Climbing for Conservation: Equipping Rangers to Protect Fuertes’s Parrot
From December 6–9, 2024, rangers from ProAves’ reserves across Colombia joined forces with the World Parrot Trust for a transformative tree-climbing field course at the Loro Fuertesi Reserve—the stronghold of the IUCN Endangered Fuertes’s Parrot (also known as the Indigo-winged Parrot).
Led by Jack Haines, WPT’s Neotropics Regional Manager, and coordinated by Alex Cortés of Fundación ProAves de Colombia, this collaborative initiative focused on equipping rangers with vital tree-climbing skills to aid in parrot conservation. Using the Stationary Rope Technique (SRT), participants mastered safety protocols, climbing strategies, and equipment maintenance, enabling them to safely install and monitor parrot nest boxes for this endangered species high in the canopy.
Over the course of a few days, rangers installed five new nest boxes, providing essential nesting opportunities for the Fuertes’s Parrot, whose populations remain critically low. This hands-on experience is a crucial step in safeguarding the species and its fragile habitat. Collaborations like this are an important step in building relationships and exchanging knowledge for the benefit of biodiversity. By sharing expertise, we can enhance conservation efforts for vulnerable species like the Fuertes’s Parrot.
The World Parrot Trust was pleased to donate two climbing kits, ensuring these techniques can support future conservation work.