Important Thick-billed Parrot site saved

01-06-2000

After two years of negotiations, an agreement has been signed to protect the most important nesting area for the Thick-billed Parrot Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha, a species classified as Endangered that is endemic to the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico and parts of south-west USA.

The agreement calls for a 15-year moratorium on logging operations at Bisaloachic, an area of forest that has been identified by a collaborative project between the Wildlife Preservation Trust (WPTI) and Monterrey Tech (ITESM) as holding around 10% of the world population of the species. Bisaloachic was targeted for logging in 2002.

Several organisations, notably The Wildlands Project, Pronatura (Noreste) and Naturalia are paying the local community 'rent' for the forest that, over time, will amount to 50% of the net value of the timber that could have been harvested from the area. Together with WPTI and ITESM, these organisations will continue monitoring of the forest and provide technical advice on forest certification, promotion of ecotourism and rural development. The aim is that the local community will see that their pristine forest is worth more to them in the long-term than the short-term gains to be made from cutting it down.

World Birdwatch 22 (2)