Buying land to save tropical rainforests forever
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Saving the Blue-throated Macaw, Bolivia 
Project Snaphot
LOCATION:
Beni Savannas, Beni Department, Bolivia;
SIZE:
24,200 acres;
KEY SPECIES:
Critically Endangered and endemic Blue-throated Macaw (Ara glaucogularis); vulnerable Maned Wolf, Giant Anteater, Sharp-tailed Grass-tyrant (Culicivora caudacuta), Cock-tailed Tyrant (Alectrurus tricolour), Black-masked Finch (Coryphaspiza melanotis); and near threatened Greater Rhea (Rhea americana). Possibly the Endangered White-winged Nightjar (Eleothreptus candicans);
HABITAT:
Grasslands, palm forest islands and tropical gallery forest;
THREATS:
Grassland yearly burning, high impact cattle ranching, introduced exotic grass species, farming, hunting and logging. The macaw is also trapped for the illegal cage bird trade;
ACTION:
Expand the first protected area for the Macaw and many other rare and threatened species in the Beni savannah;
IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES:
Support reserve-incorporation of the Juvena Ranch, a key piece in the fragile Beni ecosystem that was recently acquired for conservation. Recuperate natural grassland ecosystem and natural regeneration of forest islands. Improve sustainable potential from tourism and research;
LOCAL PARTNER:
Asociacion Armonia;
FINANCIAL NEED:
We are urgently seeking $100,000 to acquire properties at $50 per acre.
Project Summary The Critically Endangered Blue-throated Macaw is found in only one place on Earth: the Beni Savannas of Bolivia. This complex ecosystem of grasslands, marshes, forest islands and gallery forest is largely in the hands of cattle ranchers and every year untold habitat is lost to intentional burning for pastureland. Today, it is imperative that we expand this reserve to ensure the survival of the greater ecosystem - including habitat for large mammals such as Jaguars, Peccaries, Pumas, Giant Anteaters, Pampas Deer, Black Caiman and Maned Wolves. Recent Success Thanks to an incredible response to our World Environment Day appeal for support, WLT-US was able to capitalize on an opportunity to purchase a key piece of this fragile ecosystem: the 2880-acre Juvena Ranch. This enormous piece of property covers a wide range of important habitat for the Blue-throated Macaw and many other threatened species. Because of this land purchase, our partner will now be able to extend protection across the Omi river and create a more effective boundary against the impacts of cattle ranching, while incorporating more crucial habitat into the reserve. Juvena contains large areas of Beni grasslands, including large Motacu Palm islands, the main diet of the Blue-throated Macaw. Additional Information The Armonia/Loro Parque Foundation Blue-throated Macaw conservation program has been striving to protect the Critically Endangered Blue-throated Macaw since 1995. In 2003, Loro Parque Foundation and Armonia wrote a Species Action Plan, which specified a need for more field research. Through the years, various searches carried out during the short dry season between May and October turned up several clusters of birds, usually pairs, nearly 60 miles from previous known sites. But all records were of small groups, consisting of 2 to 3 pairs, often nesting on massive ranches worth millions of dollars. But this data was incomplete. With support from American Bird Conservancy, efforts were made to survey the most difficult-to-access areas of the Beni Savannas. Here a vital discovery was made: a thriving colony of Blue-throated Macaws at least 80 in number. This utterly remote region had been overlooked by those poachers involved in the illegal trafficking of this rare species. This isolated area, spanning nine private ranches, held the world’s highest abundance of Blue-throated Macaws.By coincidence one of these ranches was for sale. Within months, World Land Trust-US and American Bird Conservancy had raised the funds necessary for acquiring the first parcel of land for the Barba Azul Nature Reserve. This private reserve will permit us to more actively research conservation techniques for the Macaw and the grassland habitat. We will be able to place and monitor more nest boxes, actively protect reproducing Macaws, conduct habitat recuperation studies with and without cattle, research habitat requirements of the macaw, and test a theory that historical indigenous corn crops were an important food resource for the Blue-throated Macaw before 95% of the indigenous people of Beni died from European diseases. Much more fragile habitat needs to be purchased for protection in the Barba Azul Nature Reserve to solidify the long-term conservation of the Blue-throated Macaw, as well as conservation for much of Beni’s threatened flora and fauna. Therefore, land acquisition will continue to be our most urgent priority. If you have any questions or would like to learn more, write to the Blue-throated Macaw conservation coordinator at bhennessey@worldlandtrust-us.org. |
In 2008 World Land Trust-US took the first steps towards protecting this fragile ecosystem and saving the rare Blue Throated Macaw. In conjunction with the American Bird Conservancy and our local partner Asociación Armonía Bolivia, we purchased and protected 8,785 acres of savannas – creating the world’s first protected area for the Blue-throated Macaw, whose wild population is believed to be only 350 individuals. 
The expanded reserve provides a venue for actively researching conservation techniques for the Macaw and the grassland habitat. Researchers will place and monitor nest boxes, conduct habitat regeneration studies comparing areas with and without cattle, and research habitat requirements of the macaw. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has also provided substantial funding for conservation efforts in the area. Those efforts are targeted at Buff-breasted Sandpipers and other shorebird species that stopover on their long migrations in the Barba Azul Nature Reserve.