Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus), Valdes Peninsula, Argentina. Photo: Longhorn Dave/WikimediaAves Argentinas has announced the winners of "Conservar la Argentina" (Conserving Argentina), a programme aimed at generating conservation action at Important Bird Areas (IBAs) and for threatened bird populations in Argentina.The programme was launched earlier this year with BirdLife International and several other organisations such as the National Tourism Secretariat, Fundación YPF, AP Leventis Foundation, and Pan American Energy.
The 12 winning projects cover diverse topics, such as the conservation of the Atlantic forest alongside local communities; the development of infrastructure for birdwatching at IBAs in Jujuy, Mendoza and Neuquén provinces; the management of a corridor between IBAs in the transition of yungas-chaco in the province of Salta; the study and conservation of the populations of Hooded Grebe Podiceps gallardoi, Crowned Eagle Harpyhaliateus coronatus, Olrog's Gull Larus atlanticus and Magellanic Penguin Spheniscus magellanicus.
An awards ceremony was held for the winners in the central office of Aves Argentinas in Buenos Aires. "Now that IBAs have been identified, strengthening projects in the field is a must for Aves Argentinas and we are proud of the success of the competition that shows the commitment of hundreds of people for bird conservation in Argentina", said Andrés Bosso, CEO of Aves Argentinas.
The interest in the programme from people was excellent, with almost 100 project proposals received from all of the Argentine provinces, covering most of the ecoregions and a great number of the threatened species.
The proposals were analysed by twenty well-known specialists from institutions such as BirdLife International, Aves Argentinas/AOP, National Research Council (CONICET), Centro Nacional Patagónico, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Administración de Parques Nacionales, Instituto Ecología Regional, Univ. Nac. Tucumán, Proyecto Modelo del Mar, Wildlife Conservation Society, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "B. Rivadavia", Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina, Conservation Land Trust, and Área de Medio Ambiente de la Defensoría del pueblo de la Nación.
"It was hard work to select only 12 proposals from a hundred. With the selected projects we are supporting conservation work in 32 IBAs from 10 provinces, implicating more than 80 people and 40 national and international institutions", said Adrian Di Giacomo, Science Director of Aves Argentinas.
