MAYA PROJECT RESULTS: Building Human Resources for Conservation

More than 100 Latin Americans, mostly local Guatemalan men living in the project area, participated in Maya Project field research. Many individuals worked with the project for several years. Some 20 individuals became the leaders of various sub-projects, often for multiple years. In all, about 35 individuals became highly experience ecological field technicians, and several moved well beyond the technician level.

Sub-project leaders (local men) normally headed up groups of three to five field workers. Under the supervision of the project director, these sub-project leaders took on the bulk of day-to-planning for their projects, programming the activities of crew members, reviewing field notes, and providing personnel management of all sorts. Project leaders had great responsibility in extracting and summarizing field data, and in writing initial drafts of yearly progress reports. Many of them became coauthors of papers published in scientific journals, and in various book chapters. In addition, several individuals traveled to international science and conservation meetings in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Ecuador, where they presented project results, with enthusiastic receptions.

We also supported formal education for several individuals. We assisted many individuals in finishing their primary and secondary schooling via weekend programs. We provided transportation from their remote villages to the departmental capital where classes were held, and covered other costs as well.

We provided full scholarships for four individuals in a three-year college program in Conservation and Management of Tropical Forests; three individuals completed this program, which assisted them in obtaining excellent local jobs in the conservation field.

The bulk of Maya Project field research ended with the end of the 1996 field season. Hence the many local Guatemalan men who participated in the project have been out from under the protective "umbrella" of the Maya Project for four years. Has the training and experience they gained in the Maya Project proved useful to them since that time?

Of the 35 individuals who received the most training and experience within the Maya Project, about half have continued to be employed in the science and conservation field in Guatemala, since project field work ended. Here we provide a brief update on the careers of some of the central participants of the Maya Project.

It is most gratifying to report on the activities of many of these men over the past four years. Such a report leaves little doubt in our minds that the Maya Project had a lasting impact, in some small way affecting the course of conservation in this region of globally important tropical wildlands.

Julio participated in the Maya Project throughout its nine-year duration, and served as project Field Administrator during the last few years of his involvement. Before beginning with the Maya Project, Julio was already a park guard with CECON (the Center for Conservation Studies of Guatemala's San Carlos University)--CECON kindly lent Julio to the Maya Project throughout the duration of the project. Julio was a key figure in our studies of the Ornate Hawk-Eagle, and, along with Hector Madrid and Rodolfo Cruz, has conducted more field research on this species than anyone else on earth. Julio was also a key figure in our research on resident and migratory songbirds, conducting a great deal of mist-netting, spot-mapping, and point counts. He also played a lead role in developing and conducting environmental education efforts in local schools. Within the Maya Project, Julio gave talks at scientific meetings in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Ecuador.

We provided Julio with a full scholarship in a three-year college degree program in Conservation and Management of Tropical Forests, where he obtained a very solid knowledge of forestry and tropical dendrology--i.e., identification of tropical forest trees. With his combination of expertise ranging from dendrology to songbirds and raptors, Julio is a highly respected and widely sought-after biologist in Petén. For the past several years, Julio has been employed by CONAP--Guatemala's National Council of Protected Areas--the agency responsible for management of the Maya Biosphere Reserve and other protected areas. Julio currently serves as Regional Chief of the Fauna Section.

Hector Madrid took part in the Maya Project from 1990-1996, and served as Chief of Logistics and Purchases for several years. Heading up the Ornate Hawk-Eagle field work during 1992, Hector became one of the world's leading experts on this dramatic raptor. Hector presented a talk on studying tropical raptors via radio-telemetry at a scientific meeting in Costa Rica. Like his brother Julio, we supported Hector in a three-year college program in Conservation and Management of Tropical Forests. Hector gravitated strongly toward the forest management curriculum, and for the past few years has served as a regional forester for INAB--Guatemala's National Forestry Institute. In this capacity, Hector uses his experience, which spans from dendrology to raptor ecology, to evaluate forest management plans in connection with permitting of timber extraction and related activities.

Normandy Bonilla participated in the Maya Project from 1990-1996, and was a key figure in our research on the Mottled Owl. He also played a lead role in our educational efforts in local grade schools, and presented results of Mottled Owl and Black-and-White Owl research at a scientific meeting in Ecuador. We supported Normandy in the same college program in Conservation and Management of Tropical Forests mentioned above. Normandy conducted his thesis project on community forestry concessions, an arrangement whereby local communities receive the legal right to manage and rationally exploit timber and non-timber products of portions of the Buffer Zone and Multiple Use Zones of the Maya Biosphere Reserve. For the past several years Normandy has worked within the Maya Biosphere Reserve as a specialist in community forestry concessions for ProPetén, a local Guatemalan conservation group affiliated with the U.S.-based group, Conservation International.

Tomas Dubón participated in the Maya Project from 1992-1996, taking part in research on Roadside Hawks and various species of kites, and doing a great deal of mist-net sampling of forest songbirds, as well as vegetation sampling. Tomas also played a role in our environmental education work in local primary schools. Tomas studied for three semesters in the college program mentioned above, which assisted him in obtaining the position he has held for the past few years, working with community forestry concessions in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, for ProPetén, a local conservation group affiliated with Conservation International.

Chilla Marroquín played a key role in the Maya Project from 1992-1995, working mainly with resident and migrant songbirds. During that time, Chilla travelled with us to Costa Rica, where he spoke about our songbird research program at an international science meeting. For the past year, Chilla has been employed by a branch of Guatemala's National Council of Protected Areas in the highly endangered forests of southern Petén. Chilla and Chema Castillo are playing a lead role in efforts to inventory and monitor biotic integrity of a series of forested protected areas, mainly using point-counts to collect data on bird community composition.

Chema took part in several raptor studies within the Maya Project. Since that time he has worked for a few different conservation groups, conducting avian inventory and monitoring studies in various parts of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, in addition to telemetry studies of confiscated fauna released back into the wild. At the current time, Chema works for Guatemala's National Council of Protected Areas, using birds as a tool for ecological inventory, evaluation, and monitoring in a serious of highly threatened protected areas in southern Petén.

Miguel Vásquez worked with several raptor species within the Maya Project, especially the Swallow-tailed Kite and three other kite species. Miguel played a leadership role within these studies, and presented results of Swallow-tailed Kite research at a scientific meeting in Ecuador. Since that time, Miguel worked for several years as the lead field technician in the Wildlife Conservation Society's Guatemala program, where he did telemetry studies of Ocellated Turkeys, among other things. Miguel continues to work as one of the most respected park guards in Tikal National Park. For many years Miguel has systematically gathered information on the phenology of forest trees at Tikal, and he has written a book-length manuscript reporting these results.

Gregorio López worked within the Maya Project for five years, participating mainly in research on the Black Hawk-Eagle, Crested Eagle, and Gray-headed Kite. For the past two-three years, Gregorio has worked for The Nature Conservancy and Defensores de la Naturaleza, one of Guatemala's largest local conservation organizations. He is engaged in ecological inventory and monitoring efforts, based mainly on bird populations, in the remote Sierra del Lacandón National Park in western Petén.

Participating in the Maya Project throughout its nine-year history, Estuardo Hernández played a unique role. He conducted more raptor point counts in and over the forest than did any other individual within the project. In all likelihood, the only person in the world who has conducted more tropical forest raptor counts than Estuardo is Jean-Marc Thiollay, a French raptor biologist. Estuardo traveled with us to an international meeting in Costa Rica in 1993, reporting on our methods for censusing tropical forest raptors. Estuardo is Chief Park Guard at Tikal National Park, and is also the assistant to the newly-created Park Biologist position.

Tino López worked within the Maya Project from 1991 through 1996, participating in Ornate Hawk-Eagle research, and leading research teams in studies of the Black Hawk-Eagle, Crested Eagle, and Gray-headed Kite. Since the end of Maya Project field work, Tino has been employed full-time for several years in a study of Mealy Parrot (Amazona farinosa) migration and reserve design conducted by Ph.D. candidate Robin Bjork of Oregon State University. With his unique blend of experience conducting field work on two species of hawk-eagles, the Crested Eagle, and the Gray-headed Kite, Tino has a fieldwork background with large tropical forest raptors that would compare favorably with anyone. Now, with several years of experience with parrots, he should continue to be worth his weight in gold as an avian field researcher in the Selva Maya.

Oscar Aguirre worked with the Maya Project from 1991 through 1996. Oscar worked with a number of raptor species, but especially the White Hawk and the Orange-breasted Falcon. Second only to Aaron Baker, Oscar has no doubt spent more time observing Orange-breasted Falcons in the field than anyone in the world. Since 1997, Oscar has worked for Ph.D. candidate Robin Bjork in her study of intra-tropical migration of the Mealy Parrot. Oscar remains very enthusiastic about conducting field studies of birds.

Chalo Córdova participated in the Maya Project from 1992 through 1996. Chalo worked in studies of various birds, but worked far more in vegetation sampling, as Mark Schulze's main field assistant. After Maya Project field work ended, Chalo continued to conduct vegetation sampling, employed by Ph.D. candidate Mark D. Schulze (Pennsylvania State University). Most recently, for the past two to three years Chalo has worked for Ph.D. candidate Robin Bjork in her study of Mealy Parrot ecology and migration. With excellent tree identification skills and much experience in botanical field sampling, Chalo has a valuable combination of experience with birds and vegetation.

Rodolfo Cruz headed up our Ornate Hawk-Eagle field research team from 1993-1996. Along with Hector and Julio Madrid, Rodolfo is hence one of the most expeirenced field workers in the world with the Ornate Hawk-Eagle. For the past several years, Rodolfo has worked as a driver and field technician for CONAP-OLAFO, a private-government partnership working with forest communities, promoting sustainable use of forest resources in northern Petén, Guatemala.

Chepe Córdova worked within the Maya Project from 1992 through 1996. Chepe worked with a number of raptor species, and, along with Estuardo Hernández, conducted a large amount of raptor sampling via point counts, spot mapping, and other methods. Since the end of the project, Chepe has used the experience he gained in using GPS (Global Positioning System), first with a private land-surveying firm, and now as a surveyor with INTA, the National Institute for Agrarian Reform.

Pito Jurado worked with the Maya Project from 1992 through early 1995. He took part largely in work with migrant and resident songbirds, and also gained experience with various raptor species. For the past several years Pito worked for the United Nations as a driver; he recently began work for Defensores de la Naturaleza, as part of a team using birds as tools in ecological monitoring of the Sierra del Lacandón National Park in northwestern Petén.

Alejando worked with the Maya Project from 1991 through 1995, gaining extensive experience with several species, especially the Bicolored Hawk, Barred Forest-Falcon, and Collared Forest-Falcon. Using experience he gained with GPS in the Maya Project, Alejandro worked for the past few years as a land surveyor's apprentice, and is now a surveyor himself.

We feel that the Maya Project, through the training, experience, and opportunities it brought to local people, has left a lasting legacy in the Selva Maya. In some small way, the project helped change the human landscape for conservation in the region. We feel extremely vindicated in our decision to invest heavily in local people, most of whom did not have advanced education.

Highly intelligent, motivated individuals exist everywhere, and given the opportunity, some of these individuals will prove to be keenly interested in field biology and in conservation issues. Our experience suggested the value of searching out such local individuals and investing in their development.