Surveys carried out in the 1980s, especially due to capture for national and international trade, the de-characterization of the environment and the collection of feathers to make souvenirs, resulted in more than 10,000 hyacinth macaws (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) being removed from the wild, which led to them being included on the list of endangered species. As a result, the species is now listed in Appendix I of CITES, the Red Data Book and the Official List of Endangered Species of Brazilian Fauna. The main factors that led to the species’ decline.
In 1989, biologist Neiva Guedes came across a flock of hyacinth macaws in the Pantanal and became fascinated by the species, especially as she knew that they were doomed to disappear from the wild. In 1990, the Hyacinth Macaw Project was born out of a personal initiative by Neiva Guedes, who became an example of effort and dedication to protecting the species in the wild.
Right from the start of her studies, Neiva Guedes began to deal with the species as a banner for the conservation of the Pantanal, applying a holistic view to the protection of the ecosystem. The biologist argues that actions in this type of project should not be directed exclusively at the species, but that it is important to consider the environment as a whole. Therefore, she emphasizes that habitat protection and recovery, dissemination and environmental education are actions that must be integrated when drawing up a conservation plan. She emphasizes the importance of several groups working together: teams of interdisciplinary specialists, the local population, volunteers, tourists, government agents, among others.
Throughout its almost 35 years of tireless work in the Pantanal, many positive results have been achieved. Among the actions of the Hyacinth Macaw Project to increase and maintain the species are the artificial nests developed and implanted over the years, a pioneering and innovative technology that benefits the species and so many others that have come to occupy these cavities.
In 2003, on the initiative of Neiva Guedes, the Hyacinth Macaw Institute was created to give legal backing to the Hyacinth Macaw project. Along with the Hyacinth Macaw, other projects became part of important conservation research. However, as a premise, environmental education has always been permeated in conservation actions, where the results of scientific research are transformed into information in a simple language suitable for each audience.
In December 2014, the species was removed from the Official List of Endangered Brazilian Fauna Species, but the results have not been encouraging. Trafficking is on the rise again, as the penalties for criminals caught with the birds or their eggs have become less severe. In addition, other factors have left the species very vulnerable, such as climate change due to global warming, which affects reproductive success, deforestation, diseases due to low immunity and the vast fires that have been accentuated in recent years, both in the Southern Pantanal and in the Northern Pantanal, which have decimated large areas of great importance for the species. Another worrying factor that Neiva Guedes has been concentrating her efforts on combating is non-responsible tourism, which uses wild animals as entertainment, because it has increased the number of problems that directly affect the species, such as diseases.
So more than ever, citizen science, through the principles of environmental education, has become an important motto in all the institution’s projects and actions. And the hyacinth macaw, a symbol of beauty, charisma and resilience, is a very valuable standard-bearer for the cause.
Environmental education can be defined as a process aimed at developing, through information and awareness, a population that is aware of and concerned about the environment and the problems associated with it. It is a tool that involves knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivation and commitment to work individually and collectively to find solutions to existing problems and prevent new ones. It is an approach that transcends formal education and can be implemented for different audiences.
Considered indispensable, especially nowadays, environmental education is capable of changing perceptions, concepts, prejudices and behaviors, and can multiply exponentially among the different audiences in society.
From the start of the Hyacinth Macaw Project, Neiva Guedes involved several people in her scientific activities, especially in the field, where she needed to engage Pantanal residents in the conservation of the species. Radio programs, which at the time was the media with the greatest reach in the Pantanal, through spots and interviews, the information reached the farms, bringing knowledge and understanding about the importance of conserving the species and biodiversity. Over time, the actions were expanded to reach various audiences, who began to contribute to the Hyacinth Macaw Institute’s objectives, taking on the role of “defender” agents in environmental protection.
Informal educational activities provide the public with learning opportunities, personal pleasure, social benefits and the satisfaction of contributing to research projects. This leads to greater public involvement and a democratization of science. The sharing of knowledge that the Institute offers is organized in various activities for different audiences and age groups, providing a language suitable for the understanding of the public involved.
With the environmental education activities in line with citizen science, the involvement of the local community, which has started to pay more attention to nature, species and their ecological relationships, has increased. Many landowners have started conserving manduvi seedling areas, planting and replanting manduvi seedlings and looking after the macaws, the fauna and the nests. For the adult public, both urban and rural, the institute reaches out to teachers, landowners and rural employees, businesspeople and other professionals from different areas of activity, and especially the communities around the Pantanal. The tourist is one of the examples that we consider very important to highlight, because in addition to the research projects, the Hyacinth Macaw Institute offers observation tourism, where visitors can accompany the research project teams and take part in responsible tourism.
Educational activities with children and young people are developed in schools, at the Instituto Arara Azul headquarters, in organized society and in local communities, in the form of workshops, lectures, theaters, children’s expeditions, among others. In both rural and urban communities, the students are fundamental to the learning process and to the multiplication with their classmates, friends and families. For example, the results obtained from these educational activities have shown the commitment of teachers and students, with educational activities being disseminated in various subjects, generating events such as fairs, exhibitions, competitions and expeditions with the team of researchers.
In the next articles for @faunanews, we’ll look at each experience and how, together, we can engage our society with actions that go hand in hand with biodiversity conservation.
Source: Instituto Arara Azul archives.
Text by: Eliza Mense
Biologist, post-graduate in environmental education and business management, with 36 years’ experience in managing social and environmental projects. Since 2014, she has been a member of the Executive Board of the Hyacinth Macaw Institute, developing management and financial sustainability actions for the execution of research and conservation projects.
