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Fewer than 60 wild Lear’s Macaws remained in the 1980s but following years of conservation efforts the species’ population has recovered dramatically. Alarmingly, the French company Voltalia has begun building an air facility within the Lear’s Macaws’ small range, threatening to jeopardize these conservation breakthroughs.
Endemic to the dry Caatinga forests of the state of Bahia in northeastern Brazil, Lear’s Macaws nest in burrows within the sandstone cliffs that dot the entire landscape. Although first described in 1856 from an illustration by the poet Edward Lear, and known from a number of parrots found in trade throughout the 19th and 20th century, the first wild Lear’s Macaw was discovered only in 1978. However, with their discovery, surveys soon revealed a species on the brink of extinction, with habitat loss, hunting and trafficking for the trade of pet which leaves the global population of Lear’s Macaw very few. as 60 birds in the 1980s.
Conservationists worked quickly, undertaking intensive conservation efforts, which included engaging with local communities to stop trade and displacement, as well as establishing and strengthening the protection of the Canudos Biological Station – a privately operated reserve where the majority of the world’s Lear’s Macaws live, supported by the American Bird Conservancy (ABC, Birdlife USA) and managed by ABC’s Brazilian partner Biodiversity Foundation.
Lear’s Macaws, copyright Michiel Van den Bergh, from the surfbirds gallery
These efforts have led to a remarkable recovery of the species, and there are now close to 2000 Lear’s Macaws occurring in Bahia, an increase recognized by the downlisting of the species to Endangered in 2011. However , its extremely limited distribution makes this recovery dangerous, and a The new wind farm built by the French company Voltalia threatens to jeopardize these conservation breakthroughs.
Licensed by the State Environmental Agency in 2020, the project is in the Canudos region of Bahia State – a Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and an Alliance for a Zero Extinction (AZE) site because it is home to the entire global population of wild Lear’s Macaws. In early 2021, Voltalia cleared the land to make way for the wind farm and recent photos show that the first turbines have been installed. This is despite the fact that the Public Ministry of the state of Bahia has recommended the project to be suspended in July 2021.
“The increase in the Lear’s Macaw population in recent years is an example of a successful conservation story resulting from the collective efforts of NGOs, governments and local communities.” said Pedro Develey, Director of SAVE Brasil (BirdLife Brazil). “The installation of a wind farm project in the small distribution of the species disrupts these conservation successes”. The fact that the wind farm overlaps an AZE is directly also contradicts Voltalia’s own sustainability commitments to meet the International Finance Corporation’s environmental and social sustainability performance standards.
Although Voltalia has conducted a small impact assessment – as well as proposing some mitigation measures within the facility – a full Environmental Impact Assessment will only be conducted once the facility is operational. This is worrying, because Lear’s Macaws have many characteristics that often make the species vulnerable to wind farms: they are large and very fast moving, often flying up to 70km at high speed in search of food, often in the dark hours of dawn and dusk, collisions are more likely. “In my opinion, I don’t think the area where the Canudos Wind Farm is implemented is adequate because it is in the middle of the route of the species to their main areas of concentration and feeding,” said Lorinho Reis, a guide in bird watching in Canudos. “I believe that wind turbines, as well as power lines, will offer a high risk of collision and electric shock to flying animals, especially macaws flying in flocks, i.e. the one incident can kill several individuals.”
Conservationists are working hard to protect the species from several ongoing threats, notably the capture of hatchlings to supply the illegal pet trade, collisions with power lines and the lack of growth of Licuri Palm, their main source of food. Adding wind turbine collisions to this list of threats may be sufficient to reduce recent population recovery, especially if the species is long-lived and therefore highly sensitive to increased mortality rates. adults.
Renewable energy should not compromise biodiversity
On behalf of the KBA collaboration, BirdLife, together with other conservation organizations, including SAVE Brasil, ABC and LPO (BirdLife France), wrote to Voltalia, urging the corporation to relocate the Canudos air facility, as well as restoring the plants they already have. cleaned up Since 2020, SAVE Brasil and ABC have also frequently offered to cooperate and help identify more suitable sites, although the French corporation has been reluctant to cooperate. “Even with the mitigation measures proposed by the company, the risk of death of the macaws is real, which would justify the installation of the project outside the range of the species.” Develey said. “They should have looked for some other alternative!”
Conservation organizations are not the only ones campaigning against the facility – in 2021, 70 traditional communities in Bahia also signed a letter against the development, highlighting how it would negatively affect local livelihoods, such as by restricting on access to traditional pastures, as well as the lack of public consultation during project planning. The communities also outlined their concerns for biodiversity, and particularly for the Lear’s Macaw, as they have become a symbolic species in the region and now attract tourists from all over the world, hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive bright blue that macaw
The cry from BirdLife and our partners against to Voltalia The developments are by no means a critique of all sustainable development projects in the region. The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is critical to stopping climate change, and these projects can also contribute significantly to local economies. In fact, BirdLife has worked with several energy companies to reduce the biodiversity impacts of their facilities. However, not all sites are suitable for wind farms, and Voltalia’s decision to proceed with a wind farm around a very important population of an Endangered species was reckless.
The evolving nature of the renewable energy industry also offers a unique opportunity for planners to be proactive in minimizing their impacts on nature, unlike so many human activities that we are still fighting to reduce. its effects. It is feared, however, that Voltalia’s initiation of this project could set a worrying precedent for other development projects in the region to proceed with little regard for their impacts on biodiversity – Voltalia itself has already proposed 12 additional sites for development within Bahia. The project could also damage the reputation of other renewable energy companies that act responsibly, carefully ensuring that their projects have limited impacts on wildlife.
“Even with the mitigation measures proposed by the company, the risk of death of the macaws is real, which would justify the installation of the project outside the range of the species. They should have looked for alternatives!”
Pedro Develey, Director of SAVE Brasil
Hope for Spix’s Macaw
There is better news for Spix’s Macaw, another species endemic to the Caatinga forests of Bahia state until it was declared Extinct in the Wild in 2019 – even though the last known wild bird disappeared more than 20 years ago. Following decades of research and planning, a reintroduction program for the species began in June this year, when eight captive-bred macaws were released in Curaçá, another KBA and AZE in Bahia. However, Voltalia suggested another wind farm around the AZE site, where Spix’s Macaws often fly up to 50km in search of food, would be a major threat to what is already a dangerous situation.
Fortunately, this time the corporation apparently deemed the conservation costs too high – while perhaps also wary of a media backlash – and the proposed project was scrapped. While there is still a long way to go before the Spix’s Macaw is officially declared back in the wild – the reintroduction program will continue for 20 years – the cancellation of this wind farm increases the chances of a spectacularly successful return to wild for the species.
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