CONSERVATION
AUTHOR DR DAVID WAUGH IMAGES A ROCHA (Ghana)VICTIM OF ITS UNPARALLELED
ABILITY to mimic sounds, rarely has
the wild status of a species taken such
a nosedive as the African Grey Parrot
Psittacus erithacus. In 2004 it was still
considered common, and excluded from
any list of threatened species. However,
there were increasing concerns about the
negative impact on the wild population
of the high levels of capture and trade
of Grey Parrots, and in 2006 the species
entered the category of Near Threatened in
the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
In the same year, and in response to this
precautionary measure, Loro Parque
Fundación (LPF) started to support efforts
by the University of Dschang in Cameroon,
traditionally a leading country for the
export of African Grey Parrots.
GROWING CRISIS
Despite the subsequent recommendation
to drastically reduce the export quota, and
the effect of bans in the United States and
the European Union on the importation
of wild-caught birds, African exporters
found emerging markets in the Middle and
Far East. Population declines have been
reported in Burundi, Cameroon, Ghana,
Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and
Príncipe, Togo, Uganda, Congo and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
From 1982 to 2014, over 1.3 million wild-
caught individuals of mainly P. erithacus,
and a smaller number of the Timneh Grey
Parrot P. timneh, entered international
trade legally. Considering estimates of pre-
export mortality, as well as illegal trade,
the number of birds extracted from the
wild during this period will surely have
been much higher. The terrible impact of
the combination of over-exploitation and
forest destruction, particularly the loss of
large trees for nesting, became apparent in
LPF-supported follow-up work in Ghana
conducted by the Manchester Metropolitan
University (MMU).
At the end of 2015 research reported that
Ghana had lost 90–99% of its Grey Parrots
since 1992. No active roosts were found
and only 18 individuals were recorded
in three roost areas that each contained
700–1200 birds two decades ago. These
alarming fi ndings resulted in the IUCN
Red List status of the African Grey Parrot
passing rapidly from ‘Near Threatened’ to
‘Vulnerable’ to the present-day condition of
‘Endangered’.
TAKING ACTION
From 2016, LPF has partnered A
Rocha Ghana, a national NGO, in a
broad campaign intended to revive the
species to the point at which its own
self-recovery can take over. The project
seeks to contribute to the long-term
conservation of the African Grey Parrot,
other native parrots and other wildlife
species and their habitats through
awareness-creation, capacity-building
and the formation of local wildlife
protection volunteers. Key to the project’s
success is the willing collaboration of
local personnel of the government’s
wildlife division, forestry staff, other
local conservation NGOs, school groups,
students and community leaders.
Other parrots included in the project
so far are the Red-fronted Parrot
Poicephalus gulielmi, Red-headed
Lovebird Agapornis pullarius and Black-
collared Lovebird A. swindernianus,
none of which are threatened species
currently, but which are also the target
of trapping. The two locations in Ghana
where the project has been active to date
are the Atewa Range Forest Reserve and
the Bobiri Forest Reserve.
The MMU study indicated that trapping
had extirpated the African Grey Parrot
from the Atewa Forest Reserve, but good
habitat exists there for a recolonisation
and the local communities have been very
receptive to being involved in conservation
of the reserve and its surroundings.Working to Turn the Fortunes of the
Endangered African Grey Parrot
GAINING CO-OPERATION
Prior to the parrot conservation visibility
campaigns at Atewa and Bobiri, the A
Rocha project team paid a courtesy visit
to the local administrative authorities,
traditional leaders and local authorities to
solicit their support. For indigenous forest
communities in the project areas, the team
held a series of meetings and interviews
with the traditional authorities on their key
indigenous beliefs, taboos and norms for
conserving biodiversity, especially those
to regulate forest resource use. All the
chiefs and elders in the communities were
present for all the meetings. Armed with
the information accumulated, the A Rocha
team proceeded with weekly and monthly
education campaigns in schools, went
house-to-house, spoke to local traditional
ruler (durbar) gatherings, religious group
campaigns, and presented community
radio talks and night video shows. These
activities have gained major attention in
the target communities, reaching over
3500 school students, over 5000 local
community forest users and more than
50 000 members of the general public.
The accompanying learning materials
have been very engaging and of high
impact. So far the project has printed and
distributed 70 parrot education posters
and related education materials on parrot
ecology and conservation to schools and
community target groups. Large education
banners were also printed and used for
school education outreach events, andAfrican Grey ParrotS TAMUNGANGWIKICOMMONS