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Conservation is full of ups and downs, and this month was no exception. On the positive side, our biologists recently located a yellow-naped Amazon parrot nest in the Metapán region of northern El Salvador. Together with our local partner the Enrique Figueroa Foundation, we were able to quickly organize a field crew to protect the nest round the clock. Next, our tree-climbing team traveled to the area to confirm the nest. We were all surprised and delighted to find that the nest contained three healthy parrotlets! This is especially exciting since the same nest tree has had chicks stolen by poachers every year for the past decade.
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Yet, it seems there’s no time to celebrate. In Nicaragua, wildlife traffickers have been very active. Last week, poachers stole seven baby yellow-naped Amazon parrots from vulnerable nests located near roads. The alleged poachers were apprehended by the local police through coordination with our local rangers, but the birds were not recovered. A comfort after this loss comes from the fact that we were tipped off about the poachers by caring community members.
Even in the face of this discouraging news, we are still working hard to protect over eighteen nests in El Salvador and Nicaragua. With your help and with support from Loro Parque Fundación, Fundación Enrique Figueroa Lemus, and the Brandywine Zoo, we will see this season through and expect to end the parrot nesting season on a high note.
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Since joining Paso Pacífico last summer as a marketing intern, Nicole Chung has become an important team member at our Ventura office. Her creativity, hard work, and dedication have helped us in many areas. Nicole is studying business at Ventura College with an emphasis in marketing. This semester, she continues her typical schedule—balancing a job, classes, and two internships. When she has time for hobbies, she enjoys hiking, going to the beach, and spending time with her beloved miniature poodle.
Nicole is currently focused on co-coordinating Ventura World Oceans Day, Ventura County’s first major ocean festival. It will happen on June 7th, 2019. We are deeply grateful for her contributions to our planning and programs.
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Every single day of the month, we feel grateful to our Canopy Club members. These friends make a monthly gift to our organization, ensuring continuity in our wildlife programs and giving us a solid footing to develop new projects in response to urgent needs. Thank you friends for helping us to climb higher.
Monthly givers are automatically enrolled in our Canopy Club. As members of this group, they not only show their solidarity with the cause of biodiversity conservation, they also receive extra love from our staff. Would you like to become a monthly donor? Click here to join the Canopy.
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Earlier this month at the sixth World Ocean Summit, our longtime partner, the Waitt Foundation, launched the Blue Prosperity Coalition. This global network of ocean experts has the ambitious goal of protecting 30 percent of the world's oceans. Through funding and technical assistance, the Coalition will create a massive wave of support to governments committing to protect a large portion of their ocean waters.The launch was covered in news outlets like Business Insider and the South China Morning Post.
For the past 4 years, the Waitt Foundation has generously supported our women’s oyster cooperatives in Central America. The organization’s founder, Ted Waitt, believes strongly in building economic prosperity through sustainable fisheries balanced with marine protection. Paso Pacífico is excited to support this initiative.
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PARTNERS MAKE IT POSSIBLE
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In El Salvador, we are now working under the official aegis of the Zoological Foundation of El Salvador, also known as FUNZEL. Since 1989, this foundation has helped conserve wildlife in El Salvador while improving local socioeconomic conditions. It currently focuses on coastal-marine conservation, including nesting sea turtles, and the rescue of injured wildlife and endangered animals confiscated from the illegal pet trade.
FUNZEL is a highly collaborative organization and we feel fortunate to partner with them. They now share their office space and administrative personnel with us, and they have spent many hours meeting with our executive staff to help us plan our first projects in the country. The photo above gives you a glimpse of the view from our shared office in the capital city of San Salvador!
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