June 2005

En Español

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In the Spotlight: Community participation in bird conservation in Bahía de Los Angeles, Baja California, Mexico
(This column spotlights a different SJV-supported project each month. To submit information about your project, contact Jennie Duberstein.)

In November 2004, Pronatura Noroeste (PNO) received a grant from the Sonoran Joint Venture to promote the involvement of the local community in bird conservation and monitoring actions in Bahía de Los Angeles (BLA), Baja California.

The BLA region has been designated as a priority site for bird conservation in Mexico . It is used as a breeding, roosting, and feeding ground by large numbers of seabirds, but no information was available on the terrestrial species, particularly those which use desert oases. The incipient local ecotourism industry was not aware of the importance and potential of birds as a natural attraction in this region. Consequently, birds and their coastal habitats were not included in the local conservation agenda, although the area is being proposed as a new coastal and marine Biosphere Reserve and the inland territory is part of a federal wildlife reserve.

This project has two goals: 1) to create incentives for the sustainable use and conservation of birds and their habitats in this region within the BLA community by providing formal avitourism training to local ecotourism guides; and 2) to support and facilitate conservation and monitoring actions, as well as local participation in these activities, by involving locals in terrestrial and coastal bird surveys in the region.

To achieve these goals, last winter PNO offered a first training course on avitourism and bird watching techniques. The 30 hour course was attended by twelve members of the community, including several students from the local school. Theoretical classes were complemented with extensive field work, carried out in the wetlands and along town's beachfront, and also in the San Borja oasis located in nearby mountain range.

Desert oases in the State of Baja California have been poorly studied. However, their ecologic characteristics and their uniqueness as humid, complex habitats within the desert suggested to us that they may be important sites for migrating and wintering Neotropical birds. After our first visit to San Borja, some of the BLA trainees came with us to survey the San Rafael wetland and the Santa Gertrudis oasis, located in the southeastern portion of the state. The results of these first surveys indicated the occurrence of at least twenty-eight species of Neotropical migrants, plus an even higher number of resident birds, which use both the natural and the agriculture areas around the oasis.

To date, we have carried out surveys in winter, spring, and early summer, the most recent in May. Surveys covered coastal sites and desert oases and combined direct observation with mist nets counts. We also gathered information about the habitat and vegetation at each site. In all cases we were supported by members of the local community, not only from BLA, but also from San Borja and Santa Gertrudis.

Our next round of surveys will be carried out in early fall, and we will most likely repeat the winter survey to close the annual cycle and get additional data on wintering Neotropical migrants. Although not considered in the original project plan, a second avitourism course will be scheduled for fall 2005, when temperatures in BLA are more accommodating.

To learn more about this project, contact Gustavo Danemann, Director de Conservación en Baja California for
Pronatura Noroeste.

CEC receives a citizen submission concerning a gas terminal on the Coronado Islands
On 3 May 2005, the Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace Mexico, Mr. Alfonso Aguirre, Mr. Shaye Wolf, The American Bird Conservancy, The Los Angeles Audubon Society, The Pacific Environment and Resources Center, and Wildcoast (the Submitters) presented a citizen submission to the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) of North America in which they assert that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce the provisions of its environmental legislation by permitting the construction of a liquid natural gas re-gasification terminal, immediately adjacent to the Coronado Islands-situated near the coast of the state of Baja California-and a breeding colony of the endangered seabird Xantus's Murrelet (Synthliboramphus hypoleucus) and other species considered at risk.

In submission SEM-05-002 (Coronado Islands), the Submitters assert that Mexico's Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, or SEMARNAT) released a decision approving the Environmental Impact Assessment related to the construction of this re-gasification terminal. They assert that this constituted a failure in the effective enforcement of Articles 78 to 83 of the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (General del Equilibrio Ecológico y de Protección al Ambiente—LGEEPA), as well as Article 5 of the General Wildlife Law (Ley General de Vida Silvestre). The Submitters assert that the Environmental Impact Assessment that Mexico approved was insufficient in that it did not adequately take into account the impacts of light pollution on nocturnal seabirds, the risk of catastrophic explosions, the risks of introducing rats to the Coronado Islands or other impacts related to tanker and gas terminal activity in concluding that the environmental impacts of the project would be insignificant. They also assert that the terminal project fails to satisfy several substantive standards under the LGEEPA and the General Wildlife Law. The Submitters further allege that in approving the project, Mexico failed to account for the Coronado Islands' alleged status since July 2003 as a specially protected natural area.

The CEC Secretariat is presently analyzing the submission to determine whether it complies with the requirements of Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). The CEC's Citizen Submissions mechanism enables the public to play an active "whistle-blower" role in issues related to the enforcement of environmental legislation. In accordance with Article 14 of the NAAEC, any citizen or nongovernmental organization may make a submission when he or she deems that any one of the NAFTA partners is failing to effectively enforce its environmental legislation. Following a review of the submission, the CEC may investigate the matter and publish a factual record of its findings.

Please visit the Citizen Submissions on Enforcement Matters page for more information.

Spanish guide to the birds of North America published
Those working in bird conservation in Latin America or with Spanish-speaking populations have long lamented the dearth of Spanish-language tools, including field guides and other education resources. An important piece has been added to the toolbox with the publication of the Kaufman Guía de Campo a las aves de Norteamérica, the ground-breaking, first-ever Spanish-language field guide to the birds of North America. This translation of the popular Kaufman Field Guide to the Birds of North America provides a sorely needed tool for biologists and educators working not only in northern Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America, but for those who work with Spanish speaking populations in the United States.

The translation is a pet project of Kenn Kaufman, author of the English version, who has always been aware of the lack of diversity in the U.S. birding community. SJV Education and Outreach Coordinator Jennie Duberstein put Kaufman in touch with Patricia Manzano Fischer, who translated the English version of the guide into Spanish. Kaufman also called on the talents of Hector Gomez de Silva to assist with translating vocal descriptions of bird calls and songs into Spanish.

Kaufman, recognizing the importance of having a Spanish-language version of his field guide, paid for the translation himself. He received no advance for the book and says sales will have to top 100,000 before he makes any money on the venture, so get out there and buy them up!

For details contact Jennie Duberstein.