Aerial shot of Defensores del Chaco which is in urgent need of protection. Photo © José Luis Cartes

WLT signed a Tri-partite Agreement with Paraguayan partner organisation Guyra Paraguay and the Ministry of the Environment, SEAM in 2008, which heralded the start of a 10 Year Plan to protect over 2.5 million acres of critical habitat over three Protected Areas in northern Paraguay: Defensores del Chaco National Park, Cerro Chovoreca Natural Monument and Río Negro National Park. 

Through this agreement, WLT committed to raise funds and highlight the critical need for conservation measures to be put in place, and associated activities initiated. Over the next two years the project priority will be the effective management of Defensores del Chaco National Park which is located in the heart of the Chaco and a vital example of Dry Chaco habitat. This is the largest Protected Area in Paraguay, covering nearly 2 million acres of important habitat with an incredibly diverse and important range of wildlife. 

The park rangers who are responsible for the protection of this vast area

As well as developing the Management Plan for Defensores del Chaco National Park, Guyra Paraguay is also working on the Río Negro National Park Management Plan and reviewing and updating the Site Conservation Plan for Chovoreca Natural Monument. 

Without protection this National Park and its wildlife will suffer as a result of poaching and loss of habitat through encroachment by neighbouring cattle ranchers. The results could have devastating consequences for the wildlife and one of the first steps is to raise funds to be able to employ more Park Rangers. 

As a first measure WLT has already allocated funds specifically for the Park Rangers and this has already made a difference on the ground. Part of the success so far includes training Park Rangers from Defensores del Chaco National Park in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and systems for monitoring. But more rangers and vehicles are urgently needed so that effective protection can be guaranteed. 

More Information and how you can help

Read the details of the project on the ‘Defending the Chaco’ appeal page. 

Donate to defending the Chaco appeal.

World Land Trust’s (WLT) Brazilian project partner, REGUA, have a growing research programme which involves encouraging universities to carry out research and holding workshops and field courses at the Guapi Assu Reserve.  REGUA are keen to strengthen their links with Brazilian universities and facilitating students to carry out their research projects in partnership with REGUA.

Students on the first field ecology course at REGUA. Photo © Jorge Bizarro.

REGUA recently held their first field ecology course with 23 graduate students and four lecturers from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. The course consisted of Entomologia I discipline field ecology classes and practical training in different habitat sampling techniques.

The students were able to sample litter soil fauna from different habitats, survey aquatic arthropods and carry out insect surveys at night. The visit was a great success and REGUA reported that at least two of the students expressed an interest in researching beetles at the reserve. This would be the first time that this insect order will be researched at REGUA.

Hummingbird Study

A Dusky-throated Hermit found during the first survey at REGUA. Photo © Leonardo Pimentel

REGUA and Rio de Janeiro State University have initiated a new hummingbird study at the Guapi Assu Reserve.  Luciana Barçante, a Masters student at the University will complete a survey of hummingbird species. The survey will look at the diversity of hummingbirds at different altitudes within the reserve, monthly over a two year period.

On the first visit to the reserve, Luciana and her team found an abundance of Saw-billed Hermits (the only member of the Ramphodon genus), 2 Dusky-throated Hermits (endemic to Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil) and a Scale-throated Hermit at an altitude much lower than expected for this species.

Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) taken on the Peninsula Valdez. Photo © Lee Dingain

An official broadcast, in Spanish and English, was made by the Argentine Coast Guard Service requesting that from 13^th May of this year, sailors take special precautions whilst in waters where the annual migration of penguins takes place. The broadcast provided the latitude coordinates within which the penguins migrate and asked

“all navigators to take particular precautions to avoid any activities that could affect this corridor that is essential to the natural life cycle of this species.”

Researchers from Fundación Patagonia Natural, together with WCS and other supporting organisations contributed valuable work to provide the necessary information to be broadcast to navigators. This is viewed as an extremely important step in the conservation of this species.

Colonies of Magellanic penguins nest from South of the Río Negro to Tierra del Fuego in the Atlantic Ocean, and from Southern Chile to Valparaiso in the Pacific Ocean. Between May and June, the Atlantic colonies migrate more than 4,000 km to the North for the winter, all the way to the same latitude as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They return to their breeding grounds in September to repeat the cycle.

More information

Magellanic penguins are found on the shores of the Ranch of Hopes Wildlife Refuge, in the Coastal Steppe, purchased by Fundación Patagonia Natural, with the support of WLT in 2001.

Visit WLT’s Megellanic Penguin profile page to find out more about this charismatic species.

Workshop group photo including WLT staff members Roger Wilson and Rebecca Absalom

Eight participants attended, representing organisations from Burundi, Ethiopia, Senegal, Togo, Kenya, Uganda, Burkina Faso and Cameroon. A representative from IUCN Uganda also attended in an observational capacity to help strengthen their role as a facilitator for REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) projects in the future.

The workshops received excellent feedback and confirmed the need and demand for capacity building as currently very few African NGOs are making use of carbon as a funding mechanism for forest conservation or ecological restoration. It is clear that good, innovative demonstration projects are needed to get policy-makers to start talking with project implementers and to help link the climate negotiations to practical experience.

Successful pilot projects are seen as important for leveraging more political acceptance and stakeholder interest. WLT hopes the training workshops will assist these NGOs in participating in their country’s national REDD programmes in the future.

Fred Barasa (Nature Kenya) learning about tree measurements with UWA staff.

The aim now for the final phase is to help refine project proposals for submission to donors, whether for a full REDD proposal or smaller capacity building initiatives, which may then lead onto REDD at a later date. Although WLT is nearing the end of the training programme, this is obviously the starting point for these African NGOs. WLT will be monitoring their progress and is already discussing links between participants and potential donors who may be able to assist with initial funding.

Further information

Learn more about the workshops in February’s news update First knowledge exchange for African NGOs organised by World Land Trust in Ghana

Find out more about the training programme on WLT’s Carbon Balanced site

Situated at 21m above sea level and surrounded by the beautiful “Las Canteras” and “El Doradillo” beaches, the Punta Flecha Whaling Observatory reopened its doors in May and will now remain open until November.

It is a wonderful location with a fantastic view over the calm waters of the Golfo Nuevo, one of the best areas in the world for spotting Southern Right Whales (Eubalaena australis) without disturbing them or affecting their behaviour.  Every year, Southern Right whales come to these calm waters to reproduce and teach their young the first key life skills.

Research, environmental education activities and tourism all take place at the observatory. FPN and the DGCAP are encouraging the local community and tourists to visit and make the most of this spectacular place that is so representative of the Patagonia coastal ecosystem. Staff from FPN and DGCAP will be on hand to provide visitors with information, binoculars, and maps and offer the possibility to directly listen to whale song heard using hydrophones.

More Information

Learn more about WLT’s work with FPN in Patagonia on the WLT Coastal Steppe project page

Over recent months Francisco Sornoza, Fundación Jocotoco’s Director of Conservation, and researcher Wilmer Quimíz, have been investigating the potential for reintroducing White-fronted Capuchin Monkeys in the Buenaventura cloud forest reserve.

During their investigations, Wilmer found a population of 14 Capuchin Monkeys 35 kilometers south of a reserve in the Aguacatillo Sector, in a forest fragment at the same elevation as Buenaventura. The similarity of this habitat with Buenaventura’s makes Buenaventura a perfect location for the species’ reintroduction.

White-fronted Capuchins are endemic to humid, dry tropical and subtropical forests west of the Andes in Ecuador. The research team believes that the group found during the investigation may be the only population still surviving in the high altitude area of El Oro Province and views the reintroduction of the species into Buenaventura as an important step towards the long term survival of the species.

The aim of this reintroduction project is to release the offspring of captive capuchins. The young will be reared with no human contact to prevent imprinting and to ensure that they have the best possible chances of surviving in the wild. Initially adults will be released into a large purpose built enclosure in the forest at Buenaventura – after vet screening for disease and suitable temperament.

Further information:

Learn more about the incredible wildlife in the Ecuadorian forests, including the El Oro Parakeet, on the Buenaventura Reserve page.

You can also view birds and other wildlife at Buenaventura in real time thanks to WLT’s Webcam in the Forest.

The workshop focused on two key topics: “securing elephant corridors” and “human-elephant conflict mitigation”. The WLT-WTI Elephant Corridor Project in Kerala, to protect the Tirunelli-Kudrakote corridor, was used as a success story to demonstrate how elephant corridors can benefit both wildlife and local communities in the area.

The workshop participants reviewed the status of the 88 corridors previously identified by WTI as critical for the survival of the Asian Elephant in India. These corridors were identified as being vitally important as they potentially link together already protected forests and would allow long ranging species, such as elephants and tigers, to move safely throughout their natural range.

Participants also discussed the progress of current projects and ways of reducing elephant conflict with humans. A further 2 corridors were suggested for protection.

WTI has also designed new signs which will be erected prominently in each of the 88 elephant corridors identified. The signs will be displayed in prominent locations in each corridor to raise awareness of the forest’s importance to elephants and to alert people to their presence. Where the corridor is criss-crossed with roads WTI hopes that by bringing attention to elephants in the vicinity this will encourage drivers to slow down when driving through the corridor. It will also help planning authorities to develop activities away from the elephant route to avoid any potential conflict.

More Information

WLT is continuing to raise funds for the purchase and protection of elephant corridors in India and becoming involved in more corridor projects as funds allow. To learn more about the Indian Elephant Corridors Appeal visit WLT’s project pages.

Visit the WTI website for more information on the workshop

The new trail forms an extension to the existing woodland trail and will take visitors from the edge of the SSSI beech woodland and across the certified organic meadows to the recently constructed wildlife pond. The new nature trail route will afford the visitor stunning views over the valley and an idyllic lookout over the city of Gloucester.

The one kilometre trail will also offer an insight into how WLT manages the reserve for wildlife. Points of interest include woodland coppice, wildflower meadows, ancient hedgerows and the new pond.

BTCV kindly donated materials to construct stiles over fences and steps in the steeper areas of the site, reusing leftover wood from previous projects. Way markers will be added and new interpretation boards for the site are currently being designed.

The large wildlife pond, which was created in November last year, is gradually being colonised naturally with native vegetation and animals. Already new species have been spotted at the pond, including the Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator).

For further information about Kites Hill Reserve, including access information so that you can test out the new nature trail, see our Kites Hill project pages.

For World Land Trust (WLT) and Ecuadorian partner Fundación EcoMinga, purchasing land is the main focus for protecting species and habitats. But simply acquiring the land is just the beginning as the reserves that are created must be managed and their wildlife protected effectively.

An integral part of this management and protection is the work carried out by the rangers who patrol the reserves to ensure that there is no hunting or encroachment of protected areas. The rangers are also responsible for maintaining the trails for staff and visitors, many of whom are visiting researchers, birdwatchers and biology students. This can be more difficult and time consuming than might immediately be obvious: sometimes there are land slides caused by heavy rains, and new rock falls and foliage growth can quickly make a trail impassable.

Each ranger is equipped with a point-and-shoot camera which is an excellent way to record the birds and mammals that they encounter during their work. Wildlife captured on camera by rangers recently includes the Black and Chestnut Eagle, which is one of the species in most need of protection here.

The rangers are becoming increasingly accomplished wildlife photographers and earlier this year Luis Recalde a park ranger for Fundación EcoMinga, had this image of a Caecilian attempting to eat a giant earthworm (a caecilian is a type of amphibian with no legs) published in BBC Wildlife Magazine.

All the rangers are members of the local community and play an important role in acting as ambassadors for EcoMinga within these communities. In most cases the rangers previously owned farms which they sold to EcoMinga so that the land could be managed for conservation and as such they see the benefits of keeping their forests intact. As well as protecting the forests, the role they play in raising awareness of the conservation work being carried out is also essential.

Tapir Conservation

Over the last couple of months, Juan Pablo Reyes, Fundación EcoMinga Reserve Manager and Mountain Tapir field researcher, has been organising two conferences on tapirs, together with the Finding Species Foundation.

Part financed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, these two conferences brought together researchers and wardens from all over South America, including wardens from EcoMinga and WLT’s other Ecuadorian partner, Fundación Jocotoco.

The conferences were a great success and extremely beneficial for EcoMinga given that their reserves protect good populations of the endangered Mountain Tapir, as well as some individuals of the more widespread Brazilian Tapir. The reserve is a crucial stronghold for this charismatic species, which is highly regarded by the staff on the reserve. As Lou Jost of EcoMinga reports from the field: “Mountain Tapirs sometimes eat a few of our saplings. This is actually quite an honour!’’

Since 2007, WLT has assisted Fundación EcoMinga to purchase over 7,800 acres (3,250 ha) of threatened cloud forest and Paramo habitat, with particular focus on safeguarding areas of forest with large numbers of endemic orchids. For more information on WLT’s work with EcoMinga visit our Cerro Candelaria Reserve page.

World Land Trust (WLT) CEO John Burton reports about the visit to the Atlantic Rainforest:

“At the beginning of May, with funding from some of our corporate supporters, I was able to take Bill Oddie to see the work our project partners are doing to conserve some of what is left of the Atlantic Rainforests of Brazil and Argentina. With around 93% already lost, saving the remainder is vital.”

Visiting the Atlantic Rainforest. From left to right: Nicholas Locke (REGUA), John Burton, Bill Oddie, Chris Jenkin (Enterprise Plants), Simon Henzell-Thomas (The Body Shop), Raquel Locke (REGUA) and Alan Martin (co-ordinator of REGUA project) at REGUA. © Chris Jenkins

The design for the WLT exhibit at Chelsea Flower Show.

The World Land Trust (WLT) is focusing on this region in our exhibit at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show and Bill Oddie has agreed to help represent the WLT on the opening press day.

“Accompanied by Simon Henzell-Thomas from the Body Shop, Chris Jenkin of Enterprise Plants, myself and Brazilian film-maker and naturalist Luciano Breves, Bill was able to see first hand both the wonders of the existing forests and how it is being saved by REGUA in Brazil,  and Fundación Frontera Verde in Argentina, and also the depressing loss of forest over much of the parts it once covered.”

“At REGUA we were rewarded with some spectacular views of hummingbirds, as well as the marmosets which have recently started visiting the bird feeders, as well as the herd of capybara which are now permanent residents.”

In addition to The Body Shop and Enterprise Plants, PriceWaterhouseCoopers are the main sponsors of  WLT’s Chelsea exhibit. As always this show is hugely popular and all tickets for the Chelsea Flower Show have been sold, but watch out for our exhibit on BBC-TV as (although not guaranteed) we are hoping that the WLT exhibit will be shown one evening during the week.

More information

Whilst in Brazil, Bill Oddie was filmed talking about the restoration work at REGUA. View the video of Bill Oddie in the Atlantic Rainforest here.

WLT has produced a special publication entitled ‘Saving the Atlantic Rainforest’, and a plant list for the garden. If you would like to receive a copy please send a cheque for £4 made payable to World Land Trust and send to: Blyth House, Bridge Street, Halesworth, Suffolk IP19 8AB indicating that it is for the publication.

For more information on WLT at the Chelsea Flower show visit our Chelsea pages which contain plant lists, downloadable PDFs and images of the set up.

The Chelsea Flower Show takes place 25-29 May. Find out more on the Royal Horticultural Society website.