Birders together
Huge efforts are being made to support Colombian birding industry workers affected by tourism shortfalls
COVID pandemic lockdowns and restrictions have impacted travel and tourism enormously. Many birders have had holiday plans cancelled or suspended.
For tourists, this has been a huge disappointment, but birding guides and tour companies across the world have seen their livelihoods and futures jeopardised. Nowhere more so than in Colombia. Historically, it was a no-go area for birding holidays, because of armed conflict; but recent years have seen the combination of the peace dividend and the expertise of Colombian birders create one of the most soughtafter birding destinations in the world. Peace brought opportunities in rural areas for the development of enterprises such as eco-lodges and trails, which, in turn, regenerated the local economy, giving people a stake in both sustaining the peace, as well as ensuring conservation of habitats.
The pandemic’s restrictions put this at risk. But the response shown by the Colombian birding companies and guides has been a lesson to us all in thinking about others. Rather than dwelling on their own dire situation, they united in solidarity to seek support for the most vulnerable of the wider birding community: families of those at birding sites in rural areas that would see their incomes disappear overnight – the people who look after the lodges and prepare the meals, the guides on local reserves ensuring that feeding stations for birds are being maintained.
Strength in numbers
Some 22 Colombian birding companies teamed up and the campaign Birders Together was launched. A minutelong promotional video was produced. Birders Together campaigned through social media and raised a total of about £55,000 from donors, mainly their birding clients from across the world. This money helped 145 of the most vulnerable families with almost half of the minimum salary per month for three months.
As the video says: we have learned that every bird counts, now every donation is important.
Birding holidays are slowly starting again. Recently, I was in the Colombian Central Andes, a visit organised by Swarovski Optik (a long-time supporter of conservation there) with ProColombia and led by Roger Rodriguez, from Nature Colombia. I also bumped into Oswaldo Cortes of Bogotá Birding who was guiding a group from the United States.
I saw tourists from cities in Colombia enjoying weekend breaks to watch antpittas, mountain-toucans and hummingbirds.
As in many parts of the world, visiting birders play a fundamental role in supporting conservation efforts and sustainable rural development in Colombia through their input into the local economy. To maximise the input that you can make towards conservation in the countries you visit, do consider arranging your holiday through a locally-based tour operator. You will come across brilliant guides and can have the holiday tailor-made to meet your pace and expectations. And local operators put many of the big international birding companies to shame when it comes to their financial commitment towards conservation, rural communities, research, and environmental education.