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'Via Dolorosa' for Palm and Parrot |
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By Yadira Ferrer*
A campaign was launched in Colombia prior to the Christian Holy Week to prevent the depredation of a local tree and bird species, both of which are facing extinction. On Palm Sunday, thousands of the Catholic faithful continue to use the fronds of the wax palm, the tree in which the yellow-eared parrot makes its nest.
BOGOTA - "For the conservation of the wax palm and the yellow-eared parrot, reunite yourself with nature," urged Colombian environmental authorities and non-governmental organizations in a campaign against the traditional use during Christian Holy Week of the national tree, which is the parrot's habitat. Both species are endangered.
The effort asked the Colombian people to be aware of their responsibility in protecting natural resources, and called on them to use sprays of wheat or flowers, or cloth banners, instead of the Quindío wax palm (Ceroxylon quindiuense) for the Palm Sunday celebration.
On Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of Holy Week and commemorates Jesus Christ's triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, the faithful around the world honor his image by waving palm branches.
Thousands do so each year in Colombia, and this means that trees as old as 200 years and reaching 25 meters tall are cut down, according to government data.
The ceremony in Colombia dates back to the establishment of the first Catholic settlements at the beginning of the colonial period.
The conservation campaign's public messages were broadcast by the state-run television network Señal Colombia and backed by the Environment Ministry, the environmental division of the Department of Security, the environmental agency of Cundinamarca province, the Bogotá environmental agency and the non-governmental Conservation International-Colombia and Proaves.
The national tree, whose name refers to the white waxy layer that covers its long shoots, is one of 11 species of its genus that exist in the world. It grows in the Andean regions of Colombia and Bolivia. Its closest relatives are found in Australia.
The wax palm, found in central and southern Colombia's mountainous areas, is the only habitat of the yellow-eared parrot (Ognorhynchus icterotis), a critically endangered species that lives only in the western Colombian departments of Tolima and Antioquia, Luz Cortes, of the local chapter of Conservation International, told Tierramérica.
The bird's relationship with the palm tree is vital for both species, because the tree provides food and nesting space, and the bird disperses the palm's seeds, aiding in reproduction.
The yellow-eared parrot, with a strong black beak, measures approximately 46 cm long, and gets its name from the yellow stripe that extends from the front and along both sides of its head. Its dorsal feathers are dark green, its belly light green, while the tail feathers are coffee-colored.
According to the Environment Ministry, around 21 percent of the 53 parrot species in Colombia are threatened by hunting and illegal trade, including the rusty-faced parrot (Hapalopsittica amazonina), which inhabits the Colombian and Venezuelan Andes, and the indigo-winged or Fuerte's parrot (Hapalopsittica fuertesi), endemic to this country.
A study published in the Red Book of Colombian Birds, published by the government-run Humboldt Institute, states that 12 of the 1,800 Colombian bird species are in danger of extinction. Colombia is considered to have the richest bird biodiversity in the world.
The coalition BirdLife International, meanwhile, says that of 9,700 bird species in the world, 4,339 (45 percent) are found in the Americas, and of that total 649 face extinction by 2020.
According to environmental groups, human activities in natural areas are the main reason why these species are endangered.
Other species that are at risk in Colombia during Holy Week, due to the tradition of eating their meat, are the South American red-lined turtle (Trachemys scripta callirostris) and the iguana, which inhabit the country's northern regions and are also endangered.
The red-lined turtles reproduce between January and April and are victims of a cruel practice in which their eggs are cut out of the body, and the turtle left to die.
This freshwater species found only in Colombia has been decimated by the contamination of its habitat and by hunters who kill them for their eggs or meat, especially during the Holy Week season.
The iguana is a diurnal reptile that lives in trees and can grow 75 cm long. It plays an essential role in the food chain of the tropical arid forest, where it consumes crickets and grasshoppers.
* Yadira Ferrer is a Tierramérica contributor.)
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