Next September, our environmental education expert will make a support visit to Honduras. From September 18-30, she will join forces with three communities in this Central American country to share knowledge and successful practices in the conservation of migratory shorebirds.
Thanks to the Coastal Solutions program, this collaboration will be possible through the project “Conservation initiatives for shorebird habitat Punta Condega-Jicaritos System: Safe sites for shorebirds in Honduras” developed by intern Onil Rodriguez. The project includes the creation of a conservation plan and economic incentives, shorebird monitoring, and environmental education as a central axis for bird and habitat conservation.
The visit coincides with the designation of the Punta Condega-Jicarito System Reserve as an internationally important site in March 2023, when it was included in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network or WHSRN. WHSRN is a worldwide organization which lists key habitats for shorebird protection, making the designation an important milestone in the Central American country’s conservation efforts.
The Punta Condega-Jicarito System is located in the Gulf of Fonseca, in southern Honduras. Ecologically relevant due to the fact that it is home to 1% of the world’s population of the piping plover (Charadrius wilsonia) and the Double-striped thick-knee (Burhinus bistriatus). In addition, it includes four protected areas (Punta Condega, El Jicarito, La Berbería and San Bernardo) that share land with shrimp, melon, sugar cane and salt production areas.
Lizz Gonzalez Moreno, Pronatura Noroeste’s Conservation Education Coordinator, will collaborate in environmental education workshops in the coastal towns of Punta Condega, El Jicarito and La Berberia, in addition to shorebird monitoring activities in the area. She will also serve as a collaborator in the 1st Shorebird Festival in Honduras, to be held on September 30 in the community of El Venado.
The workshops will teach children, youth, and adults how to identify shorebirds and their ecological importance, as well as threats and conservation actions. This will lead to different activities in the near future, such as the creation of a birdwatchers club, wetland cleanup days, removal of ghost nets and plastic waste on the beach, creation of educational materials, and training of the Committee for the Defense and Development of the Flora and Fauna of the Gulf of Fonseca. Also, we will participate in shorebird monitoring in the area.
Lizz Gonzalez Moreno, said that this experience is “an excellent opportunity to expand our work to communities in other countries with whom we share similar environments and problems, to create ties and projects that contribute to shorebird conservation”.
This international collaboration highlights education on conservation as the best charter for the future. Thus, we have educational material for teachers and environmental educators, as well as workshops and courses hosted in our free digital platform.
Join Pronatura Noroeste and be part of the international linkage. Because in the conservation of the planet, we are one.
