Ecuadorian group wins Indianapolis Zoo’s inaugural Saving Species Challenge
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The Indianapolis Zoo on Friday awarded a $1 million grant to an Ecuadorian conservation group to support its efforts to save a newly discovered hummingbird from extinction.
The grant is the inaugural award from the zoo’s Saving Species Challenge, which was created with the specific goal of saving a single species from extinction.
Fundación Jocotoco plans to use the funding to further its efforts to save the Blue-Throated Hillstar, which is located in a small area in the Chillan Mountain range in southwest Ecuador.
During a virtual news conference, Indianapolis Zoo CEO Rob Schumaker said the conservation group’s experience helped it stand out from the other nine finalists.
“What was clear about Jocotoco was, of course, an incredibly detailed and thoughtful plan, but also we could combine that with their quite remarkable track record,” Schumaker said. “They showed a history of successes and a history of achievements that made them absolutely the best out of this extraordinary group.”
Jocotoco CEO Martin Schaefer noted the group’s past accomplishments, including taking the critically endangered Pale-Headed Brushfinch population from just 50 and increasing it fivefold.
The Blue-Throated Hillstar was discovered in 2017, and it has been classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as critically endangered, largely due to mining and frequent burning of its habitat.
Fewer than 110 adult birds remain in the 24-square-mile, high-elevation area where they live, the zoo said. Fundación Jocotoco has established the Cerro de Arcos Reserve to protect its habitat, and part of the $1 million grant will go toward expanding that reserve by tripling it in size.
Jocotoco plans to hire a coordinator to work with local communities on finding ways to protect the natural resources in the area. The organization also aims to focus on nature restoration within the reserve.
Schaefer said nature is resilient and will heal if allowed, but areas like the Cerro de Arcos Reserve are needed to make sure the ecosystem can actually recover.
“The habitat of the Blue-Throated Hillstar is a wet landscape of bushes and grasses, and it has been burned and drained and grazed for centuries, and what we have seen since the establishment of our reserve is that effectively, shrubs are coming back. We’ve seen species coming back,” he said. “With the award, we can provide a resilient ecosystem to the Blue-Throated Hillstar, and we can also help to work with the communities on models such as regenerative agriculture to help them replenishing their natural resources that they depend on.”
The ultimate goal is to change the bird’s classification from critically endangered to endangered within five years.
The inaugural Saving Species Challenge saw 52 applications from 46 countries, which were narrowed down to 10 finalists. The winner was selected by a jury of international animal conservation experts.
The grant will be disbursed in annual increments, though the amount will vary as needed, which Schaefer said will help the organization with planning.
Schumaker said while there are no concrete plans for another round of funding through the Saving Species Challenge, he is hopeful that more opportunities will arise.
“What we’d like to do is make sure that our process is working well. We’d like to see how this works with Jocotoco, and we’d love to hear feedback from Jocotoco about whether we are doing this the right way,” he said. “So with a little bit of time and a little bit of experience under our belts, I’m very hopeful that we’ll be able to do this again.”
Schumaker also noted that while the other nine finalists are not receiving any monetary awards, they are receiving letters of support from the Indianapolis Zoo’s Global Center for Species Survival, which can aid in their efforts to find funding from other sources.