy.

The 12 winning projects cover diverse topics, such as the conservation of the Atlantic forest alongside local communities; the development of infrastructure for birdwatching at IBAs in Jujuy, Mendoza and Neuquén provinces; the management of a corridor between IBAs in the transition of yungas-chaco in the province of Salta; the study and conservation of the populations of Hooded Grebe Podiceps gallardoi, Crowned Eagle Harpyhaliateus coronatus, Olrog's Gull Larus atlanticus and Magellanic Penguin Spheniscus magellanicus.

An awards ceremony was held for the winners in the central office of Aves Argentinas in Buenos Aires. "Now that IBAs have been identified, strengthening projects in the field is a must for Aves Argentinas and we are proud of the success of the competition that shows the commitment of hundreds of people for bird conservation in Argentina", said Andrés Bosso, CEO of Aves Argentinas.

The interest in the programme from people was excellent, with almost 100 project proposals received from all of the Argentine provinces, covering most of the ecoregions and a great number of the threatened species.

The proposals were analyzed by twenty well-known specialists from institutions such as BirdLife International, Aves Argentinas/AOP, National Research Council (CONICET), Centro Nacional Patagónico, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Administración de Parques Nacionales, Instituto Ecología Regional, Univ. Nac. Tucumán, Proyecto Modelo del Mar, Wildlife Conservation Society, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "B. Rivadavia", Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina, Conservation Land Trust, and �rea de Medio Ambiente de la Defensoría del pueblo de la Nación.

"It was hard work to select only 12 proposals from a hundred. With the selected projects we are supporting conservation work in 32 IBAs from 10 provinces, implicating more than 80 people and 40 national and international institutions", said Adrian Di Giacomo, Science Director of Aves Argentinas.
   
"Strengthening projects in the field is a must for Aves Argentinas and we are proud of the success of the competition" —Andrés Bosso, Aves Argentinas

The 12 projects to be funded are

   1. Education and research for the conservation of endangered birds in three priority IBAs in the Atlantic Forest. Kristina Cockle, Fundación de Historia Natural Félix de Azara.
   2. Interpretation and ownership. A strategy for the promotion of the Reserva de Biosfera de Ñacuñán. Silvia Claver, Instituto Arg. de Investigación de Zonas Ã�ridas (IADIZA).
   3. Ecology and Conservation of the Crowned Eagle in the IBAs of the province of La Pampa. Maximiliano Galmes, Centro para el Estudio y Conservación de las Aves Rapaces en Argentina (CECARA), Universidad Nacional de La Pampa.
   4. Increasing the value of the ornithological resources in the Parque Provincial Potrero de Yala. Lucio Malizia, Fundación ProYungas.
   5. Restoration of IBAs of the Urugua-í - Foerster biodiversity corridor as an ecotourism promotion strategy in the North of Misiones. Diego Varela, Conservación Argentina.
   6. Is the Hooded Grebe Podiceps gallardoi a critically endangered species? Santiago Imberti, Asociación Ambiente Sur.
   7. Implementation of the IBAs in the Yungas -Chaco central corridor, in the province of Salta. Oscar A. Spitznagel, Salta.
   8. Development of tools for the management of the populations of the Hooded Grebe. Julio Lancelotti, Centro Nacional Patagonico, CONICET.
   9. Tourist-recreational usage of the bird fauna as a contribution to the conservation in the Parque Provincial Tromen –Neuquén. Matilde Encabo, Univ. Nac. del Comahue, Neuquén.
  10. Olrog’s Gull Larus atlanticus: Actions for its conservation in the province of Buenos Aires. Martín Rubén Sotelo, Asociación Cooperadora R.N. Bahía Blanca.
  11. Conservation and management of Magellanic Penguin in the Center and North of the Patagonia. Pablo García Borboroglu, Centro Nacional Patagónico-CONICET.
  12. Habitat usage of the Crowned Eagle Harpyhaliaetus coronatus of the north-west of the Argentine Republic. Andres Capdevielle, Jardín Zoológico de Buenos Aires.