Initial land purchases often serve as starting points for large, ambitious conservation projects. Witness the recent expansion of Guatemala’s Serra Caral protected area.

Begun in 2012 as a relatively small project

among Rainforest Trust and conservation allies, the reserve has been expanded nearly eightfold by the Guatemalan Government. Similar successes abound. Rainforest Trust’s agility, coupled with strong support from donors, enables our organization to sow the seeds of wildlife conservation throughout the tropics. When properly cared for these small conservation projects grow quite rapidly.

Many of the reserves we’ve established throughout Latin America have more than doubled in size during the last decade. This tradition, we hope, will continue with the newly created Chamicero de Perijá Nature Reserve in Colombia’s remote Serranía de Perijá. Not only does the new reserve provide fresh hope for species potentially facing extinction, and the humans that are passionate about their survival, but it sets the stage for future conservation victories in one of South America’s most threatened ecosystems.

Sincerely,

Dr. Paul Salaman CEO, Rainforest Trust

RAINFOREST BULLETINA Global Alliance Saving Rainforests

FROM OUR CEO

1.800.456.4930 | info@RainforestTrust.org www.RainforestTrust.org

SUMMER 2014

RAINFOREST TRUST MISSION: to purchase threatened rainforests and protect endangered wildlife through community engagement and local partnerships.

Colombia’s Serranía de Perijá ........................ 1Guatemalan Gov’t Establishes Reserve .........1Rainforest Trust Project Appeals .....................2Photo Highlight ........................................... 2Species Spotlight ........................................... 3Conservation Victory in Colombia ............... 3In the Field: Kitty Harvill.............................. 3AmazonSmile Program ................................. 4Land Purchase in Atlantic Rainforest ............ 4

IN THIS ISSUE summer 2014

Thanks to the generous support of Rainforest Trust donors, the tropical forests of Colombia’s Serranía de Perijá have received protection for the first time. On June 27, Rainforest Trust’s Colombian partner ProAves purchased 9 properties to create the 1,850-acre Chamicero de Perijá Nature Reserve in eastern Colombia.

With 98% of the Serranía de Perijá’s forests already destroyed due to colonization and agricultural expansion, the new protection is urgently needed. “Without this reserve, the chances are high that within a few years nothing would be left of the magnificent forests that once covered Colombia’s Serranía de Perijá,” said Dr. Paul Salaman, CEO of Rainforest Trust.

The reserve protects one of the best preserved tracts of forest remaining in the Colombian mountain range. It also prevents logging in two watersheds that provide a vital supply of

water for towns in Colombia’s otherwise arid Cesar Department. “Everyone wins with this reserve. Not only is it a permanent lifeline for the region’s many endemic species, but it is also a major victory for nearby cities and towns that will significantly benefit from the resources it provides,” said Salaman.

Due to the historical difficulties of conducting research in this remote area, the Serranía de Perijá remains one of the least-known ecosystems in the Northern Andes. Field research by ProAves, however, has confirmed its importance as a stronghold for many threatened species.

This research has established the presence of three endangered and endemic species, the Perijá Thistletail, Perijá Metaltail, and Perijá Brush-finch. Several other bird species have also been discovered, including a new Brush-finch and a new Tapaculo. ■

Guatemalan Gov’t Establishes 47,000-acre Protected Area for Endangered Wildlife On May 13, Guatemala’s National Congress created the Serra Caral National Protected Area, making it the nation’s first federally protected area to be established in seven years. The core of the 47,000-acre protected area is the Serra Caral Amphibian Conservation Reserve, which Guatemalan partner FUNDAECO (Foundation for Eco-Development and Conservation) created with Rainforest Trust’s support in 2012. Continued on page 2 © R. Moore

Triumph for Threatened Species in Colombia’s Serranía de Perijá

Expanded Protection for Guatemala’s Threatened Wildlife (continued from page 1)“This area will fill an important conservation gap in the Guatemalan system of protected areas, and will ensure the preservation of many endemic and endangered amphibians in this globally recognized Alliance for Zero Extinction site,” said Marco Cerezo, CEO of FUNDAECO.

The new protected area, which is nearly eight times the size of the original amphibian reserve, will provide additional legal protection for Serra Caral’s wildlife and improve the reserve’s long-term sustainability.

“This accomplishment highlights the fact that our work doesn’t end with land purchase, rather it is the beginning of a process to ensure land is permanently protected,” noted Dr. Paul Salaman, CEO of Rainforest Trust. “Our Guatemalan partner FUNDAECO has achieved an outstanding success that will securely protect one of Central America’s most biodiverse areas.”

The Serra Caral, an isolated mountain range near Guatemala’s Caribbean coast, is not only home to many endemic species, but is also a natural corridor and gathering point for many North and South American bird species.

The protected area provides habitat for a dozen globally threatened amphibians – five found nowhere else in the world – and three species of threatened birds. Scientific explorations in the Serra Caral have resulted in discoveries of new amphibian and snake species.

Over the last 20 years, however, rampant clearcutting has contributed to the loss of rainforests in the Serra Caral and reduced local populations of many species. The protected area, which contains the last stands of primary forest found in the Serra Caral, protects some of the best habitat remaining in eastern Guatemala for Jaguars and other threatened species. ■

Rainforest Trust Project Appeals around the WorldMonumental Amazon Conservation: PeruLocated in the heart of the Amazon, the Sierra del Divisor range is home to rich biodiversity, pristine forests, and uncontacted tribes. The mountain range, situated at the center of a ten-million-acre wildlife corridor, is one of the highest conservation priorities in the Amazon. But it is severely threatened by oil and mining development, road construction, hunting, and logging.

Rainforest Trust and Peruvian conservation partner CEDIA (Center for the Development of an Indigenous Amazon) are creating two nationally protected areas that will be ringed with indigenous territories. This will ensure that 5.9 million acres of the Sierra del Divisor remain forever wild. Rainforest Trust seeks $2.2 million to complete this project.

Advancing the Atlantic Rainforest: BrazilThe Atlantic Rainforest once covered over 500,000 square miles - an area almost twice the size of Texas - in Brazil and Argentina. But after a century of intensive timber extraction, agricultural expansion, industrialization, and urbanization, only 7% of the forest remains. Still, it ranks as one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in the world.

Rainforest Trust is working with Brazilian partner REGUA to expand its Atlantic Rainforest reserve by 1,128 acres. This urgent expansion will protect key rainforests from development pressures, while preserving habitat for Woolly Spider Monkeys and Pumas. Rainforest Trust seeks an additional $59,070 to fund this purchase. All donations for this project will be matched.

RAINFOREST BULLETIN SUMMER 20142

Protection for Sangihe’s Wildlife: IndonesiaThe Indonesian island of Sangihe, located in the Celebes Sea, holds the highest concentration of threatened bird species anywhere in Asia. Of Sangihe’s nine endemic bird species, eight are threatened. In addition, the island contains populations of the Talaud Bear Cuscus, a threatened marsupial, and the Sangihe Tarsier, an endangered primate.

Sangihe’s wildlife, however, is threatened by widespread logging and habitat loss. To protect these species, Rainforest Trust is partnering with Burung Indonesia to create the 22,000-acre Gunung Sahendaruman Reserve. Rainforest Trust seeks $12,906 to complete project funding. Thanks to a generous matching donation, acres on Sangihe can be protected for $1.

PHOTO HIGHLIGHT

This Orange-winged Amazon Parrot was photographed by Gabriel Mello, a park guard, at the REGUA nature reserve in Brazil’s Atlantic Rainforest. Although declining in numbers across their range, the spectacular parrots are regularly seen at the 17,500-acre reserve. ■

To learn more about Orange-winged Amazon Parrots and the pairs nesting at REGUA, visit www.RainforestTrust.org.

RAINFOREST BULLETIN SUMMER 2014

Talaud Bear Cuscus: Ailurops melanotisSTATUS: Critically endangered

HABITAT: Primary forests in the Celebes Sea, IndonesiaDIET: Principally leaves; also flowers, buds, and fruitTHREATS: Deforestation, hunting, and the illegal pet tradeCURRENT PROTECTION: The Bear Cuscus is nominally protected by Indonesian law. Lacking an effective reserve, however, has left the species essentially without protection.INTERESTING FACT: The Bear Cuscus is an arboreal marsupial. Like other folivores (leaf-eaters), it moves at a sloth-like pace, spending much of its day digesting food.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

PHOTO HIGHLIGHT

Q & A with Kitty Harvill

Based in Paraná, Brazil, Kitty Harvill is an award-winning wildlife artist and illustrator. She is currently working on several portraits of the Northern Brown Howler Monkey, a rare primate facing extinction in Brazil’s Atlantic Rainforest.

Q: You often choose endangered species as subjects. Why? My art is done to raise awareness. Wildlife is rapidly going extinct around the world and it’s not happening for natural reasons. It’s happening because of humans. If you focus on saving an endangered species, you are essentially committed to saving its habitat and by doing so you provide refuge for all species found within its territory.

Q: How did you learn about the Northern Brown Howler Monkey? For a long time, I’ve wanted to do a series of paintings of Brazil’s endangered primates. So when I received a mailing from Rainforest Trust with photos of the Northern Brown Howler, I knew right away I wanted to do a portrait.

Q: Have you found art an effective way to convey conservation messages? Yes. Lecturing about threats to the Atlantic Rainforest will only take you so far. I’m hopeful that if I can capture the spirit of the Northern Brown Howler in my paintings, it will resonate with people in a way that words can’t. When you look into the eyes of the Northern Brown Howler – a species on the edge of extinction – it’s hard to think, “I don’t care if its forest is destroyed.”

Q: What will you do with your work when you’re finished? A portion of the proceeds from my work will go directly towards efforts to protect Northern Brown Howlers and their habitat. I will also be giving reproduction rights to Rainforest Trust to help promote future campaigns to expand the Serra Bonita Reserve. ■

Conservation Victory for Colombian WildlifeRainforest Trust’s Colombian partner ProAves successfully completed the purchase of 494 acres that will provide critical protection for the Blue-billed Curassow and other endangered species by expanding the El Paujíl Reserve. The reserve, located in Central Colombia, now totals more than 8,400 acres.

The new acquisition, which conserves pristine lowland rainforest, contains populations of such threatened species as the Spectacled Bear, Brown Spider Monkey, Magdalena Tapir, and Blue-billed Curassow.

With as few as 150 mature individuals remaining, the critically endangered Blue-billed Curassow is one of the most endangered birds on the planet. The El Paujíl Reserve protects the only viable population of the species known to exist.

“This new property is definitely one of the most important areas for the Blue-billed Curassow in Colombia,” said Alonso Quevedo, Executive Director of ProAves. “And the recent discovery of large mammals like the Magdalena Tapir and Spectacled Bear within the reserve has added new urgency to our expansion efforts. These mammals need big undisturbed areas to thrive and this land purchase is part of a larger, ongoing effort to provide that space.”

ProAves created the El Paujíl Nature Reserve in 2003 with the support of Rainforest Trust to protect an important segment of Colombia’s Magdalena Valley, one of the planet’s most vulnerable rainforests. Rainforest Trust has continued to support the reserve’s expansion.

Although the Magdalena Valley’s forests support an impressive array of endemic species, they are being rapidly cleared. Uncontrolled colonization and logging have caused the destruction of more than 16 million acres, accounting for nearly 98% of the valley’s rainforests. Combined with illegal hunting, such habitat loss has had catastrophic effects on local fauna.

Despite these threats, the Blue-billed Curassow population in the El Paujíl Reserve has increased 23% annually. The new acquisition will ensure that sufficient space exists for the population to continue rebounding.

Complementing its conservation work, ProAves launched an educational outreach campaign in 2009 to engage local communities. Over 200 community and school workshops have been conducted and the Blue-billed Curassow is now celebrated in annual festivities. ProAves is also working with local communities to develop sustainable ecotourism activities that will benefit local wildlife. ■

To learn more about the Blue-billed Curassow visit www.RainforestTrust.org.

RAINFOREST BULLETIN SUMMER 20143

NOTES FROM THE FIELD

Blue-billed Curassow

Spectacled Bear

25 Horner StreetWarrenton, VA 20186

www.RainforestTrust.org

Rainforest Trust Joins AmazonSmile ProgramRainforest Trust is now a registered charity with Amazon.com’s AmazonSmile program, which means that Amazon customers can support the organization each time they shop the site.

Once enrolled in the AmazonSmile program, shoppers will have the option to choose Rainforest Trust as their preferred charity. Upon selection, the organization will receive 0.5% of all approved purchases.

Enrolling in AmazonSmile is a simple process that can be completed in a matter of seconds. More information about the program is available at www.RainforestTrust.org. ■

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RAINFOREST BULLETIN SUMMER 20144

Land Purchase in the Atlantic RainforestWith Rainforest Trust’s support, Brazilian partner REGUA successfully purchased a small but critical 38-acre parcel, increasing the reserve’s size to over 17,500 acres.

The acquired tract was identified several years ago as an important objective in REGUA’s strategic plan to expand rainforest conservation in the Guapiaçu Valley. Located adjacent to the reserve, the new property will serve as a buffer zone and provide critical habitat for REGUA’s wildlife, including Ocelots and Three-toed Sloths. ■

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