21.11.2024 - Indoor Meeting : Ten Years in Bolivia

​Speaker: Nick Acheson
Reporter: Sue Gale

Nick Acheson is an old friend of WVBS, and we know we can rely on him to give an entertaining talk that is crammed full of information. As usual we were not disappointed, and we all know an awful lot more about Bolivia than we did before! Nick went to Bolivia in 1997, intending to stay for a few months but effectively stayed for 10 years. He knew nothing about the
country before he went but found it to be at the meeting point of 4 out of the 5 major regions of South America, meaning that it offered a wide variety of habitats and therefore also of species. To the East of the country the land is low-lying but even here there are differences, with woodlands and savannahs, whereas to the West are the Andes, with their valleys and at the furthest west the high altiplano. Nick lived in Santa Cruz, pretty much right in the middle.

​There are 22 protected areas in Bolivia, most of which are on the Northern slopes of the Andes where the winds from the Amazon region deposit plentiful rains. To the South things are much drier. One reserve on the Northern side, Madidi, is the most diverse protected area on the planet. Without a camera to his name, there are few records of Nick’s time in Bolivia, apart from a few scientific publications, so in order to construct this talk he made contact with Armonia, the very active Bolivian partner of Birdlife International, to find out what they are doing in the field of conservation. He decided to illustrate their work by focusing on three
bird species, each in a different area.
The Blue-throated Macaw lives in the North of the country in two isolated spots of the flooded savannah, and there are only about 400 left. This decrease over the last 50 years has been partly due to habitat being lost to cattle ranching, for which the grass is burnt every year to promote new growth, and to soya farming on the flooded areas. But an even greater problem was the drug trade. Coca was being exported from the ranch airstrips, but this made possible the trafficking of animal skins, including Caiman, Jaguar and Macaws. Since this was controlled, numbers have begun to increase, and the small population of Blue-throated Macaws was discovered to the north of Trinidad. Armonia has since been working to educate local people so that they see the advantage of rare bird in their area and are motivated to protect it instead of shooting it for its feathers. They have also addressed the issue of a shortage of nest sites by the provision of nest boxes specifically designed for the Blue-throated Macaw, from which 100 birds have fledged. Conservation work is not made easier by the laws of Bolivia which require all of the reserves to continue to be commercial, so that there must be ranches on the reserves. Armonia is working with farmers to find suitable methods which will favour the Macaws. The Blue-throated Macaw has been found to spend the dry season in a distant reserve, but it nests in the flooded savannahs in the forest islands where suitable palm trees grow. They are not the only species attracted to the seeds in these forest islands. Other species include Toucans, Armadillos and Marsh Deer. Perhaps even more excitingly you might find Giant Anteaters or the Maned Wolf here. They also attract migrants on passage like Upland and Buff-breasted Sandpipers.
The Red-fronted Macaw is also critically endangered and lives in the mid-Andean valleys where deciduous trees and cacti are the predominant vegetation. The population is estimated at around 1000, its decline being once again related to human activity. In particular the maize or potato farms were implicated, because the Macaws were hunted as pests. Loss of suitable nest sites is still a critical problem, partly addressed by the provision of nest boxes on the only suitable cliff in the area and on the local palms. Once again education of the local population in order to persuade them to protect the birds and introduce eco-tourism has been key.
Armonia has also worked with farmers to produce sustainable outputs from crops and such additions as beehives. The humid forests high on the north slopes are home to the Stone- crested Caracao, which is the most endangered bird in Bolivia. Its plight has become more serious as it is now threatened with the construction of a super-highway which would destroy
90% of its habitat, and it may need to be bred in captivity to avoid extinction. 
In the dry forests North of La Paz are found Nick’s final example, the Palkachupa, or Swallow- tailed Cotinga. Armonia is again working with the locals protect patches of cerrado forest and to re-forest other areas. They are donating saplings including of the mapaj fruit tree, which local people can plant and tend. Training in fire prevention in this dry area is also key. For those interested Armonia can be found on armoniabolivia.org. That brought to an end an absolutely fascinating talk by Nick, and we very much look forward to his next visit! Many thanks to him.