Can Ethics Save the Hyacinth Macaw from Endangerment?

A Consideration of the

Parties and Alternatives

Tracy L. StamosENVR e120Harvard University13 January 2004

Problem

• The hyacinth macaw, (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus), the world’s largest parrot, has now reached an endangered status resulting from parties lacking a genuine ethic of determining – right from wrong, (deontological), – the consequences of their actions, (consequentialist ethics) – their failure to recognize themselves as members of a

symbiotic world ecosystem (lecture, 2003)

Visual of the primary leaders in hyacinth’s endangerment

Meet the Parties The Victim: Hyacinth Macaw

• Native South American bird, largely found in northeastern, central and southwestern Brazil, eastern-most Bolivia and northeastern Paraguay.

• Hyacinth macaws are a very “family oriented community”

– mate for life

– share responsibilities raising their young

• Play a primary role in seed dispersal in the Pantanal region where they live.

• Significant population decrease from

– 100,000 decimated by Brazilian Trappers mid-century to

– 3,000 – 5,000 in 1999 to

– less than 3,000 currently

Predatory Cattle Ranchers

• Very aggressive, violent and powerful community

• Driven by low prices for beef and their declining profits driving some to clear cut forests and introduce exotic grasses, use more intensive technology methods threatening this complex web of life. (CNN, 2001)

• Some use trees where the hyacinths nests as fence posts, and shoot the macaw because its loud caw frightens cattle.

Deforesting + murder = - hyacinth macaws

Predatory Loggers

• Driven by making money regardless of the costs

• Guilty of deforestation to make as much money as possible,

• Many in violation of Brazilian law regarding the acceptable quantities to be taken and from where.

Where are the authorities???

• Make no efforts to restore what they take.

Deforestation = -hyacinth macaws

Poachers, Smugglers Traffickers

• Largest threat to hyacinth macaw’s survival status

• Exponential money chain beginning with a few coins, and escalating to dollar values in powers of tens, hundreds, thousands and ten thousands.

• Macaws are brutally extracted from their “homes” by

– Breaking their wings to prevent them from flying away,

– Piercing their eyes to prevent vision

– Stuffing the victims into PVC pipes

– Drugging them to prevent any noise.

– 9 out of 10 hyacinth macaws die before they reach their “new destinations.” (The Economist, 2000)

= -90% of poached hyacinth macaw population

Considering the Ethical Dilemmas

• There is an absence of a genuine ethic respecting life

• All three predatory sources are powered by greed.

• None of these parties has an awareness of themselves as a symbiotic member of the larger world ecosystem.

Current Efforts to Preserve the Hyacinth Macaw

• Hyacinth Macaw Project developed by biologist and ornithologist Neiva Guedes in 1990

• Objective: To promote the conservation of the hyacinth macaw in nature while disseminating the importance of conserving the biodiversity of the Pantanal Wetlands region and mobilizing the local population in favor of the region’s conservation. (Hyacinth Macaw Project , 2000)

Project Includes:1. Monitoring the macaw in nature2. Monitoring 487 natural and artificial nests in a

400,000 hectare area3. Working with local landowners to protect this species4. Labs with incubators for egg incubation and survival of newborns5. Educational seminars for children and tourists

Additional Parties & Efforts to Save the Hyacinth from Extinction

• W.W.F. (Worldwide Fund for Nature)

– Actively fighting for 30 years to prevent further forest degradation

– Created protected forest areas for its inhabitants

– Active leader in development of FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)

– Steadily working toward development between local governments and conservation partners to determine alternatives to planned waterways

• Conservation International

– Unites conservationists, ranchers and government in attempt to protect critical habitats of Brazil

– The “corridor approach” links abandoned state parks to key habitats of the Pantanal and to neighboring savannahs allowing wildlife to migrate for hundreds of kilometers along a protected corridor.

– Approach helps ranchers establish reserves under state laws and give advice on earning revenue from ecotourism as well as tax exemptions.

• Various NGOs

My Policy Recommendations

• Cease all unethical actions to prevent further harm to the hyacinth • Cease trade of the hyacinth – it is endangered, LEAVE IT ALONE!• Develop a more consistent and ethical government with more stringent policies

and greater consequences for predatory sources causing any further harm to the hyacinth macaw.– Violators should face a more serious imprisonment and/or pay a hefty fine

and mandated to complete training in ethics, understanding how an ecosystem functions and their own collaborative roles.• Assessments should be required with at least 95% accuracy of

concepts• Community building efforts applying their new knowledge

• Education for all– Ecosystems– Individual’s roles in ecosystems and how we work together – Life cycles– Sustainability– Species and environmental costs

• Collaborative effort between ranchers, loggers and other workers receiving their income from the environment in the creation of a more sustainable infrastructure.

The End!The End!

2004, Tracy L. Stamos