April 2008
New and Notable on www.eco-index.org: Long-Term Forest Conservation in the Boa Nova Region, Bahia, Brazil
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En Español More About This Project Eco-Exchange Index Eco-Index |
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Managing NGO, country: Sociedade para a Conservação das Aves do Brasil (SAVE Brasil)
Project director: Pedro F. Develey
Summary: Since 2004, SAVE Brasil has been dedicating efforts to preserve the mata-de-cipó and the Atlantic Forests of Boa Nova. In 2005, SAVE Brasil hired a field manager to develop biological surveys, involve local stakeholders, manage the landscape, and conduct environmental education activities to the local community, institutions, and governmental bodies. SAVE Brasil is also part of a group of organizations that, together with the Brazilian Ministry of Environment, is creating a public protected area in the Atlantic Forest central corridor, where Boa Nova is located. One of these reserves is expected to be created at Boa Nova, encompassing both the mata-de-cipó and humid forests, well-known habitat for the threatened slender antbird (Rhopornis ardesiacus), one of the rarest antbirds in Brazil, and the narrow-billed antwren (Formicivora iheringi).
Annual budget and donors: $50,000 from the American Bird Conservancy; Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Scott Neotropic Fund; Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF); Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund; Netherlands/Paises Bajos, government/gobierno; Overbrook Foundation; Council of Agriculture of Taiwan; Ricoh Co., Ltd.
Principal accomplishments: Studied the slender antbird (Rhopornis ardesiacus) since August 2005; mapped species occurrence areas; described nesting and breeding behavior; tagged and monitored slender antbird individuals; gathered data about the species’ territory; estimated the size of the population in Boa Nova; helped select sites for protected areas; supported the Boa Nova Environmental Secretariat’s actions to seize birds kept in captivity and combat bird trafficking; raised awareness in Boa Nova; the local government produced posters of the slender antbird; conducted educational seminars; the community has mobilized to reduce deforestation; developed an educational booklet about the species and distributed to local schools; promoted the project to national and international media; began in initiative to create protected areas in Bahia.
Anticipated accomplishments: Conclude the study on home range and foraging behavior of the slender antbird at the mata-de-cipó, and monitor the slender antbird at other habitats in Boa Nova; continue to raise awareness and conduct environmental education programs; implement a compensation campaign to recognize landowners who protect the forests where the slender antbird lives; gauge the level of firewood extraction in Boa Nova.
Contacts: Pedro F. Develey, Rua Fernão Dias, 219, conjunto 02, São Paulo, SP, Brasil. tel: +55/11-3815-2862, fax: +55/11-3815-2862, pedro.develey@savebrasil.org.br, www.savebrasil.org.br.