Green Parrot Project

In Costa Rica, the Green Parrot Research and Conservation Project has been devoted to the study of the natural history of the green parrot since 1994.  The  data obtained has been used for the preservation of the species and its habitat.  The Green Parrot Project has received legal and institutional backing from Tropical Science Center since 1997.  

The green parrot (Ara ambiguus) has limited populations in moist lowlands, mainly on the Atlantic side, in forests in the area West of Honduras and North of Colombia. There is an isolated population near Guayaquil, Ecuador. 

The green parrot's limited dispersion, and its reliance on a complex web of food sources over an extended area, calls attention to the fact that the protection of its habitat and resources also benefits a large number of lesser-known species native to moist lowlands.  This “umbrella effect” on the flora and fauna of its habitat makes study of the green parrot critical to the establishment of conservation guidelines. 

Currently the amount of research in this area has been reduced, so that resources can be dedicated to the utilization of the results of 10 years of field work in the integration of the Maquenque National Mixed Wildlife Refuge and the San Juan-La Selva Biological Corridor, in concurrence with the San Juan-La Selva Biological Corridor Executive Committee, an alliance of 20 state and civil organizations. The long-term goal of the Executive Committee is the consolidation of a land bridge of natural ecosystems linking Nicaragua and Costa Rica, which is vital in Mesoamerica.  To this end, we seek funds through the Maquenque Trust for the purchase of properties needed for the conservation of biodiversity in Maquenque.