CHARLES DARWIN FOUNDATION

Transcription

1 Project Floreana Final Report from the Charles Darwin Foundation to Friends of Galapagos Netherlands March 28, 2014 With black beaches, lush highlands, diverse marine life, and a quaint town, Floreana Island is truly a remarkable place. The island was the first to host human inhabitants but since their arrival almost two centuries ago, it has been greatly degraded in many areas, some to the point of no return. Habitat loss and the introduction of invasive species, such as cats and rats, have led to the extinction of a total of ten species on the island, including birds, reptiles, and a plant species. Nevertheless, Floreana Island is shaping into the prototype for all other inhabited islands of the Galapagos Archipelago. While the conditions are far from ideal, the island has the potential to be a selfsufficient, self-contained system that will retain the unique Galapagos biodiversity while also allowing for the local population to meet their social and economic needs. This is the goal of Project Floreana, a flagship project of the Charles Darwin Foundation.

2 Project Floreana Page 2 Project Background Much planning has gone into the continuation of the project and with the generous support of the Friends of Galapagos Netherlands, these plans have resulted in actions and results. The majority of the project s various components have been separated into two categories: i) ecological restoration through the Waterboxx Project and ii) the reintroduction of the Floreana mockingbird. Project Floreana continues to use a holistic and dynamic approach to address these issues. We are especially grateful to the Friends of Galapagos Netherlands for enabling us to meet with Mr. Ferweda, which led to CDF s collaboration with the COmON Foundation, sponsors of the Waterboxx project in Floreana, which is described below. This report outlines and highlights advances in the project leading up to and throughout The restoration focus of the project has been incorporated into the Waterboxx/Galápagos Verde 2050 Project, while maintaining the Floreana Mockingbird Reintroduction Project, and this work forms the basis of this report. Waterboxx/Galápagos Verde 2050 The evolution of Project Floreana has led to the widespread use of Groasis Technology as part of the major effort to restore the island s flora. The technology is based on a plant propagation system, known as a Waterboxx. The system allows water to flow directly to the intended plant, and in so doing ensures that limited amounts of water are utilized to maximum effect. These will be used for ecological restoration, as well as to encourage ways of making Floreana a self-sufficient island through the production of foodstuffs for local consumption. The goal is a functional and selfsustaining system. The Groasis Technology in use with an endemic opuntia cactus CDF 2014

3 Project Floreana Page 3 Results and Impacts Approximately 3000 square meters of native gardens were planted using the Groasis Technology, in which 12 families in the urban area of Floreana took part and 3 in the rural area. This success was greatly thanks to the efforts of Estalin Jimenez, a Field Assistant for the CDF. He worked with community members to demonstrate the technology and to assist with its implementation (see Annex 1). Nearly 400 endemic plants have been planted in various areas, including: the highlands of Floreana, public areas, the school s garden, and private gardens. The Charles Darwin Research Station, located on the island of Santa Cruz, even has a few Waterboxxes in its gardens. Visitors to the station can see first-hand what work is being done for conservation in Galapagos. Thanks to a poster created by the Waterboxx team (see Annex 1), visitors can also know more about the technology and its application on Floreana. Groasis Technology installed on a farm located in the humid zone of Floreana with native plant CDF 2014 This particular project is an integral component of a much larger scale project to be implemented in Floreana. The Reforestation and Agricultural Production using Groasis Technology Pilot Project (referred to hereafter as the Waterboxx Project) has tackled two pressing needs on Floreana Island: ecological restoration of habitat through reforestation, and local efficient agricultural production to reduce reliance on freight transport. The results obtained from this pilot project, and many meetings with local stakeholders by CDF s Deputy Executive Director meant that we were able to communicate the project s success and demonstrate how it could be applied on a larger scale. The successful outcome has led to the launch of a comprehensive reforestation plan called Galápagos Verde In addition to a communication campaign with international impact jointly led by the CDF, GNPD and Agua, Vida y Naturaleza the project s aim to present the lessons learned and achievements of the Waterboxx project in Floreana has been achieved. A booklet describing the

4 Project Floreana Page 4 project, its objectives, its outcomes, and future plans has been laid out in a professionally designed package (see Annex 1).It is through this product that the CDF will be able to share its success with more of the world. The Floreana Mockingbird Reintroduction Project Floreana Mockingbird CDF 2014 The Floreana Mockingbird is an icon of its namesake island, but for over a century it has not been able to make Floreana its home. The main reasons behind its disappearance from Floreana Island are believed to be habitat loss and the introduction of invasive species both due to an increase in the human presence on the small island. As one of four species of mockingbird in Galapagos, it has been a main priority of the Charles Darwin Foundation s work since Given its status as a critically endangered species, the Floreana Mockingbird (herein referred to as mockingbird ) is a point of focus for conservation work in the Archipelago. Plenty of research and planning has gone into how a portion of the population can be reintroduced to the main island of Floreana. These birds are now restricted to two islets located off the coast of Floreana: Gardner and Champion. It was the aim of the project to better understand these populations and the threats they face, and to reinstate some of them to their native habitat on Floreana Island, with the ultimate goal of improving the species survival possibilities as part of the overall restoration of Floreana Island. Results and Impacts The Floreana Mockingbird Project, a component of Project Floreana, included monitoring and ringing of the mockingbird populations of Gardner and Champion Islets. On a day trip to Champion Islet in July 2012, monitoring was very successful: 58 mockingbirds were counted and confirmed alive (see Annex 2). At the end of July 2012, a 5 day visit to Gardner Islet was also made to monitor previously ringed mockingbirds. During this trip, CDF scientist Dr Luis Ortiz-Catedral and a professional volunteer replaced the plastic rings with ionized metal ones. Despite extreme rain and

5 Project Floreana Page 5 rough conditions during the trip, the two pressed on with the work and a total of 98 mockingbirds were confirmed alive. One of 10 juveniles captured and ringed on Champion Islet. CDF 2014 The program also included extensive work to complete the database of mockingbird records from June 2006 to June Thanks to the over 600 hours of work, crucial retrospective research on the critically endangered bird was also possible. As with many other aspect of Project Floreana, there were collaborative efforts between the CDF and the Galapagos National Park Directorate (GNPD). Coordination with the GNPD staff on Floreana was undertaken to establish whether Punta Cormorant, a peninsula on the northern side of the island (see Annex 2), could be a suitable site for a predator control perimeter for rats and cats (two of the mockingbird s biggest threats). Mockingbirds are known to build their nests 1 to 2m above the ground, making them an easy target for introduced predators such as cats and rats. Therefore it is crucial that these threats are eliminated from Floreana before the mockingbird can be reintroduced. Beyond field work and research, an objective of this project was to interact with the community of Floreana Island and to collaborate with them. Under the umbrella of Project Floreana, an education campaign, The voyage that changed the world, was organized by CDF staff member Christina Georgii and attended by 30 local children from Floreana Island. As part of this campaign, Dr Luis Ortiz-Catedral talked with the children about the importance of studying the mockingbird and what exactly his field work entailed. To make it more engaging for the young ones, he brought Mario, a stuffed toy mockingbird, with which he demonstrated capturing, measuring, and ringing techniques (see photos below). It was a great success and complemented by a day-trip to Champion Islet for the

6 Project Floreana Page 6 children. From the boat, many mockingbirds were observed this was the first time any of the children had ever seen one. There is no doubt that this unique trip helped in creating a very significant first sighting of the bird for all of the 30 children. Luis Ortiz-Catedral with group of children from Floreana Island, using Mario, the stuffed toy mockingbird, to demonstrate his work with the mockingbird (right). CDF 2014 Conclusion As was the goal from the beginning, Floreana is becoming an ideal model for the Archipelago. As can be seen with the Waterboxx project, endemic and native flora have flourished both as parts of CDF s work and also within the community of Floreana, with the interest of the community members. Using a holistic, participatory, and science-based approach to Project Floreana has proved to be a successful way to tackle some of the primary issues of the island. Future Plans Thanks to the Waterboxx initiative, the project s success has prompted evolution to an archipelagowide plan. This new initiative, called Galápagos Verde 2050 will carry out ecological restoration and reforestation on other islands of the archipelago that have seen similar destruction to that of Floreana. Furthermore, the thorough approach to studying the Floreana Mockingbird is making its reintroduction ever more possible in the near future.

7 Project Floreana Page 7 Financial Report Report period: June 2012 March 2014 Income $USD Expenditure $USD Income $25,000 Carried forward $5,700 Total income $30,700 Personnel $25,232 Travel $ 0 Equipment & supplies $ 0 Shipping & Communications $ 0 Other $ 0 Total direct costs $25,232 Overhead $ 5,468 Total expenditure $30,700 Balance remaining $ 0 Notes to the financial report: 1. Income: $25,000 donation was received in December Carried forward: this is the sum that was received from the previous accounting system when the changeover was implemented on June 1, (Expenditure): This grant was used for personnel costs of staff working on Project Floreana: Jose Naula, who was the Floreana-based Field Technician during the period June to December 2012, and for CDF Deputy Executive Director Felipe Cruz, in relation to his work on the Galápagos Verde 2050 and Waterboxx projects in 2013 and early 2014; Felipe s salary for November and December 2013 has been charged to this grant. 4. Overhead: the CDF s standard overhead of 28% has been applied to this grant.

8 Project Floreana Page 8 Annex 1: Groasis Technology/Galápagos Verde 2050 Image 1: Estalin Jimenez, field assistant, installing a Waterboxx with Parkinsonia aculeata. CDF 2014

9 Project Floreana Page 9 Image 2: The Waterboxx team, working with local gardeners to prepare the land for the installation of Waterboxxes. CDF 2014 (Estalin Jimenez) Image 3: Mr Claudio Cruz, demonstrating the project and Groasis Technology with an avocado plant. The protective wooden case prevents invasive/introduced animals from trampling or eating the young plant. CDF 2014

10 Project Floreana Page 10 Image 4: Waterboxx poster CDF 2014

11 Project Floreana Page 11 Image 5: Cover of the Galápagos Verde 2050 report. For full PDF document, please see Dropbox. CDF 2014

12 Project Floreana Page 12 Annex 2: Floreana mockingbird reintroduction Image 1: Punta Cormorant, Floreana Island, with visitor path visible. CDF 2014 Image 2: One of 98 Floreana mockingbirds counted on Gardner Islet. CDF 2014