SUPPORTED PROJECTS

Conserving Bolivia’s Quirusillas Reserve: a key area for the Alder Amazon

Paola Yvanna Montenegro

The Alder Amazon, also known as the Tucuman parrot, is Vulnerable to extinction. Numbers are rapidly declining due to the illegal pet trade and habitat destruction, especially in the Quirusillas cloud forest. Quirusillas has been radically threatened over the last 20 years from agricultural expansion which has had a direct impact on the Alder Amazon population as well as decreasing water for the communities. Our team will conduct a wide ranging environmental campaign based on the protection of this parrot. We will create 50 nest boxes in the region to improve breeding cavities for the species and involve local people from nine communities in its recuperation. We will respond to the communities' recent Reserve management plan which highlights the need for tourism income, by developing workshops to define and implement a tourism action plan using the Alder Amazon as a flagship species. The success of this project will ensure a safe population of the Alder Amazon in the region, and encourage nature conservation and community water protection, funded by tourism income, in an organized and sustainable way.