West Indian Whistling-duck and Wetlands Conservation Project

BirdLife West Indian Whistling-duck Dendrocygna arborea Zoom In

The is an initiative of the WIWD Working Group of the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB) that is supported by BirdLife International.

The project seeks to improve the status of the globally threatened WIWD and wetlands throughout the Caribbean. Initiated in 1997, the program provides local teachers and educators with training and educational materials and works to raise public awareness and appreciation for the value of local wetlands. The project also develops Watchable Wildlife Ponds — wetlands equipped with interpretive signs and viewing areas where local people, school groups, and tourists can easily observe whistling-ducks and other wildlife.

Project activities include

• Provision of wetland outreach and educational materials (in English, Spanish, French)
• Wetlands education training workshops and field trips
• Provision of workshop kits to local NGO and education department partners
• Protecting Wetlands festivals
• Establishment of Watchable Wildlife Ponds
• Download webpage for project partners

Outcomes

English and Spanish editions of a 276-page teacher's manual Wondrous West Indian Wetlands: Teachers' Resource Book have been produced. The book and companion materials (slide show, puppet show, poster, wetland bird identification card, colouring book, field trip notebook, etc.) are being distributed in conjunction with two-day wetlands education workshops for schoolteachers and environmental educators throughout the region.

In 2002-03, 919 people were trained in 32 workshops in 8 countries (Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago). On Little Cayman, viewing platforms, boardwalks and interpretive signs have been installed on 10 major wetlands, important habitats for both resident (including WIWDs) and Neotropical migratory birds. Funding is being sought to bring the book and workshops to all 17 Caribbean nations and to expand the Watchable Wildlife Pond network.