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CONSERVATION ISSUES:
(Come back soon
for future articles on Pesticides & other Environmental issues
affecting the Chocó)
The
Great Talaguanta Rescue - Or, Protecting Endangered Species in
the Cloud Forest
It began with the water running dry yet again
in our little house near Nanegal, a small pueblo in the
Chocó cloudforest region, about two hours northwest of
Quito, Ecuador. This often happened after a heavy rain,
when mud and debris, carried over from the swollen ravine which
was our water source, would stop things up. But this time it
hadn´t been raining, and an inspection of the nearly half
mile of plastic pipe going up the hillside revealed a different
problem the black plastic had been chewed through, obviously
by an animal with sharp, squared-off teeth.
 The
animal turned out to be a large rodent, called by the locals
Talaguanta. Its scientific name is Dinomys branickii;
in English it´s called the Pacarana. Few people outside
of the locals here have heard of this rodent, which resembles
a giant, spotted and striped hamster or guinea pig (but about
four times the size of the latter). Unfortunately for the Talaguanta,
it´s apparently both tasty and slow, and therefore a popular
and easy prey for hunters. Not surprisingly, it´s increasingly
rare - The Red Book of Mammals of Ecuador lists this species
as vulnerable on a national scale, and endangered internationally.
It was decided that it would be
better to relocate what was in fact, a pair of Talaguantas,
because of the precarious state of their species, and their proximity
to a populated area with many avid hunters (not to mention their
fondness for chewing through plastic water pipe). The Santa Lucía
Cloud Forest Reserve (link) seemed an ideal relocation area,
given its relative isolation and protection from hunting. Other
populations of Talaguanta had been spotted in parts of
the reserve, so there was confidence that the habitat and climate
was adequate for this pair as well.
The pair were captured relatively
easily (confirming the suspicion that they would have been in
danger from local hunters if left in their original location,
which was sure to become known sooner or later.) In an unfortunate
twist to the story, however, one of the pair escaped, when a
well-meaning local guide let it loose on the ground so that a
group of visiting students could photograph it. The remaining
Talaguanta was safely transported to the Santa Lucia reserve,
in the proximity of others of its species, where it is hoped
to have safely adapted to its new home.
**
The problem of protecting
endangered or vulnerable species in poor Third World countries
is not a trivial one.
For people living on the edge of survival, hunting is not a sport
or luxury it may be their only means of keeping meat on
the table for their families. Similarly, an animal which is viewed
as a potential threat to livestock or crops will generally be
eliminated by local farmers without question, regardless of its
endangered status. That local farmer can´t afford to lose
even the few chickens which might be taken by an Ocelot (Leopardus
pardalis), or the corn eaten by a Spectacled Bear (Tremarctos
ornatus). Endangered species protection is an abstract concept
which brings no visible benefit to the farmer, whereas the immediate
losses he perceives are too great a hardship, and worth much
more to him. 
Creating reserves like Santa Lucia
and others is a first step in protecting habitat for these and
other endangered species. However, many of the predators which
are most endangered are wide-ranging and not ´containable´
within the (to them) invisible boundaries of a reserve. Once
they leave those boundaries, they are no longer protected from
the potential threat posed by farmers and hunters. This is true
not only for the Ocelot and Spectacled Bear, but also for other
vulnerable or endangered species found in Santa Lucia, such as
the Mountain Andean Cat (Oncifelis colocolo), Andean Puma
(Puma concolor), Jaguarundi (Herpailurus yaguarundi),
and the Black and-Chestnut Eagle (Oroaetus isidori).
This problem is not unique to
the Third World it also occurs in the American West where
gray wolves reintroduced to protected areas have run into opposition
from local ranchers due to real or perceived livestock losses.
Here, however, there are fewer governmental protections to help
mediate between farmers and environmental interests (by for example,
instituting some sort of compensation scheme.) This task of environmental
mediation, as well as environmental education, generally falls
here to non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Santa Lucia, for
example, has in the past given environmental education classes
and excursions in the cloud forest reserve for children and adults
of the surrounding community. Granted, it isn´t the whole
solution but it is a start.
- Mary Finn - February 2005
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Birds
& Shade Coffee
The following is an excerpt from
a presentation by Paul J. Baicich of the Swarovski Birding Community
(SBC - www.swarovskibirding.com)
to the Dupage County Illinois Birding Club (www.dupagebirding.org):
(Those interested in Coffee &
Conservation issues should also see Planeta´s Coffee and
Birding Guide (http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/ag/coffee/coffee.html)
¨Believe it or not,
you can save birds with every cup of coffee that you drink.¨
¨Older varieties of coffee
(shade-grown coffee) are grown under the shade of treees in order
to retain and nourish the soil and moderate the heat and light
reaching the plants. Coffee farms that mimic forest conditions
in Latin America and the Caribbean actually are saving Neotropicl
migrant birds and are also a refuge for local resident birds.
 Depending
on the species of shade trees and the structure of the tree cover,
anywhere from a few to scores of resident and migratory bird
species will rely on coffee farms for food and cover. Ornithologists
have consistently documented the importance of shad-coffee habitat
in the increasingly deforested landscape of the Neotropics.¨
So, what can you do to
help promote shade coffee and save birds?
Among Swarovski Birding Community´s
suggestions:
- Become an educated consumer -
buy shade-grown coffee and ask for it at restaurants and espresso
stands
- Support organizations that work
on these important coffee issues
- Raise this issue with your local
birding organizations and fellow birders and conservationists
And From SBC´s
September Newsletter:
¨BIG
CANS MOVE TOWARD SUSTAINABLE COFFEE:
Giant companies involved in mass-produced
coffees (e.g., Phillip Morris, Nestle, and Procter & Gamble)
have been reluctant to confront the issue of sustainable, fair-trade,
organic, and shade-grown coffees. This may be changing with an
announcement from Procter & Gamble in early August.
P&G has been marketing its
"Signature Collection" (Millstone) online and through
phone orders since September 2003. Now it is about to introduce
two of these specialty coffees into grocery and retail stores
throughoutthe country, starting this fall. Their "Millstone
Organic Mountain Moonlight" will be Fair Trade Certified
and their "Millstone Rainforest Reserve" will be Rainforest
Alliance Certified.
Fair Trade Certification ensures
that coffee-growing communities are paid a fair, living wage.
Rainforest Alliance Certification works to protect the environment.
Does that mean that both of the P&G coffees are"bird-compatible?"
Well, almost. Fair Trade coffees are estimated to be80%-likely
to be shade-grown. Similarly, the Rainforest Alliancecertification
is not as strict as other standards for shade, but it is ahuge
step in the right direction.
For more information on bird-compatible,
shade-grown coffee, see the following two sites:
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/MigratoryBirds/Coffee/
http://americanbirding.org/programs/conssbcof3.htm
To subscribe to SBC´s e-newsletter,
contact
Wayne Petersen <wayne.petersen@swarovskibirding.com>
OR Paul Baicich <paul.baicich@swarovskibirding.com
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