WWF 9 WORLD WILDLIFE FUND SEMI-ANNUAL TECHNICAL PROGRESS REPORT USAID Grant #512-G-OO-96-00041 Protected Areas & Sustainable Resource Management Amazon Development Policy Capacity Building October 1, 2001 to March 31, 2002 Component I- Protected Areas Jau National Park Highlights • Three new species recorded for Jaii -A Ph.D. research study conducted by FVA staff member Sergio Borges registered three species ofbirds new to the Jaii National Park: SeiuntS novaboracensis, Miyopagisflaviventris, and Nonnula amaurocephala. The latter is a species very rarely recorded in the Amazon. The bird inventory of Jaii National Park is now one of the best known in the entire Brazilian Amazon, as it is the only one in existence that has been maintained systematically over an uninterrupted ten-year period. • FVA receives Environmental Award - Ms. Muriel Saragoussi, representing FVA activities in the Jaii National Park, was one offive recipients ofthe Claudia Magazine Award for her contributions to nature conservation. Claudia Magazine is the most important weekly publication in Brazil dedicated to women. The award targets women who have made significant contributions in the areas ofhealth, education, social entrepreneurship, and the environment. Progress Windows on Biodiversity Project - With the conclusion ofits third phase last semester, the project entered its fourth and final phase, and will focus on the monitoring and evaluation ofthe results attained, as well as on the publication ofmaterials for dissemination. In this last phase, the project will continue to carry out the field expedition program. In February, FVA implemented an internal planning process where decisions were reached on the 2002 work plan and on coordination ofthe thematic areas ofthe project. Staffmembers agreed to hold a Monitoring and Evaluation Workshop next July for the Windows on Biodiversity project. Attendance at this workshop will include several FVA staffmembers and associated researchers who have been involved in the project implementation. A decision was also made to temporarily relocate the FVA staffto another building while their current premises are being remodeled. Planning offield expeditions Phase IV - From January 3 - 9, and again from February 18­ March 1, meetings were held to plan upcoming field expeditions, prioritize themes and actions, and to select the research scientists and graduate students who will conduct the integrated research. A decision was made to conduct inventories in the following areas: • Temporal analysis ofherpetofauna • Zoogeography ofmammals • Dynamics ofThabanidea • Use offorestry resources by residents ofthe Park • Inventory and research on extractivism ofaquarium fish 3 • Social organization in the Park • Mapping the relationship ofsocial actors in the Park. FVA will participate in collaborative research on the following topics: • Monitoring offelines (Environmental Agency, IBAMA) • Landscape ecology (National Institute ofAmazon Research, INPA) • Archeology in the National Park (University ofSao Paulo, USP; and University of Amazonas, UA) •. Phytoplankton (INPA) • Arachnofauna (INPA) • Botany ofpalms (UA and INPA) • Botany and monitoring ofchelonidae (INPA) • Monitoring ofhunting (INPA and UA) • Zoogeography ofelectric eels (INPA) • Effect oflandscape heterogeneity on bird distribution (Emilio Goeldi Museum) • Population dynamics and mapping ofnatural resources (USP) Field expeditions - Phase IV - During this reporting period, six field expeditions were conducted in the Jail National Park. From November II to December II, Sergio Borges coordinated a bird inventory that studied the effect oflandscape heterogeneity in the distribution ofbirds. This expedition sampled bird populations in a variety offlooded vegetation types inside the Park. Follow-up activities were conducted from March 9 to 17, addressing questions such as how bird species are distributed in the different habitats and what are the key habitat requirements offocal species. From January 15 to 30, all neighboring communities were visited in order to share with them the results ofthe project and to discuss the activities planned for 2002. These visits were deemed by FVA staffto be highly successful in developing collaborative relations with the local residents. Communities located on both sides ofthe Unini River, which forms the border along one side of the Park, have expressed a strong interest in creating an Extractive Reserve just outside the Park border. Discussions were held on the process involved in such a designation, which would lessen the pressure ofuse ofnatural resources occurring now right on the Park border. An . Extractive Reserve bordering the National Park, extending into the forested land and lakes would provide alternatives such as extraction offish for human consumption, ornamental fish, cipo, and other non timber products, as well as allow small agricultural plots for manioc and similar subsistence crops. This would enhance the implementation ofthe Management Plan ofthe Park and better regulate the use ofnatural resources by the local communities. From January 22 to February 8, an expedition took place in the Seringalzinho "window", focusing on bird inventories in the Pataml site. From January 13 to February 2, Clarissa de Azevedo, a researcher with INPA, conducted studies on the diversity and ecology of arachnofauna in three landscape units in the Park. From February 15 to 28, researchers George Rebelo from INPA, and Juarez Pezzuti from UNICAMP, provided support in the monitoring offreshwater turtles along the sand river beaches (known locally as "tabuleiros") in the Park. This collaborative monitoring is enhancing the 4 community organization for the co-management ofthis project that now involves local volunteers, FVA technical staff, and mAMA. Four residents ofcommunities inside the Park were trained to assist research scientists in the " field expeditions that carried out bird and spider inventories. The participation ofcommunity members alongside FVA staffin diagnosis, development ofinventories, and activities related to the Management Plan has been important in involving the local residents in the management of the Park, as well as in influencing public policy regarding the existence and permanence oflocal people inside national parks. Below are the residents who have been trained and the dates of their participation in expeditions: • Antenor Raulino Anincacio (November 4 to 9, 2001; November 11 to December 11, 2001; January 22 to February 8, 2002; and March 9 to 17, 2002). • Eduardo Elizio de Souza (November 4 to 9, 2001; November 11 to December 11,2001; and January 22 to February 8, 2002). • Marcio Deone (January 13 to February 2, 2002). • Jose Mendona Reis (January 22 to February 8, 2002). Development ofData Base - From December 17 to 20, the FVA technical staffreceived further training in ArcView Geographic Information Systems and mapping. This training, provided by a contracted professional, increased the capacity ofthe staffto analyze the results ofthe Windows on Biodiversity Project. Buffer Zone Management - FVA technical staffmember, Carlos Durigan, was invited to participate in the meeting with COIAB (Amazon Coordination ofIndigenous Organizations), and PDPI (Demonstration Projects ofIndigenous Nations). The purpose ofthe meeting was the implementation ofan environmental and social diagnosis planned for the second semester of 2002. This diagnosis would support implementation ofthe Management Plan" for two indigenous areas ofthe Park's buffer zone located in the municipalities ofAutazes and Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira. The biological vision for the Amazon River and Flooded Forest Ecoregion identified the Negro River Basin as a priority basin where conservation strategies should be developed to maintain the ecological connectivity and the sustainable use ofnatural resources. In March, Bernardo Ortiz from TRAFFIC-South America made contact with the Piaba Project, FVA, and WWF-Brazil to discuss possible collaboration on the Aquarium Fish Trade Study. The above-mentioned study would analyze the current situation ofaquarium fish species in the region, with emphasis on two main exporting countries: Brazil and Colombia An assessment " will be made ofthe biological, ecological, and socioeconomic sustainability ofthe trade in ornamental fish. One important aspect wiII be the development ofinitial contacts and links with the aquarium industry in Europe and North America in order to have their input on how to improve the sustainability ofthe harvest through better management practices. Public Policy - FVA staffmembers have been invited by the state governments ofAmazonas " and Amapa, as well as by the regional press, to participate in the discussions ofthe zoning processes in those two states. FVA has direct involvement in discussions with several projects 5 -, and programs such as the Ecological Corridors/PPG-7, Forestry Code, Council ofFUNBIO, Protected Area National System - SNUC, Municipal Council ofEnvironment - Manaus, AM, and the Management Committee ofthe Amazon Central Corridor. Scientific Publications - Four scientific papers were published and are found annexed to this report. FVA teclmical staffmember, Carlos Durigan, participated in the V Congress ofEcology, held November 4 to 9 in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do SuI. At the Congress, FVA presented the following two panels: • Durigan, C. & Saragoussi, M. Avaliafiio do Manejo Tradicional do Cipo-Titica (Heteropsis spp.) no Parque Nacional do Jail - Amazonas/Brasil. • Castilho,