Abstract
Spix's Recovery Meeting
to .be Held
at Loro Parque
The Vice-president of the CPRAA Spix's Macaw Recovet·y
Committee in Brazil, Dr. M!!_ lolita Bampi, has recently
confirmed that the Sixth Official Meeting of the Committee
will be held at Loro Parque during the Third International
Parrot Convention from 14-17 September 1994.
All the committee members are in agreement with this
decision and Loro Parque is delighted that so many prominent
figures in aviculture will be congregating in Puerto de Ia Cruz,
Tenerife for this extremely important double-event. Representing
IBAMA (the Brazilian Institute for the Protection of the
Environment and Natural Resources), apart from Dr. Bampi,
will be Marcos de Re, the biologist who has been carrying out
field work in the area of the last remaining wild Spix and Paulo
Antas who will be informing on the Reintroduction Project.
Obviously this is yet another plus for the Loro Pat·que
Foundation which, to date, has donated the sum of U.S.
$123,000 towards this project, with more commitments being
considered for 1994. The Foundation will be playing an
important role at the Convention and with the sale of souvenir
items such as T-shitis, posters, pins, stickers, etc. from our
Foundation "Eco-Shop" and with the auction of an original
painting by Eric Peake of the Spix's Macaw with Young,
amongst others, we hope to be able to again raise a
considerable amount for parrot conservation projects.
Speaker Highlight - EEP's for Parrots
Yet another exciting addition to the Speaker Programme of
the Third International Parrot Convention is that of the Chair of
the EEP Parrot TAG, Dr. Roger Wilkinson and Drs. Koen
Brouwer of the EEP Executive Office in Amsterdam who will
be co-authoring a paper entitled "European E~dangered
Species Programmes for Parrots." Once again, this is a unique
chance for European aviculturists to make contact with such
extremely prominent people in the parrot world.
Convention Registration
The response to the Convention so far has been tremendous.
There are already 220 participants from Germany; Italy has
filled their allotment and requires more places; and the U.K.,
Switzerland, Belgium, Austria and Scandinavia are all doing
extremely well. Even from as far afield as Australia we have
taken 25 registrations not to mention the five Japanese
participants!
The majority of the delegates who have already registered
participated at the second convention in 1990 and some even at
the first one in 1986. This is certainly "a feather in Loro
Parque's cap" as regards the success of their conventions and
the reason why the limited amount of spaces will soon all be
filled.
For more infom1ation contact Loro Parque, Parque Subtropical
Especializado en Papagayos, Puerto de Ia Cruz (Tenerife),
Spain; phone (34- 22) 37 38 41-37 40 81 or Fax 38 73 21. •
Creation of a National Park
for the Endangered
Bahama Parrot
by Rosemarie Gnam
Alexandria, Virginia
I am pleased to inform you that the Prime Minister of the
Bahamas, Hubert Ingraham, has declared the creation of a
national park on southern Abaco for the endangered Bahama
Parrot. I know many of you will share my joy today.
When I began my research project into the breeding biology
of this parrot on Abaco in 1985, the overall objective of this
project was "to develop a sound biological understanding of
this parrot upon which a conservation program could be
based." In 1985, this park was a dream and today it is a reality.
I thank all of you who played a role in this research project.
My field assistants worked enthusiastically to collect data that
helped to conserve this parrot. In addition, this project would
not have been possible without the many persons who
supported this project and conservation efforts for the parrot. A
special note of thanks to the organizations who financially
supported this project. Their members share in our joy today.
Last, I applaud the Bahama Parrot Education Committee, the
Bahamas National Trust, and the Rare Center for Tropical
Conservation for their efforts to increase conservation awareness
for this parrot's plight and their educational campaign in
the Bahamas which they started in 1992. Their diligent efforts
have helped achieve the desired result - a national park on
Abaco.
With most of the Bahama Parrot's nesting habitat now
protected on Abaco, attention can be focused on the management
of this parrot population and plans for its recovery
implemented. The future looks brighter for one of the world's
endangered parrots. More importantly, this development demonstrates
that parrot conservation can succeed in the wild! Too
often, we give up hope. So, for today, let us congratulate the
Bahamas and celebrate with them!•