Neotropical Program

Status: Active, started in 1990

Completed projects within this program:

Background:

Conservation in the Neotropics – a region extending from southern Mexico to Argentina and including the Caribbean Islands -- is a global priority. About one-third of the world’s birds of prey occur in the Neotropics. Central America and the Caribbean are particularly important because of the limited extent of remaining forest, high proportion of biodiversity, and large proportion of North American migrant species that winter there.

The best way to conserve biodiversity is to set aside large tracts of untouched land, but the reality is that most side-asides will likely be much smaller than needed. This is particularly true for large, widely dispersed animals such as birds of prey. This puts extra emphasis on conserving the ecological requirements of these wide-ranging predators so that we may save the biodiversity within their fragile food chain.

This umbrella program encompasses projects related to conservation, research and restoration of birds of prey in the Neotropics, including the Harpy Eagle, Orange-breasted Falcon, and Ridgway’s Hawk, as well as the Neotropical science and student programs.

Final Summary:

2010 Results

  • Neotropical Raptor Conservation projects continued on Harpy Eagles in Panama and Belize; public education in Belize and Dominican Republic; raptor research and education of students from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Peru, Argentina, and Ecuador, including the Galapagos; experimental Orange-breasted Falcon restoration and research in Belize; and Ridgway’s Hawk conservation in Dominican Republic.
  • The dissolution of Fondo Peregrino-Panama as an organization was initiated after it became evident that the organization had completed its work and was no longer necessary.

Our time-tested, hands-on, science-based approach to conservation has both a unique and valuable role for conservation in the Neotropics. A significant investment now in the Neotropics will strongly influence conservation actions and raptor research for decades, if not longer. With forests rapidly diminishing, our return for investment will likely never be as great in Latin America as during the next 10 years.

This program aims to conserve raptor species in jeopardy; improve knowledge of raptor species with emphasis on those for which too little is known to determine their conservation status; answer important conservation questions using raptors’ ecological needs as a measure for conservation of biodiversity; reduce human persecution and other behaviors that have a negative impact on species, using raptors as a flagship for conservation; conserve important tracts of land; provide leadership, and develop local capacity for raptor conservation and research in Latin America.

Project Links:

Project History (no field notes)
Publications and Data (no misc. information)
Photos and Videos

Location Note:

Central and South America and the Caribbean

Species involved

People involved in this project:

Marta Curti Biologist
Kathia Herrera
Saskia Santamaria
José de Jesús Vargas-González Biologist
Rick Watson Ph.D. Vice President and Director of International Programs

Cooperating Partners:

  • Academy for Education and Development (AED)
  • Alfred Juzykowski Foundation
  • American Zoo Association Conservation Endowment Fund
  • Andrés and Pilar Sada
  • Belize Audubon Society
  • Belize Forestry Department
  • Belize Ministry of Natural Resources
  • Belize Zoo
  • CARE/Guatemala
  • CECON
  • Colegio Brader–Misión: Águila Arpía
  • Comarca Emberá/Wounaan
  • Comarca Ngobe-Bugle
  • CONAMA
  • CONAP
  • Conservation International
  • Crystal Channel Foundation
  • Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund
  • Ecological Police
  • Environmental Authority of Panama (ANAM)
  • Evie Donaldson
  • Fanwood Foundation
  • FIIT
  • Fundación Mario Dary Rivera (FUNDARY)
  • Gold Family Foundation
  • Henry and Wendy Paulson
  • IDAEH
  • Instituto Nacional de Cultura (INAC)
  • Joe and Flinda Terteling
  • KENNETECH/U.S. Windpower
  • Mill Pond Press
  • National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
  • Norcross Foundation
  • Panama Canal Authority (ACP)
  • Panama Ministry of Education (MEDUC)
  • Parque Metropolitano
  • Programme for Belize
  • PRONATURA
  • Robert Berry
  • Ruth Andres
  • SEDUE
  • Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI)
  • Soberania, Chagres, and Camino de Cruces National Parks
  • Stanford University Center for Conservation Biology
  • The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
  • The Nature Conservancy
  • The Pew Charitable Trusts
  • Tierras Colectiva Embera y Wounaan
  • U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
  • U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program/Tropical Ecosystems Directorate
  • Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala
  • Weeden Foundation
  • William H. and Mattie Wattis Harris Foundation
  • Wolf Creek Charitable Foundation