By Juliana Almeida and Raquel Carvalho, SAVE Brazil
This article was first posted on SAVE Brazil’s webpage
What is a human-related disturbance? These are activities carried out by humans that directly impact the environment or other living beings. Shorebirds that inhabit coastal and inland wetlands are vulnerable to these types of disturbances. The transit of vehicles and dogs loose on the beach prevents birds from feeding and resting when they need to recover and prepare for the next migration. Trash on the beaches can directly impact birds as they can ingest materials, which can cause disease and death. Water sports like kitesurfing can also impact these birds. Reducing these disturbances is often done through regulation. However, it is also possible to reduce through community engagement and stakeholder agreements.
With SAVE Brasil, the WHSRN Executive Office facilitated a series of webinars between May and September 2020 to train managers, teachers, technicians from state and municipal environmental agencies as well as other stakeholders in the construction of engaging strategies to reduce the impacts caused by human disturbances on shorebirds. The meetings had simultaneous translation into English-Portuguese and Portuguese-English.
The webinars explained each of the steps necessary to plan, implement and evaluate community engagement strategies. For this, a combination of presentations, group discussions and interactive activities were used. Presentations included case studies, tools, and published research.
This meeting also promoted a rich exchange of technical knowledge and information about the region of each participant. This expanded the contact network of all, increasing the possibility of building future partnerships and projects aimed at the conservation of shorebirds in Brazil.
The first three meetings, in May, June and July, were attended by 40 professionals from 12 different institutions such as universities, federal, state and municipal government agencies, non-governmental organizations and a bird watching club, from eight different states in Brazil. In August and September, there were four more meetings aimed at supporting WHSRN sites to develop strategies: Banco dos Cajuais and Lagoa do Peixe National Park.
Cover Photo: Volunteer talks to a dog owner at an urban reserve in Río Gallegos, Argentina. Photo: Monica Iglecia
