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Safeguarding Valuable Ecosystems, Increasing Prosperity

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From the Rainforest Alliance:

As the world’s population grows and natural resources dwindle, the creation of parks and protected natural areas is not enough to solve the problem of forest destruction. The Rainforest Alliance believes that it is possible to safeguard valuable ecosystems while still allowing communities and businesses to extract the forest resources upon which their livelihoods depend.

The farms, forests and tourism businesses with which we work not only manage their own lands sustainably but they also function as an integral part of the larger landscape — keeping trees standing, preventing erosion, protecting waterways and soils, providing wildlife habitat and reducing the risk of fires and other destructive activities. Together, sustainably managed businesses and neighboring protected areas can form a thriving mosaic that nurtures ecosystems, wildlife and people.

We agree, which is why we combine conservation practices with programs aimed toward increased prosperity for local residents. Working with farmers, foresters, private reserves, and micro-enterprise, our programs are helping the people of western Nicaragua flourish as they share the natural beauty of their home with visitors from around the world.

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Our March newsletter is online.

We report on our new project supporting Environmental Leadership and Entrepreneurship for Geotourism. This project, supported by the Inter-American Development Bank, is a concerted effort to scale up our efforts to combine community-based sustainable tourism with biodiversity management in the Paso del Istmo.

We also talk about our work with Man and Nature, to rebuild connectivity across watersheds and to gather traditional knowledge of local plants to find sustainable ways to harvest and export native plants.

Lastly, we thank our friends at Three Parameters+ for supporting our Junior Rangers program in Tola and for helping over 60 students gear up for and get to school.

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A few weeks ago, Paso Pacífico’s Abril Perez & Julie Martinez appeared on Nicaragua’s Channel 2 morning magazine show Primera Hora, to discuss our campaign to encourage better solid waste and wastewater management.

Watch the video (in Spanish) below, or you can watch it on the Canal 2 website.

Abril & Julie also appeared on three other morning news shows. We’ll share those videos as they become available.

 

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Sea snails’ shells are being eaten by increasingly acidic ocean waters, the first evidence that the changing chemistry of the oceans threatens marine habitat.

Read more on CNN:

The amount of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere is increasing, mainly because of the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, according to the World Meteorological Organization. That means that the planet’s oceans, natural carbon storage facilities, are absorbing more and more of the gas, which makes them more acidic.

Compounding the potential loss of sea snails is the fact that decreased biodiversity leaves coastal environments less resilient in the face of climate change.

The study is here.

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Sadly, today’s batch of links includes news of the deaths of two critically endangered Hawksbills, both of whom were tagged by ICAPO earlier this summer.

This video from Media Center ElSalvador.com (in Spanish) features interviews with ICAPO staff, as well as mangrove conservationists, and provides a thorough overview of the significance of the lessons learned from these particular turtles, one of whom died as a result of fishing with explosives, the other after getting stuck in a fishing net.

This video from ContraPuntoTV (also in Spanish) features a community festival celebrating the Hawksbills who were tagged for science, illustrating the increasing awareness of the importance of local Hawksbill turtle populations for conservation science. It also shows just how the satellite transmitters are affixed to the turtle shells.

Before the fishing accidents, this July 22nd piece at ElSalvador.com (again in Spanish) brought attention to the importance of protecting critically endangered Hawksbills and their mangrove habitat.

There is much to be learned from ICAPO’s studies of the Eastern Pacific Hawksbill, and the unfortunate loss of these Hawksbills reminds us of the importance of protecting our mangroves, and continuing our work establishing sustainable fisheries in Nicaragua.

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From Red Orbit:

The first ever photographs of jaguars within an oil plantation in Colombia have just been released…

Panthera, the world’s leading wild cat conservation organization, focuses solely on the study and conservation of wild cats. The camera traps placed by Panthera in the Magdalena River valley were meant to gather information about the dangers of Colombia’s growing oil plantations on the jaguar populations. Panthera’s objective is to understand how the plantations affect the jaguar’s ability to move throughout its habitat, reproduce, and the effects on species that the jaguars prey on.

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From our friends at the SIMA Environmental Fund:

For Immediate Release

– Waterman’s Weekend Sponsorships Available Now –

ALISO VIEJO, CALIF. (May 29, 2012) – The Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) Environmental Fund announced today the 20 ocean-environmental organizations named as beneficiaries of the 23rd Annual Waterman’s Weekend, the surf industry’s annual environmental fundraiser to be held August 10-11, 2012. The weekend begins Friday, August 10, with the Waterman’s Classic Golf Tournament at the Monarch Beach Golf Links, and culminates on Saturday, August 11, with the Waterman’s Ball and auction to be held at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, Calif.

The SIMA Environmental Fund aims to continue the record fundraising legacy and raise the amount of $400,000 at the 2012 Waterman’s Weekend. To help achieve this goal, Waterman’s Weekend sponsorship opportunities are now available. The deadline to commit to Waterman’s Ball sponsorships is June 1 and the deadline for the Waterman’s Classic Golf Tournament sponsorships is July 20. For more information on sponsorships, please visit www.WatermansWeekend.com.

All proceeds will be distributed in the form of SIMA Environmental Fund grants to the 20 beneficiary groups. The funds will be dedicated to programs that will address water quality and ocean pollution issues; defend beaches and surf breaks from development; or provide public education about ocean conservation.

“The SIMA Environmental Fund is extremely proud to fund and support the positive environmental impact of the 20 Waterman’s Weekend beneficiary organizations as each one of the beneficiaries is crucial to preserving and protecting our most valuable asset – the ocean.” said Paul Naude, chairman of the SIMA Environmental Fund Board and President of Billabong Americas. “Covering a broad spectrum, the beneficiaries’ environmental work ranges from ocean education, to pollution research, to government lobbying to ocean and surf protection-activism. The surf industry’s very lifestyle and survival depends on the work of these organizations and we look forward to raising funds during Waterman’s Weekend that will go directly to these causes.”

Following is a list of the 2012 SIMA Environmental Fund grant recipients along with a description of the program(s) to which the organizations will be directing their grants:

Alaska Wilderness League: Dedicated funds will assist with advocating for a comprehensive federal,science-based planning process and to pursue actions to protect Arctic marine ecosystems and subsistence resources from further harm from industrial activities.

Algalita Marine Research Foundation: Funds will be used towards the Plastic Ocean Pollution Solutions Youth Summit. The Summit will teach students about the problems resulting from plastic marine debris in the world’s oceans.

Assateague Coastal Trust: Dedicated funds will assist with watershed patrols, water quality monitoring and the Chesapeake Agricultural Practices Campaign. The funds will also benefit Coast Kids, a family-focused environmental education program, and Grow Berlin Green, a campaign to establish Berlin, Maryland, as a model community for environmental protection.

Cook Inletkeeper: Funds will be used for outreach and education efforts to reduce toxic pollutants entering the North Pacific Gyre. Efforts will revolve around the Electronics Recycling Day in Homer, Alaska.

Heal the Bay: Funds will support the health and safety research of more than 500 beaches and watersheds from Oregon to the border of Mexico for Heal the Bay’s Beach Report Card program for one full year.

KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance: Funds will be used to build a coalition of Hawaiian oceans activists by challenging nearshore development, defending public beach access, building educational materials advocating for public policies and developing an Action Alert Network.

North Shore Community Land Trust (NSCLT): Funds will be used to permanently protect Pupukea Paumalu and the local waters, community stewardship of public beach access, and other efforts to preserve Oahu’s North Shore.

Ocean Defenders Alliance: Funds will go to expanding their marine debris and underwater clean-up campaign’s range of operations in La Jolla, Coronado Islands, Point Vicente and the Infidel wreck restoration by Catalina Island.

Ocean Institute: Funds will support the Watershed Education Program designed for students for hands-on education about the environmental impact of their behaviors.

Orange County CoastKeeper: Funds will support efforts to reduce the health threats caused by urban runoff pollution in Orange County, Calif., through advocacy, enforcement, education, collaboration, and water monitoring efforts.

Paso Pacifico: Funds will be dedicated to engaging the local Nicaraguan surfing community in protecting their marine and coastal environment through education and coastal clean-ups, as well as helping strengthen the Nicaraguan Surfrider Foundation chapter.

Reef Check: Funds will be used for the continued expansion of the Reef Check California program and its goal to improve marine management in California through education, training and community engagement.

Santa Barbara Channelkeeper: Funds will assist their Advocacy and Enforcement Program which will reduce disposable shopping bag use, compel the city of Santa Barbara to repair aging sewage systems and help the LA Regional Water Quality Control Board to enact a Total Max Daily Load program to address excessive nutrients in the Ventura River.

Santa Monica Baykeeper: Dedicated funds will assist their DrainWatch Water Quality Monitoring Program which will identify the dominant sources of pollution in Santa Monica Bay through end of pipe monitoring.

Save the Waves Coalition: Funds will assist their World Surfing Reserves program to preserve outstanding waves and surf zones around the world; Endangered Waves program that encourages communities worldwide toe address threats to the surfing coastline; and also their Chile Program that is designed to reduce industrial pollution in several coastal areas with world-class surf.

Seymour Marine Discovery Center: Funds will be used towards their school programs, including their exhibit hall enhancement, exhibit renovations and volunteer training. These programs educate the public about the role marine science plays in understanding and conserving the world’s oceans.

SINADES – Natural Systems and Development Civil Association: Funds will be used for their Young Environmental Ambassadors program, which empowers a group of local youth to conserve and protect the community’s most important resources – the beaches and surf breaks of Todos Santos and Pescadero, B.C. S., Mexico.

Surfing Education Association: Dedicated funds will be used to stop illegal shark feeding in Hawaii, stop sand dumping on Waikiki Beach, increase public access on the North Shore and monitor the increase of boat slips that may change surf sites at Kewalo and Ala WaiHarbor. Surfrider Foundation: Funds will enable efforts to save, improve and protect surf locations, protect the quality of water in the surf zone, ocean environmental education, as well as the continued fight to protect Trestles. WiLDCOAST: Dedicated funds will support the conservation of threatened surfing areas on the Baja California Peninsula through public and private land conservations, WiLDCOAST chapter development in Punta Abreojos, Bahia Asuncion and Bahia Magdalena.

Each organization was chosen by the SIMA Environmental Fund Board of Directors based on their commitment of funds to specific projects that will protect and preserve oceans, beaches and/or surf breaks.

In selecting the 2012 SIMA Environmental Fund grant recipients, the SIMA Environmental Fund Board of Directors requested that applicants submit a proposal detailing how the funds would be used to improve the ocean ecology or surf locations. Each organization’s proposal included a description of the specific program that the grant would be directed to, including the expected environmental impact.

In addition to raising money for the ocean environment, Waterman’s Weekend will also honor big wave surfer Shane Dorian as Waterman of the Year, world renowned ocean explorer, filmmaker, television personality and environmentalist Jean-Michel Cousteau as Environmentalist of the Year, and revolutionary wave forecaster and surfing Hall of Famer the late Sean Collins with the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award. For more information about the SIMA Environmental Fund or how to secure a Waterman’s Weekend sponsorship, please visit www.WatermansWeekend.com.

The Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) is the official working trade association of more than 300 surf industry suppliers. Founded in 1989, SIMA is a non-profit organization that serves to promote awareness of the surf industry and participation in the sport of surfing through public relations efforts and a variety of services, educational programs and research. In addition, SIMAactively supports oceanic environmental efforts through its 501(c)(3) charitable environmental foundation, the SIMA Environmental Fund. In the past 22 years, SIMA’s Environmental Fund has raised more than $5.8 million for environmental groups seeking to protect the world’s oceans, beaches andwaves. The SIMA Humanitarian Fund, also a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation, was established in 2006 to award grants to various surf or boardsport related social and humanitarian non-profit organizations whose efforts are focused on improving the quality of life, health and/or welfare of people.

# # #

Mandy Lausché
Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA)
Communications Manager
8 Argonaut, Suite 170
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
ph: 949.366.1164 x7
fax: 949.454.1406
mandy@sima.com
www.sima.comtwitter.com/SIMA_Surf

WATERMAN’S WEEKEND
AUGUST 10 & 11, 2012
THE RITZ-CARLTON, LAGUNA NIGUEL
HONORING: SHANE DORIAN, JEAN-MICHEL COUSTEAU & SEAN COLLINS
HTTP://WWW.WATERMANSWEEKEND.COM

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Yesterday we took part in the Parrot Care Project and Cage xChange event at Omar’s Exotic Birds in Santa Monica.

Here’s what we shared with the people in attendance about our Yellow-Naped Amazon Parrot Conservation Program:

As an environmental conservation organization dedicated to habitat restoration and community empowerment in Nicaragua, we’ve been studying the Yellow-Naped Amazon parrot for four years. We’re here today to share with you what the Yellow-Naped Amazon has taught us about the needs of parrots everywhere.

One of the reasons we study the Yellow-Naped Amazon Parrot is because a healthy parrot population is an excellent sign of a mature and healthy forest. Forest health is important to Paso Pacifico because we are dedicated to biodiversity conservation from ridge to reef and deforestation is common in the rural areas where we work. The reasons for deforestation are rapid tourism development, road construction, commercial forestry, agricultural expansion, and wildfires. The results of deforestation are less canopy for tree-dwelling species like sloths and spider monkeys, and fewer foraging, roosting, and nesting spots for the Yellow-Naped Amazon parrot.

In fact, one of the first things we learned in studying the Yellow-Napes is that, unfortunately there are so few left in coastal Nicaragua, that it is difficult to come up with a reliable population estimate. This tells us that the work we’re doing is important and that the Central American cousins of the parrots you have at home need our help. Two species of parrot who used to live and thrive in the forests of Nicaragua are now locally extinct, the Scarlet Macaw and the Great Green Macaw. We do not want to see the Yellow-Naped Amazon disappear from Central American forests, too.

Ostional school mural by Lezamón

In their native home — which spans the mountain and coastal forests from southern Mexico into Costa Rica — Yellow-Napes have taught us just what the parrot vets and nutritionists and behavioralists are talking about today: parrots are intelligent and social birds with complex needs.

We work with wildlife biologists and ornithologists who specialize in parrots, foresters and ecologists who specialize in tropical forestry, graduate students eager to learn more, and citizen scientists who help us monitor birds and gather data in the field.

We have observed Yellow-napes as they travel from the moist forests of Costa Rica during rainy season to the dry forests of Nicaragua during the dry season. Parrots travel from forest to forest as the seasons change to get more fruit. In the rainy season, moist forests are more productive and offer more fruit. In the dry season, dry forests are more productive and offer more fruit. Watching the Yellow-Napes travel from forest to forest to forage for food, we’ve learned just what Tiffany explained about parrot nutrition: these birds need variety in their diets.

Parrots don’t just need healthy areas of forest with fruit-bearing trees; they need forested corridors allowing them to travel from dry forests to moist. In other words, parrots travel a lot. Just as Mira Tweti is trying to emphasize with her Cage Xchange program: parrots need a great deal of room to move.

In order to know where to go to find these fruit-rich forests, parrots need to talk to each other. Parrots require dense forests with trees large enough to support communal roosting. It is during communal roosting that individual parrots and parrot flocks share information with each other about the best locations for finding food. What we’ve learned from watching Yellow-napes communicating during communal roosting, is just what Tiffany and Hillary have explained: parrots are intelligent and social; they need families; they need to communicate with others.

In addition to requiring both moist and dry forests, healthy forest corridors, a variety of fruit-bearing trees, and communal roosting trees, parrots require specific kinds of trees for nesting. Nesting sites are crucial for threatened birds like the Yellow-Naped Amazon, as we protect existing birds and work to increase the overall population.

Parrots require tall trees for nesting or large, mature trees which form natural cavities, where the parrots like to lay their eggs. Without suitable nesting sites, parrots don’t nest, and for a species which has only two eggs per clutch, this is highly problematic in terms of ensuring a healthy population.

Just as this campaign is dedicated to helping you keep your parrots healthy by providing larger homes for your birds, we are helping these endangered parrots rebuild healthy populations by expanding the size of their home through reforestation. In the past five years, we have planted over 500,000 trees, making sure to plant the species of trees parrots prefer for foraging, roosting, and nesting.

In healthy forests, parrots face yet another threat: poachers who can shimmy up the trunks of even the tallest trees to take parrot eggs right from their nests. Poachers usually sell parrot eggs and hatched parrots into the illegal pet trade, which leaves even fewer parrots in the wild. What we have learned from observing Yellow-Napes and the devastating effects of poaching is the importance of adopting parrots from responsible people like Omar, who rescue birds and help them find better homes.

To increase the number of successful parrot nests, we do two things: we build parrot nesting boxes and we incentivize people to find and protect parrot nests.

Parrot nesting boxes are constructed of PVC pipes which are assembled to mimic the natural cavities of tree trunks preferred by parrots. Once assembled, the nest boxes are lined with wood chips and camouflaged with paint, branches, and leaves. We pay former poachers, who have learned about the importance of protecting this threatened species, to shimmy high up into the trees and secure these nest boxes far from predators.

Our incentive program for protecting parrots makes cash awards to people who observe and report a parrot nest, share the nest’s location, and promise to help protect the nest from poachers and other predators. Each found nest earns the finder $20, which is almost two week’s salary in rural Nicaragua. Once the eggs have hatched, and the young parrots have left the nest for the forest, we pay $40 per Yellow-Naped Amazon fledgling. Direct payments for conservation achieve excellent results, and just this nesting season, we’ve seen four nests reported and eight fledglings successfully leave their nests. That means more of your pet parrots’ distant cousins are living free in the forest.

Slingshot-binocular exchange partners:
Optics for the Tropics

Another way we’re helping the Yellow-Naped Amazon make a comeback is by raising awareness through educational events like this. We teach Nicaraguan children about their parrot neighbors and their importance in the world. In rural areas, many children play with slingshots and will shoot the birds out of trees. To tackle this problem, we host slingshot amnesty days, where each kid who turns in a slingshot and signs a pledge to become a friend to parrots receives a brand new pair of binoculars. These kids, who have come to love their parrot neighbors and are learning more about the birds and the forests they call home, would undoubtedly be excited to know there are people here in Santa Monica learning about them and the place where they live.

What we have learned from observing the Yellow-Napes is that expanding the area they call home, ensuring they can gather to communicate, providing access to crucial foraging sites and fruit-bearing trees, and creating a culture of conservation is helping the parrots. We are grateful that you are here to learn how to provide the right habitat and diet for your bird, and to understand how to communicate with your bird. We are thankful to be included at an event like this and pleased to conect with so many other parrot experts and parrot lovers. We hope you will help us as we work to study and save your birds’ cousins in Central America.

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Parrots make headlines in today’s LA Times:

Tweti’s nonprofit Parrot Care Project and Cage xChange Campaign will begin this month at a Santa Monica exotic bird shop where free veterinary exams will be available and experts will be on hand to discuss avian nutrition, how to choose the right cage and how to equip it with toys.

We’ll be at Omar’s in Santa Monica on Saturday, April 29th for the Parrot Care Project and Cage xChange event. We’ll talk about how what we’ve learned from four years of observing the Yellow-naped Amazon in Nicaragua can help parrot owners in the United States.

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