UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

08/07/2023 | News release | Distributed by Public on 08/08/2023 00:30

A young woman researcher who studies the Spix's Macaw to help save the species is awarded by UNESCO

Biologist Ariane Ferreira is one of 13 researchers who received the MAB Young Scientists Award. The winners will receive grants for projects, especially in biosphere reserves worldwide. Ariane is a member of a project coordinated by several institutions to provide suitable conditions for reproducing the Spix's Macaw (popularly called Araninha Azul - small blue macaw in Portuguese) and reintroducing this species in nature.

The Spix's Macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii) became an international star in the film "Rio" (2011). The researchers accompanying this species had considered it extinct since 2000 when the last wild animal disappeared from the wild. The last historical record of this bird is from Curaçá (Bahia, Brazil). In 2018, a project involving the Brazilian government and international partners - such as the Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots (ACTP) - created two preservation areas for the reproduction and reintroduction of the bird in nature in the municipalities of Curaçá and Juazeiro: the "Environmental Protection Area" (Área de Preservação Ambiental - APA) for the Blue Macaw and the "Wild Life Refuge for the Blue Macaw" (Refúgio de Vida Silvestre - Revis). In addition, the project developed a breeding website to invest in the reproduction of the species.

Ariane, who always wanted a job dedicated to animals, discovered her love for birds while volunteering as a student in Santa Catarina, her home state. Today, the biologist lives in Curaçá, in the Caatinga region of Bahia (Brazil).

I knew I wanted to work with animals but didn't know which ones. When they introduced me to a bird guide and taught me how to learn to differentiate species and understand their peculiarities, I was so enchanted by that (fieldwork) that I thought I wanted to work with it.
Ariane FerreiraBrazilian Biologist, winner of MAB Young Scientists Award

Before joining Spix's Macaw project, Ariane heard from another researcher about the work developed in Bahia. She recalls that she dreamed of being part of a similar initiative and wanted to "help save a species, do something greater". "I came here to receive this encouragement from this person, who has always inspired me and spoke a lot about this project, but also to work in an institution involved with conservation."

Ariane coordinates a team of people from the Curaçá community, who were selected and hired to work as temporary environmental agents to monitor the macaws released in the wild. She attributes her current admiration for the Spix's Macaw partly to reports from local people, who were used to seeing the birds flying in the past. "When I started working here, I started hearing the stories of people who said they saw macaws flying were children, so I think I have a fondness for the species, seeing the birds, understanding their behaviour in the wild, but also for among people in the community who said they saw the macaws and during these 20 years they had not had the opportunity to see them", she explains. "And today, they can see the macaws free and flying in nature again".

Twenty Spix's Macaws have already been reintroduced into nature. They released the birds into two groups: one in the dry season and another in the rainy season. Along with these two groups of blue macaws, 15 maracanã birds were also released, another bird species that shares the same habitat as the blue macaws. The release of the maracanãs helped the macaws learn to live in nature, escaping predators, feeding on Caatinga fruits, and leaving for places different from the releasing area.

Regarding the award given by the International Coordination Council of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB), Ariane says it was a surprise and recognizes the responsibility of representing Brazil.

I am happy to represent Brazil and the blue macaw. I know it will be a challenge, but we will be able to show the world this unique biome, which is home to species as rare as the Spix's Macaw.
Ariane Ferreira

The award will contribute to developing their study to monitor the birds after releasing them, describing their behaviour and challenges they face after reintroduction.

Besides Ariane, Brazilian researcher Danilo Pereira Sato also received the award. He studies the (peri)urban Green Belt Biosphere Reserve in the city of São Paulo (Brazil) and the Wienerwald Biosphere Reserve (Austria) as model regions of sustainable development.

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