In southeastern Colombia, a community of just 2,200 people shares its shores with the largest concentration of shorebirds on the country’s Pacific coast. In 2009, Delta de Río Iscuandé was designated as the country’s first WHSRN Site of Regional Importance. Located in the municipality of Santa Bárbara de Iscuandé, in the department of Nariño, it is still the only WHSRN site in Colombia. In 2004, the community at Delta del Río Iscuandé formed the Community Council of Afro-Colombian Communities to protect their rights of collective land ownership, preserve their cultural identity, and guide the way they manage and care for the ecosystems and natural resources in the estuary.
The WHSRN site was designated for supporting more than 1% of the Western Hemisphere populations of Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus), Wilson’s Plover (Charadrius wilsonia), Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus), Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri), and Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla).
Through a long-term, inclusive effort to work with the community, WHSRN partner organization Asociación Calidris signed the Mangrove Forest Conservation Agreement with the Community Council in 2011. The Agreement set out to maintain the benefits and ecosystem services of 14,000 hectares of mangrove forest and mudflats under the care of the Community Council.
The mangrove forest at the mouth of the Iscuandé River. Photo: Asociación Calidris.
As part of the agreement, Asociación Calidris began engaging the local community in citizen science, something extraordinary for such a rural and remote area. The local monitors are chosen through a collaborative process by the Community Council, and they are trained by the technical team of Asociación Calidris. This citizen science initiative includes three interconnected research projects – each to help make more informed decisions for conservation and the community’s livelihood.
The first project is focused on an edible bivalve called Piangua (Anadara tuberculosa). Piangua have diminished greatly, and are now declared in danger of extinction in Colombia. In 2014, another Agreement was signed – this time to protect the Piangua populations within the Community Council’s territory. The community pledged not to capture, sell, or eat Piangua less than 5cm in size (the minimum size permitted in Colombia). They committed to establish seasonal no-harvest areas and to participate in the monitoring of Piangua populations. By helping with this monitoring, participants contribute to knowledge about their territory, and ensure compliance with the Agreement.
Harvesting Piangua. Photo: Asociación Calidris.
The monitoring has already made a difference for the Piangua population. Before the agreement, harvesters collecting Pianguas caught fewer than 100 per four-hour harvest period, all undersized at around 4.5cm. Now, an equivalent harvest effort returns 130 Pianguas, with an average size of 5.3cm. The surveys have shown that the population of immature Piangua stays close to the sea, and that most Piangua are female, which ensures their ability to reproduce. By building the community’s understanding of the life cycle of Piangua, this monitoring will help establish strategies for a sustainable harvest.
Left: Looking for Pianguas in the mangrove forest. Right: Measuring the size of a Piangua. Photos: Asociación Calidris.
Every two years, the community also conducts a socioeconomic survey, engaging local youth to collect the information. This monitoring project gathers information about living conditions, public health, and income opportunties in the community. The hope is that local leaders can use this information to make decisions that improve current living conditions and contribute to regional planning.
And what about shorebirds? Asociación Calidris has been leading shorebird monitoring at Delta del Río Iscuandé since 2008, on two sand-spits known as “La Cunita” and “Quiñónez.” These sites support a large concentration of shorebirds, and for the last five years, volunteer monitors have conducted surveys at these sites three times a year (in February, June, and October). Many of the volunteers are local youth, and – even though they have been surrounded by these birds for most of their lives – the opportunity to participate in monitoring is the first time they learn to identify species, and come to see the value shorebirds bring to these mudflats and sand-spits. Before becoming citizen scientists, local youth may have perceived these parts of the Delta as inconvenient obstacles to boats, but they now know they are the areas shorebirds rely on to feed.
18 species of shorebirds have been recorded in the Community Council’s territory in the Delta del Río Iscuandé: one species of oystercatcher, three species of plovers, and 14 species of sandpipers. Photo: Lucia Arcila.
The information that has stemmed from these monitoring efforts is increasing the community’s appreciation of the Delta. As volunteers expand their understanding of this complex ecosystem, the way they value the estuary grows, too. After several years of monitoring, shorebird migration patterns and habitat needs are also better understood. Asociación Calidris published a beautiful illustrated report to explain these three interwoven citizen science projects and share the results since monitoring began. It is available for download here.
Through shorebird surveys between 2012 and 2018, citizen scientists have recorded the following high counts at Delta del Río Iscuandé: 35,000 Western Sandpipers, 10,000 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 5,000 Black-bellied Plovers, 2,500 Semipalmated Plovers, and 2,300 Short-billed Dowitchers. They have also documented breeding American Oystercatchers and Wilson’s Plovers. Photos: Lucia Arcila (Left) and Asociación Calidris (Right).
In 2018, a new group of 15 “community researchers” will begin the training program to join this impressive citizen science effort and become advocates for the conservation of their estuary. In the future, Asociación Calidris hopes to expand the program to link with local schools and to use this knowledge for good governance in the Delta del Río Iscuandé.
The work at Delta del Río Iscuandé has been made possible thanks to: Conservation International – Colombia, The Environmental Action and Childhood Fund of Colombia, Copper River International Migratory Bird Initiative (CRIMBI), the United States Forest Service International Programs, and the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA).
