Aug

2024

13

A sweet song: the birds in the sugar cane

Audubon, the Calidris Association and Cenicaña came together to produce a manual that offers recommendations for the protection and conservation of birds in the sugar cane agrolandscape.

A sweet song: the birds in the sugar cane' is the new manual that will guide in the coming years the conservation and protection actions of birdlife in the sugar cane agro-productive system in the Cauca River valley. 

The manual is the result of collaboration between National Audubon Society, the Asociation Calidris and the Colombian Sugarcane Research Center-Cenicaña, which since 2021 have documented practices and recommendations to conserve fauna beneficial to the crop, with emphasis on the contribution of birds to ecosystem services. 

This documentary tool was presented today to mills and growers with the purpose of contributing to the conservation of the biodiversity of the agrolandscape of the Cauca River Valley, with adequate management that allows a balance between food production and nature conservation. 

In the Cauca River Valley, 422 species of birds have been recorded, which is equivalent to 21,44% of those existing in Colombia, the country with the greatest wealth of birds in the world. A quite significant percentage, taking into account that the geographical valley occupies approximately 0,2% of the Colombian territory. This community of birds can be categorized into several groups: residents, migratory, endemic, introduced and wandering or erratic. 

The presentation of A sweet song: the birds in the sugar cane It was carried out in the Providencia Ecological Park, a natural reserve located east of the municipality of Palmira. In this park, 223 different species of birds have been recorded to date, among which some endemic species of Colombia stand out, such as: the Red Partridge (Odontophorus hyperythrus), the Colombian Guacharaca (Columbiana ortalis), the Spotted Woodpecker (Picumnus granadensis) and the Apical Flytrap (Myiarchus apicalis).

Common Woodpecker (Crotophaga ani). Photo: Andrés Estefan.

The alliance

National Audubon Society: Incorporated in 1905, the National Audubon Society protects the birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Audubon works in the Americas using science, advocacy, education and conservation on the ground. Its programs, nature centers, chapters and partners give Audubon unprecedented reach, reaching millions of people each year to inform, inspire and unite diverse communities in conservation action. 

Calidris Association: founded in 1991 by a group of students from the Department of Biology of the Universidad del Valle, in Santiago de Cali, Colombia, whose main purpose was to study the shorebirds that arrived at Buenaventura Bay during their migration. It is currently a civil society organization, a leader in bird conservation in Colombia, with national and international recognition. As of 2017, the Calidris Association is the official partner of BirdLife International in Colombia. 

Cenicaña: is a private non-profit corporation that was founded in 1977 at the initiative of sugar cane mills and growers. The Research Center generates knowledge and develops technologies around sugar cane to contribute to the innovation processes of the sugar cane agroindustry and to the progress and sustainability of the region and the country. Through the Caña Biodiversa initiative, led by Cenicaña, restoration processes are implemented to recover and form biological corridors in the agrolandscape of the Cauca River valley. 

Further information:  

● Margarita Rodríguez / Cenicaña – comunicaciones@cenicana.org

● Gloria Lentijo / Audubon Americas – gloria.lentijo@audubon.org 

● Calidris Association – comunicaciones@calidris.org.co – calidris@calidris.org.co

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