All about Bolivia
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Facts that the U.S. CIA has compiled about Bolivia.
Armonia in Bolivia
Since 2002, the Bolivian Bird Conservation NGO Armonia/BirdLife International has grown from two conservation projects and three employees to 15 Bolivian bird conservation programs with 25 employees.
Bird Endowment, of course, considers Armonia to be important because of their
increasingly important role as the on-the-ground organization most critical
to Saving the Blues™ in Bolivia.
As bird lovers, we also admire the work they are doing on the other 14 projects they are currently conducting. For more information on Armonia, go here. This is the site of BirdLife International, the global partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources. BirdLife Partners operate in over one hundred countries and territories worldwide.
Loro Parque is a leader in
Saving the Blues™ in Bolivia
This Canary
Island foundation plays the most important role in Saving the Blues™ in Bolivia, providing committed annual funding for its partnership with the Bolivian NGO Armonia.
Since 1995, Loro Parque Fundacion continually has provided financial support for the efforts of
the NGO and BirdLife International partner Armonía to save the critically endangered
Blue-throated macaw in the wild.
You can be a player in
Saving the Blues™ in Bolivia
The items listed below all are proprietary
products from the Armonia / Loro Parque Fundacion Blue-throated
Macaw Ara glaucogularis Conservation Program in Bolivia.
All proceeds from the sale of these items are returned to Bolivia to help further the conservation efforts of the project. 100% !! If you buy a T-shirt for $19, Bird Endowment then sends the BTM project the full $19.
Supplies of these items are limited.
Above: Front. Below: Back
Photo by Mauricio Herrera/Armonía
This photograph of 10 Blue-throated Macaws is monumental in relation to
all other Blue-throated Macaw photos in the wild. Shot in the Santa Anita area
of Beni, it is from the first-ever series of photographs showing more than
two BTMs together.
Good News For Bolivia's
Blue-throated Macaws
As the result of ongoing, year-around scientific investigation, the known nesting areas of the Critically Endangered Blue-throated Macaw in Bolivia have been more than tripled and a more definitive wild population estimate is now as high as 300 birds, recently released survey results show. Despite the good news, it still remains the most endangered macaw still in the wild.
The population often had been pronounced as being “as few as 30 to 50 birds left in the wild” prior to the beginning of the survey, which has been underway since 2003 with the implementation of “Saving the Blue-throated Macaw Ara glaucogularis: A Species Recovery Plan.”
The Species Recovery Plan was developed by the Bolivian NGO Asociación Armonía and Loro Parque Fundación to guide the Blue-throated Macaw Conservation Program they began in 1995. It is the only science-based, full-time conservation program working with Blue-throated Macaws in Bolivia.
“Given the large list of actions necessary, we re-evaluated the productiveness of the program in 2003 and decided to place a stronger emphasis on extensive field research and to expand our Blue-throated Macaw conservation education program of people within the macaw’s range as well as raising awareness of this national treasure with all Bolivians,” says Bennett Hennessey, executive director of Armonía.
While the Recovery Plan originators were Armonía (the BirdLife International affiliate for Bolivia) and Loro Parque Fundación (the expansive conservation organization based in the Canary Islands), implementation of the plan has been a cooperative effort including other international conservation organizations.
“The American Bird Conservancy supported the expansion of the 2007 survey into other areas within the Santa Rosa and Northwest of Trinidad area. This proved to be the last strong hold for the Blue-throated Macaw. We recorded a roosting site with over 70 Blue-throated Macaws, as well as adjacent ranches holding groups of 14 to 17,” says Hennessey.
“The complete survey results have tripled the Blue-throated Macaw sites, with a total of 31 sites known. We observed 160 individuals between 2004-2007, estimating the entire population between 250-300 individuals within a range of 6000km2,” says Hennessey.
“The vastness of the area and the difficulty of detecting the Blue-throated Macaw
will always affect the accuracy of a population survey, but we believe this number
to be accurate and a good base for monitoring programs and nest site protection
actions that are part of the Recovery plan,” said
Hennessey, who also oversees 14 separate species-specific conservation programs
for birds in Bolivia (including Bird Endowment's Nido Adoptivo™ program
of nest boxes as supplemental nest sites).
“With the support of Bird Endowment in the breeding
period of 2007-2008 we placed over 50 nest boxes in different areas. We are
also experimenting with the nest box design by working on different entrance
hole sizes, locations, and box length in the hopes of finding the ideal nest
box for the Blue-throated Macaw. In the 2007-2008 breeding season four chicks
fledged from nest boxes,” says Mauricio Herrera, program
coordinator of the Blue-throated Macaw Conservation Program since 2003. The results
for the 2008-2009 season are not in yet.
The Official Educational T-shirt
(Used in the Armonía/Loro Parque Fundacion Blue-throated Macaw Ara
glaucogularis Conservation Program in Bolivia to educate ranch families
as well as urban dwellers. The sale of one Tee here will fund the free distribution
of two Tees in Bolivia.)
Featuring the Loro Parque logo on right sleeve and Armonia logo on the left,
the back of the shirt exhorts participation in the program to "Protect the Blue
Beard Macaw!" Please list desired sizes in the PayPal comments section.
Price $19 Adult sizes S, M, L, XL (plus shipping $2)
Cuddlesome Birds Used as Armonia Conservation Tools
Cuddlesome and flannel-soft, these stuffed Blue-throated
macaw and Hyacinth macaw replicas are used by Armonia to foster a sense
of commonality with the birds in the minds of human residents in Bolivia. About
10 inches tall.
Price $12.50 (plus shipping $2.50)
Cuddlesome BTM
Cuddlesome Hyacinth
Posters Used in Bolivia
Beautiful, full-color posters are used in Bolivia to build a sense of pride
and responsibility for "our birds."
Each Poster $12.50 (plus shipping $2.50)
The Blue-throated Macaw Poster (top)
Spanish translates to:
"Protect me!
I am in danger of extinction, because they capture me to sell as pet
and to extract my feathers for the Machetero Dance macaw feather headdress.
Blue Beard Macaw proudly from the Beni"
Measures 19.75 inches high by 27.5 inches wide.
The Red-fronted Macaw Poster (middle)
Spanish translates to:
"Red-fronted Macaw
Only lives in Bolivia
... in our valleys
It is in danger of extinction!
In your community does this Macaw exist?
If it is ... take care of it!
Conservation - Environmental Education - Communities"
Measures 27.5 inches high by 15.75 inches wide.
The Hyacinth Macaw Poster (bottom)
Spanish translates to:
Blue Macaw (Hyacinth)
"Take care of me because I am from The Pantanal like you."
Measures 27.5 inches high by 15.75 inches wide.
