When an animal is whittled down to a single group or very small population, there are two options: try and save the last area and help re-establish the population, or cut your losses and say goodbye. Obviously, the latter is not a good option. Though focusing on one species may seem like a wasted effort, any area protected is going to help other species as well. And we are finding out that birds are very capable of bouncing back with a little human effort.
El Oro Parakeet Project in southwest Ecuador is an example of trying to preserve a species “last stronghold”. Fundacion Jocotoco, an organization established to protect critical species of Ecuador, created the Buenaventura Reserve to protect a narrow oasis of cloud forest amid the otherwise arid west slope of the Andes.
Jocotoco’s goal is to eventually expand the reserve to 12,000 acres, an area large enough to maintain the region’s bird community and associated biodiversity. –Fundacion Jocotoco
Fundacion Jocotoco has recently published The Birds of Ecuador’s Spanish language edition in April 2007 and they promote ecotourism, both important to promoting birding with conservation.
