1st Regional Meeting on Waterfowl Surveys and Wetland Conservation in Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America Managua, Nicaragua 31 January-4 February 2003 MEETING REPORT Ducks Unlimited, Inc. (DU) and the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) co-organized the “1st Regional Meeting on Waterfowl Surveys and Wetland Conservation in Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America.” The meeting took place in Managua, Nicaragua, from 31 January - 4 February, 2003. Over 35 participants from 15 countries in the region shared the information, experience and vision for the Waterfowl Surveys Initiative (the Initiative) in their respective countries. The US Fish and Wildlife Service provided generous support through the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act. Additionally, USFWS flyway biologists and Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) professionals participated in the meeting and shared their flying and surveying experience with Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) colleagues. The meeting was opened by the Honorable Vice-Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Eduardo Marín Castillo. During his speech, Mr. Marín Castillo mentioned the importance of the collaboration between biologists gathering the raw data, and the authorities responsible for the management and protection of the natural resources. He particularly mentioned the usefulness of the waterfowl surveys for wetland conservation and hunting regulation. Structure of the meeting The meeting had three major components: • National presentations • Aerial surveys over Nicaraguan wetlands • Round table discussions The meeting started with a summary presented by DU. The Waterfowl Surveys Initiative is a regional effort including 13 countries and covering numerous wetlands between the equator and the tropic of Cancer. Objectives To ensure that the results this project will provide a useful conservation tool, all countries must share a basic common objective: Identify major wetlands being used by waterfowl species during mid-“winter”, and during their migration to and from the breeding grounds. Managua 2003 pg. 1 It is important to reach this objective in order to use the surveys as a tool to: − Identify important wetlands; − Identify wetlands in need of management or restoration; − Establish a baseline for conservation of waterfowl populations; and − Provide the basis for the 1% Ramsar Criteria. The surveys also help to: − Stimulate interest in waterfowl and wetlands; − Promote a Hemisphere perspective for conservation and research work; − Train and establish core groups of collaborators in each country; and − Build a regional network to exchange ideas and information. National Presentations With these ideas in mind and in order to set a regional framework for the round-table discussions, representatives from each country provided national presentations. These included information of progress to date and how the surveys information is being applied for wetland conservation. Most countries mentioned the number of persons involved in the fieldwork is not enough to survey all the wetlands adequately. However, training workshops organized since the surveys begun have helped increase participation. Some reported good results in relation to using aircraft, while for others it was a problem. For example, in the case of Dominican Republic the problem was the lack of adequate aircraft available at airports near the wetlands, while others reported pilots unwilling to fly the way the surveys must be flown. In some cases colleagues indicated they had not seen yet all waterfowl species reported for their respective countries, while others such as El Salvador and Nicaragua have added new species to their national lists (Chen caerulescens and Aythya collaris in the first case and Aythya marila in the latter). However, the fact that some species have gone undetected could be because these are uncommon, or because of lack of sufficient “eyes” and experience to spot them, especially from the air. The first three years of surveys are beginning to shed some light about wetlands previously not considered important for waterfowl. While some countries are able to surveys all their wetlands, e.g. El Salvador and Jamaica, most countries have concentrated in a few areas for these first 3-4 years and are slowly adding new areas as time and money become available. Others, such as the Dominican Republic and Suriname, have flown over several wetlands for three consecutive years and found them of little relevance to waterfowl so have shifted their efforts to exploring new sites or have expanded the number of surveys at those with considerable consistent numbers. The most numerous migratory species in every country was blue-winged teal, with annual concentrations of almost 250,000 in a small area of the Ciénaga Grande de Sta. Marta in Colombia. Wetlands in the tropical dry forest zone of Central America fluctuate more than those in Colombia, but high numbers have included 21,000 in Palo Verde (Costa Rica), 25,000 in Charco Tisma (Nicaragua), 60,000 in Cerrón Grande (El Salvador), 150,000 in Jíbaro (Cuba) and over 20,000 in Cabral (Dominican Republic), and 11,000 in Suriname. For lesser scaup, the second Managua 2003 pg. 2 most numerous migratory species reported, figures included over 1,600 in Laguna Limón (Dominican Republic), and 23,000 in Guatuzos (Nicaragua). Other interesting results were 20,000 northern shoveler counted in Cerrón Grande (El Salvador), 8,000 ruddy duck in Cabral (Dominican Republic) On non-migratory species, black-bellied whistling duck was the most numerous, with 7,500 in Palo Verde (Costa Rica) and 33,000 in Cerrón Grande (El Salvador). More locally observed was fulvous whistling duck, and sightings of muscovy duck and masked duck were few. This data collected over 3-4 years still does not help us understand how the different species use the wetland habitats throughout the region. But, as information accumulates, some patterns are beginning to show and the relative importance of wetlands in dry or wet years is becoming clearer. For example in Nicaragua, dry years mean Charco Tisma is not suitable for waterfowl since only the deepest parts of the wetland remain with water. The shallow and highly productive surrounding shores disappear and without this habitat no blue-winged teal and other species are attracted to this habitat. All countries reported loss or modification of wetland habitat suitable for waterfowl, as the main problem faced by waterfowl, followed by pollution and uncontrolled hunting. Some indicated active management, or restoration/rehabilitation was necessary, and that they would be willing to initiate this kind of work at small scale in an experimental fashion. Conservation programs such as the restoration of the Palo Verde wetlands in Costa Rica, and La Herrera in Colombia, are already using the surveys data to monitor progress made. In Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua several new Ramsar sites were designated or are being prepared for designation using the surveys information. Most countries have provided the surveys information to the authorities to assist them with designation of Important Bird Areas (IBAs) and drawing of hunting regulations. In all countries the Waterfowl Surveys Initiative has helped with capacity building and institutional strengthening, providing agencies with more and better information on the conservation status of the wetlands and the use of these habitats by waterfowl. In addition, Cuba for example, uses waterfowl information to develop environmental education materials and activities, and has presented their research results at a rice congress that opened the dialog between conservationists and rice farmers. In some countries, such as Dominican Republic, the involvement of the local communities is essential to the advancement and success of the surveys program. While several other countries, e.g. Colombia, El Salvador, Jamaica and Suriname, carry out the surveys in close collaboration with both NGOs and the government authorities. Round table discussions Issues discussed during the round table discussions included problems identifying species from the air and estimating size of bird flocks, as well as issues related to survey dates, analysis and processing of data, field forms and reporting forms, future assistance and use of the data for wetland conservation. Because of the experience already accumulated by most participants the round table discussions produced very important conclusions to help guide the future planning of the surveys. The participation of colleagues from Canada and the USA revealed that what Managua 2003 pg. 3 countries are experiencing now, was experienced in North America 50-60 years ago. However, communications, technology and the fact that we can have meetings like this one to discuss problems, look for solutions and come up with new ideas, puts LAC conservationists at a certain relative advantage over the North American pioneers. Aerial Surveys Training Thanks to the USFWS support, all participants had the opportunity to spend some hours with the flyway biologists flying over the wetlands near Managua searching for waterfowl, identifying species and estimating their numbers. Unfortunately this year these wetlands were almost dry and very few waterfowl could be found in them. Nevertheless, the purpose of the flying exercise was mainly to understand how to handle the aircraft in order to be most efficient in the few seconds the observers have to identify and count the birds