This page is designed to summarize the status of wildlife conservation efforts in Latin America, with a strong emphasis on birds. For most countries, it lists the names of "World Heritage Sites" and other Protected Areas as designated by the United Nations (indicated by the links). It also indicates the major national parks and other notable unique ecological zones. The explanatory text and photos on this page focus on the countries which I have visited.
Argentina
Nationalistic politics has created friction with American philanthropists who are trying to establish wildlife reserves with their own money. See Sept. 25, 2006 blog post.
Parks, nature reserves
- Los Glaciares
- Iguazu National Park
- Peninsula Valdes
- Ischigualasto-Talampaya National Park
- Ñacuñan Ecological Reserve
- Lanin National Park
- Nahuel Huapi National Park
National links
Argentina Wildlife Foundation (English)
Bolivia
Parks, nature reserves
- Noel Kempff Mercado National Park (Huanchaca, northeast)
- Manuripi Natural Reserve (north)
- Isiboro Secure National Park (Las Yungas)
Brazil
Parks, nature reserves
- Iguacu National Park
- Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves
- Southeast Atlantic Forest Reserves
- Jau National Park
- Pantanal Conservation Complex
- Brazilian Atlantic Islands
- Cerrado Protected Areas
- Rio Branco National Park
- Oiapoque Biological Reserve
- Pico de Neblina National Park
National links
Brazil World Wildlife Fund (Portuguese)
Chile
Parks, nature reserves
- Lauca National Park (north)
- Atacama Salt Flats
- Laguna San Rafael National Park
- Guaitecas Archipelago National Park
- Bernardo O'Higgins National Park
Colombia
Parks, nature reserves
- Los Katios National Park
- Isla de Salamanca National Park
- Paramillio National Park
- Tuparro National Park / Biosphere Reserve
Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a birdwatcher's paradise, as Jacqueline and I found for overselves on our vacation there in 2005; see March 7, 2005 blog post for a summary of what we saw. It is also home to a wide variety of other tropical wildlife species. Every year many thousands of sea turtles lay eggs on the beaches, on both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts. Over 22,000 Green turtles nest around Tortuguito every year, one fourth of the world's total. (See Apr. 14, 2005 blog post.) Fortunately, Costa Rica is one of the most enlightened countries in Latin America in terms of wildlife conservation policy. A large portion of the country's area is protected by National Park status, which is smart economically because it attracts many thousands of eco-tourists every year.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Great kiskadee, Blue-gray tanager, Silver-throated tanager, Red-footed honeycreeper, Scarlet-rumped tanager, Scarlet macaw, Pacific screech owl, and in right center, a Coppery-headed emerald hummingbird. Roll mouse over this image to see an Agouti, an Iguano, a White-faced monkey, a Spider monkey, and a lizard.
Parks, nature reserves
- Cocos Island National Park
- Guanacaste Conservation Area (Santa Rosa National Park, etc.)
- Talamanca Range-La Amistad International Park (Chirripo National Park)
- Poas Volcano National Park (central highlands)
- National Park
- Manuel Antonio National Park
- Braulio Carillo National Park
- Arenal Volcano-Monteverde Protected Zone (northwest highlands)
- Corcovado National Park (south Pacific coast)
- Juan Castro Blanco National Park
- Tortuguero National Park (Caribbean - sea turtles!)
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Parks, nature reserves
- Galapagos National Park
- Sangay National Park
- Yasuni National Park (Amazon)
- Cotacaci-Cayapas Ecological Reserve
El Salvador
Haiti
Mexico
Jacqueline and I traveled to Mexico in February 2003; see our photo gallery, with travelogue. We were amazed to see so many birds in the parks of Mexico City. We spent several days in the city of Oaxaca, in the southeast. In spite of the hot, dry climate, a surprisingly wide variety of birds are found there. In August 2006 a Mexican bird expert who was teaching local Indian people how to be birding and nature guides for eco-tourists was arrested; see Sept. 2, 2006 blog post. One of the most precious habitats is the evergreen forest in the central highlands where virtually all Monarch butterflies spend every winter. In spite of government efforts to save this area, many trees are cut down to satisfy the high demand for lumber, putting that species at severe risk.
Clockwise, from top left: A freakish whirlwind at the ruins of Monte Alban, near Oaxaca, a valley on the road to Oaxaca, a Vermilion flycatcher, a Summer tanager, and a Black-headed grosbeak.
Parks, nature reserves
- Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (Yucatan)
- Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino
- Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California
- Copper Canyon National Park (Chihuahua)
- Benito Juarez Natonal Park (Oaxaca)
- Bosencheve Natonal Park (Monarch butterflies!)
National links
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is gradually rebuilding after the long civil war of the 1970s and 1980s, and has finally begun to attract a significant number of ecotourists. In 2005 I took a short boat ride to the "isletas" near Granada where the Zapateras Archipelago begins, and saw quite a number of bird species.
Parks, nature reserves
- Mombacho Nature Reserve (extinct volcano near Granada)
- Masaya National Park (volcano)
- Zapateras Archipelago National Park (near Granada)
- Miraflor Nature Reserve (cloud forests, many birds)
- Indio-Maiz Biological Reserve (rainforest)
- La Flor Wildlife Reserve (Pacific coast, sea turtle nests)
- Bosawas Biosphere Reserve
National links
Panama
Parks, nature reserves
Paraguay
Parks, nature reserves
- Defensores del Chaco National Park
Peru
Without a doubt, Manu National Park is the premier nature reserve on Planet Earth. Hundreds of tropical birds, reptiles, and mammals are found here, and many of them are exclusive residents of this spot where the foothills of Andes meet the Amazon rain forest. Most notable are the various kinds of macaws that depend on the clay found along riverside cliffs to ease their digestion -- like Pepto Bismol. At Paracas, on the coast south of Lima, a wide variety of nesting sea birds are found. It is under threat of development, however, principally from the natural gas pipeline terminal. In the past ten years, the estimated number of Humboldt's penguins there has declined from 40,000 to about 5,000.
In March 2004 Jacqueline and I were fortunate to visit Machu Picchu and the nearby Urubamba Valley north of Cuzco. We saw many kinds of hummingbirds, tanagers, and other exotic species. Around the overpopulated urban area of Lima, several wildlife refuges are under severe stress.
At the Pantanos de Villa wetland area near Chorrillos, just south of Lima, an international dispute arose after the the Chilean-owned Lucchetti factory was closed by municipal authorities on the grounds that the building permit had been obtained through bribery, so as to circumvent the environmental regulations. (See closeup of the sign.)
Several miles north of Lima, the Ventanilla wetlands are threatened by the sprawling construction of shacks by people migrating from the countryside in search of jobs. (See closeup of the sign.) Another example of grass-roots environmental action sponsored by the Catholic School of the Immaculate Conception in Ventanilla is the Ventanilla ecological park, on the east side of the suburb. All these projects are worthy of international support, because the local people are simply too poor to pay for wildlife conservation.
BIRD MONTAGE -- Clockwise from top left: Black-necked stilt, cormorant, Hooded siskin, Common moorhen, Green & white hummingbird, American oystercatcher. Roll mouse over links in the text above to see small previews of the ecological places mentioned, and click on them to see the full-size images. Roll over the image to bring the bird montage back.
Parks, nature reserves
- Manu National Park (southeast)
- Rio Abiseo National Park
- Huascaran National Park
- Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu
- Salinas Aguada Blanca National Reserve (near Arequipa)
- Titicaca National Reserve
- Paracas National Reserve
- Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve
National links
Proyecto para la Conservacion del Bosque Tropical
Uruguay
Venezuela
Parks, nature reserves
- Canaima National Park (Angel Falls)
- Imataca Forest Reserve
- El Caura Forest Reserve
- Aguas Blancas Aguas Negra Fauna Reserve
- Serrania de la Neblina National Park
- Sipapo Forest Reserve
- Aguaro-Guariquito National Park
National links
Recommended books:
John Kricher, A Neotropical Companion: An Introduction to the Animals, Plants, & Ecosystems of the New World Tropics (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997)
John Terborgh, Where Have All the Birds Gone? (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1989)
Costa Rica 5th ed. (Footscray, Victoria, Australa: Lonely Planet, 2002)
F. Gary Stiles and Alexander F. Skutch, A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica
Ernest P. Edwards, A Field Guide to the Birds of Mexico, (Sweet Briar, VA, 1972)
Gino Cassinelli Del Sante, Birds of Machu Picchu (Lima: Metrocolor, 2003)
Arturo Aranda Arrieta and Maria Escalanet Gutierrez, Lucchetti: El Mas Grave Ecocidio en los Pantanos de Villa (Lima: Ediciones Alternativa, 2002)
James Spotila, Sea Turtles: A Complete Guide to Their Biology, Behavior, and Conservation (Johns Hopkins, 2004)
Downs Matthews and Kevin Schafer, Beneath the Canopy: Wildlife of the Latin American Rain Forest (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1999)