Our goal is to grow conservationists of all ages!
A conservationist is a person who grows human knowledge and awareness of nature, and uses these to empower and save themselves, as they save the earth.
(One who helps their neighbors as themselves
Our goal is to grow conservationists of all ages!
A conservationist is a person who grows human knowledge and awareness of nature, and uses these to empower and save themselves, as they save the earth.
(One who helps their neighbors as themselves.)
One Earth Conservation does this specifically by empowering and standing in solidarity and resistance with the people of Latin America. Currently One Earth has projects in Honduras (3 projects) Guatemala (Two projects), Nicaragua (Islands of Hope), Guyana (3 villages), and Paraguay, with an eye out for Suriname and French Guiana in 2019 (see project descriptions below). Rev. Dr. LoraKim Joyner responds to the call for support from the peoples and parrots of Latin America due to her thirty-two years working on front-line conservation in marginalized, and often violent, communities in Central America. There she has witnessed the rampant suffering and high death rate of hundreds of thousands of parrots that enter the global illegal wildlife trade annually. Once distraught at this overwhelming tragedy, and now empowered, Dr. Joyner and other volunteers fight back to nurture nature in its many splendored forms known as parrots. One Earth Conservation and team members seek to Stop the Poaching Now by Liberating Wings, and hence liberating ourselves.
One Earth Conservation rises to the challenge of working in Central America by supporting and nurturing individuals through inner work, and also by directly leading outer work towards nature and other beings. We inspire, motivate, educate, and support people there to take care of themselves, their organizations, wild parrots, and the biological community by developing their awareness and understanding of nature, especially human nature as it relates to all of nature. You can keep up with Dr. Joyner's field conservation schedule here.
Enjoy two videos of project in La Moskitia
Video credit: Denise Richards
La Moskita, Honduras
In 2014, not one wild scarlet macaw chick in the core conservation area of Honduras (village of Mabita) escaped the illegal wildlife trade; all nests with chicks were poached. In 2016 and 2017, not one wild scarlet chick in the core conservation area entered the illegal wildlife trade. In 2018 20% nests were poached, and in 2019, on 9% of 102 registered nests! Team members are patrolling 1.2 million acreas, making this the largest community patrolled parrot project in the world. Parrots, communities, and habitats are being preserved in La Moskitia, Honduras through nest monitoring, nest protection, rescue and liberation, and community awareness, education, and enhancement programs.
Islands of Hope, Nicaragua
One Earth Conservation guides and funds population monitoring of parrots on the islands of Lake Nicaragua, also known as Lake Cocibolca. We have found on both Ometepe Island and Mancarron and Mancarroncito of the Solentiname Archipelago the endangered yellow-naped amazon in numbers worthy of conservation. Ometepe Island has one of the densest, if not the densest and most numerous populations of this species in all of it's range. We are involved in nest monitoring and protection, as well as the education, awareness, and community enhancement aspects of these important conservation areas. Currently we are working in 4 villages and supporting the team there, BIOMETEPE to lead conservation efforts there.
Very little is known about the status of parrots in Paraguay. As parrot conservation is just beginning there - through the efforts of the NGO organization, Guyra Paraguay, Dr. Andres Alvarez, a wildlife veterinarian, and government agencies. We need to continue to study the parrot populations to determine their status, and then study the nesting success of the various threatened species. We begin with population monitoring, capacity and relationship building, and small studies to develop the data we need. One Earth Conservation is supporting efforts from afar and in person, looking for ways to collaborate and develop the capacity of Paraguay to cherish and protect their parrots. In 2019 we began nest monitoring and nest protection in several locations, documenting on going poaching and 3 macaw species in big trouble in the country - the hyacinth macaw, the blue-and-yellow macaw, and the red-and-green macaw.
South Coast of Guatemala
Beginning in 2013, Dr. Joyner returned to locations in Guatemala where landowners were interested in yellow-naped parrot conservation and the species might still exist in numbers to warrant such efforts. While visiting each location, Dr. Joyner conducted counts of the species, taught population monitoring and general conservation, and encouraged landowners to continue monitoring and protection activities, work with local communities, and consider nest protection strategies. One Earth, along with ARCAS, has grown the working group, which is called COLORES (Corridor of Loros, Reserves, and Sanctuaries). To protect the parrots from poaching we must know more about poaching activities in the area, and its characteristics at specific sites. We have 6 active hot spots where nests are protected and where we conduct annual population studies, plus a host of education and awareness building activities. We are grateful for our partners, including our newest one, the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Yellow-headed Parrots in Guatemala
One Earth is involved in the conservation of yellow-headed amazons in Guatemala who also range into Honduras where we have worked in the past. There may only be 100 left with the border area between the two countries. There conservationists, our partners CONAP, CCO, and the local communties work with this species seek to understand the population status of these birds in the wi