Parrots are one of the most threatened bird families in the world, suffering from habitat loss, exploited for trade, and heavily persecuted. Seven of 22 Andean parrots are threatened with global extinction. Of those, five species survive in two valleys between Génova and Roncesvalles in the Central Cordillera, including the critically endangered Fuertes’s Parrot.
ABC Conservation Framework
Efforts to save this species comes under Safeguarding the Rarest within ABC's Conservation Framework
The Fuertes’s and Yellow-eared Parrots are threatened with extinction; the Rusty-faced Parrot, and the Golden-plumed and Rufous-fronted Parakeets also occur here. The area also holds many other threatened and endemic species, including the endangered mountain tapir and spectacled bear, both of which are regularly seen, although too often killed by hunters. The area also contains populations of endangered amphibians, including the true harlequin frog and Herveo’s toad.
Creation of a ‘corridor’ of protected sites will help safeguard key remaining areas of habitat and focus conservation efforts for these and other imperiled bird species. Efforts must include:
Acquisition of key sites to create a contiguous protected area
Reforesting degraded habitat
Research and monitoring of the endangered parrots in order to determine the best conservation plan for the area
Education of local communities on the conservation of their natural resources.
ABC Results
Fundación ProAves re-discovered the long-lost Fuertes’s Parrot after over a year of searching the Central Cordillera.
In 2005, ABC joined with ProAves to create the Threatened Parrot Corridor, a series on interconnected parks and reserves to provide a swathe of protected habitat for the parrot. The entire protected area now spans 18,800 acres.
What Next?
Manage the parks and reserves to effectively maximize the protection of the threatened parrots.
Reforest degraded habitat.
Acquire additional habitat to protect the Fuertes’s Parrot.
