Convention on biological diversity
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Dr. Roberto P. Schlatter6There are tremendous gaps in knowledge on the status and trends of many migratory species. This necessitates gathering basic information without which any conservation efforts to conserve and sustainably use migratory species and their habitats will likely fail. This case study describes a multiyear research and conservation project (see Annex 1) on the flamingos of the High Andes plateau that has been supported with a variety of funding sources. It aims to facilitate the conservation and sustainable management of wetlands and adjacent upland areas of a region of the Andean Altiplano (plateau) to help conserve flamingo populations. The wetlands systems support the endangered neo-tropical flamingo populations as well as human settlements with unique economic and social development. Overview of the Project AreaThe project area is a crescent-shape area of the Central Dry Puna. The project area includes up to 200,000 square kilometres of territory, located from about 15º to 34º latitude South. It is centred on the tri-national border of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile with participation of Peru. The Central Dry Puna of the Andes, is an ecoregion absolutely unique in the world. Its altitude ranges between 2300 and 4800 metres above sea level with the exception of Laguna Mar Chiquita in Argentina that is found at only 66 metres above sea level. It is characterised by breathtaking scenic beauty and geographic immensity and is populated by biota well adapted to high elevations and climatic extremes. These High Andean wetlands are mostly saline in nature. They are home to several endemic and migratory, as well as nomadic, bird species and other wildlife dependent on these wetlands. The Andean Puna is dry and cold. It has a limited capacity to support agriculture and classical cattle ranching, and therefore it can only sustain relatively low numbers of people. The endemic human populations have adapted to their environment and its limited resources even as a slow but persistent climatic drying period as progressed for the last 40 years. The indigenous groups located in the Puna -Aymara, Quechua, Atacameños and Coya peoples- have a cultural heritage that represents the oldest surviving traditional societies on the continent. Threats to the Puna’s WetlandsIn the last decades, the Puna’s fragile wetlands and the biodiversity that they support have increasingly come under threat. The main threats are:
To date mining and energy development have resulted in direct wetland habitat alteration and contamination. Natural hydrological regimes have been altered and they continue to be threatened by water diversion, road building, urban development and associated activities.
Several domestic livestock schemes and agricultural innovations have been developed with the local inhabitants. These have not considered the ecological limitations of this particular environment. Little is known about resource use and its sustainability. Issues related to disease transmission from domestic animals to wildlife populations should be addressed.
The unusual beauty of the area and its extreme environmental conditions are attractive to an increasing number of national and international visitors. Economic integration and free trade agreements between the Southern South American countries Brazil to Chile (with Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay) are promoting trade and other commercial exchange across international borders. But little has been done to regulate economic development to ensure that it is compatible with environmental interests. Any development will require more water. Supplies are fragile and mostly of endorreic nature. Increased water usage will further threaten the region’s wetlands, which are also labile and are shrinking or have already dried up. Even though the project area includes important protected areas, several key wetland habitats are not protected. Several pilot sites will be selected during the project development phase and the main threats to biodiversity will be evaluated. Biodiversity management principles in the regional land use and planning process will be considered by the project. Migratory and Nomadic Flamingos as Flagship SpeciesFlamingos are the flagship species that characterise this unique landscape. The Andean and James flamingo are restricted to High Andean wetlands and are the rarest of all flamingo species. Internationally they have been classified by IUCN as vulnerable and have been included in Appendix I of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and Appendix II of CITES. Flamingos can be migratory and nomadic. They depend on wetland conditions that fluctuate seasonally and inter-annually. Securing enough habitats to ensure the long-term survival of the Puna’s flamingo populations will require the protection of large wetland areas by the different countries involved. These habitats are patchily distributed and form a small portion of the area of interest (no more than the 12%) but the wetlands are essential for providing water to people and wildlife. All the beauty, cultural heritage and wildlife associated with the Puna wetlands’ heritage is threatened by industrial extraction of metallic and non-metallic minerals and other products, human encroachments and uncontrolled tourism, among others, because of the lack of proper physical landscape planning. Because of the transboundary nature of the Puna, conservation needs to take the form of a concerted effort among the flamingos’ range countries in order to generate joint, integrated responses to common threats and opportunities. |