Briefly 553 AMERICAS
Brazil launches mangrove conservation programme The Brazilian government has launched a programme to enhance the conservation of mangroves in the country, which boasts the second-largest area of mangrove cover in the world. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed a decree establishing the National Programme for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Mangroves of Brazil, called ProManguezal and aimed at defining guidelines and actions for bolster- ing conservation efforts. The programme will focus onsix key areas: advancing conser- vation activities, promoting sustainable use of mangroves, reducing climate change im- pacts on local communities, scaling conser- vation financing, disseminating traditional knowledge and training both local commu- nities and public authority
members.Marine pollution control, enhanced monitoring of invasive species and the conservation of threatened species in mangrove ecosystems are among the actions outlined by the decree. Source: Carbon Pulse (2024) carbon-pulse. com/293832
One of Earth’s biggest freshwater fish is bouncing back Conservation efforts spearheaded by local communities have turned things around for the arapaima, the largest scaled fresh- water fish in the world. In areas of the Amazon where communities have adopted sustainable fishing practices, arapaima numbers have increased by 425%in 11 years. In Brazil, the arapaima is known as the pirarucu, which translates to ‘red fish’ in the aboriginal Tupí language, because of its reddish tail. The predatory fish is an air breather that can only stay submerged for 10–20 min before resurfacing to breathe. This makes it easy to catch, and a 2014 study found demand for the species led to severe overfishing that depleted populations. To mitigate this, Brazil’s government set up an extensive network of protected areas throughout the Amazon, with several states banning arapaima fishing. To better man- age the species, scientists also developed a method to count arapaimas, working close- ly with local fishers. Based on fish counts, the communities established a sustainable catch quota. Overall, c. 1,100 communities in the Amazon have adopted conservation initiatives for the fish. Source: National Geographic (2024)
nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/ arapaima-brazil-amazon-conservation- fishing
Coffee producers capture rare Amazon weasel on video A group of coffee producers has filmed an extremely rare small carnivore, the Amazon weasel Neogale africana, near their shade-grown plots during a citizen sci- encemonitoring
programme.The species had never previously been recorded in Bolivia. The observation represents the southern- most and, at 1,400 m, highest elevation record for the species. Eyner Quispe, the coffee producer who filmed the weasel near a natural spring on his farm, said ‘I was not sure what this animal was, but I knew it was not common. Biodiversity is an important part of our coffee story and so I filmed it as best I could. It’s a wonderful surprise to find out how important this observation is for Bolivia.’ Sources: Check List (2024)
doi.org/m9b9 & Wildlife Conservation Society (2024)
newsroom.wcs.org/news-releases/ articletype/articleview/articleId/22954/ coffee-producers-capture-rare-amazon-
weasel-on-video.aspx
Online trade of wild bats sold as decorations threatens species Despite declining numbers in the wild, hundreds of specimens of the painted woolly bat Kerivoula picta are being sold online as jewellery, Halloween decorations and curios, on sites including Etsy, eBay and Amazon. Researchers led the first com- prehensive study of the ornamental trade in a bat species, finding that bats are being sourced from Asia and then brought to the USA and used as decorations. Over a 3-month period, the team identified 284 listings of painted woolly bats, with USA sellers shipping them from 19 states, al- though 45% of the listings were being sold from Tennessee. About 20% of listings usedsales language evocativeof environmen- tal concerns, such as ‘ethical’ and ‘sustain- able’ or claimed the bats were captive-bred and had not been harmed. Kerivoula picta is a small bat prized for its striking orange and black colouring and long, woolly fur. The species lives in parts of South, East and Southeast Asia, roosting in leaves and hunt- ing insects in forests and fields. Categorized as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, its conservation status is expected to worsen with the rise and ease of global e-commerce. The study authors recommend formal legal protection of the species by inclusion on CITES Appendix I, to prohibit its inter- national trade. Sources: European Journal of Wildlife Research (2024)
doi.org/nb7s & University of California Davis (2024)
ucdavis.edu/ climate/news/e-sales-wild-bat-sold-decor- threaten-species
Conservation success for boreal toads As part of an initiative to boost the popula- tion of boreal toads in Colorado, USA, amphibian and aquatic species experts from Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance and Colorado Parks and Wildlife have teamed up to breed and release 2,200 tad- poles into the wild. Starting with 95 adult toads, the team spent . 6 months prepar- ing them for breeding and nurturing their offspring leading up to the release, which occurred in June. This was the second suc- cessful release, following a reintroduction of . 600 tadpoles in 2022. Although categor- ized as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, the species is listed as Endangered in the states of Colorado and New Mexico. Once common in montane habitats in the Southern Rocky Mountains, the boreal toad has experienced dramatic population declines over the past 2 decades and officials estimate there may only be 800 wild adult toads left in the state of Colorado. The amphibians face threats from habitat loss, rising temperatures and chytrid fungus. Source: Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance (2024)
denverzoo.org/zootales/another- toad-al-success
Indigenous People build road bridges for primates Brazil has the world’s fourth-largest road network, and vehicle collisions are a leading cause of death for the country’s primate species, 40% of which are threatened. One such road is the BR-174, which crosses the states of Amazonas and Roraima. Working together, the Reconecta Project and the Waimiri-Atroari Indigenous People build bridges that connect the forest canopy over the road, allowing primates to cross safely. The project was created by biologist Fernanda Abra, who recently won aWhitley Award for her tireless efforts for nature con- servation. Finding the best locations to install bridgeswasoneof themost important actions of the project.A 125 kmstretch of the BR-174 cuts through part of the land inhabited by the Waimiri-Atroari Indigenous People, who are exemplary custodians of their territory. In 2022, 30 bridges that had been constructed with the help of theWaimiri-Atroari people were installed in this area and monitored. In the first 10months, eight mammal species weredocumentedusing the
bridges.Camera- trap videos showed that out of various bridge designs, local arboreal mammals prefer the model thathas just asingle, thickropeweaved over a steel cable. Source: Mongabay (2024)
news.mongabay. com/2024/06/indigenous-people-in-the- amazon-are-helping-to-build-bridges- save-primates
Oryx, 2024, 58(5), 549–554 © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605324001698
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