This may read like a chain letter but I have received this request
from a very desperate Paul Coopmans - a neotropical bird expert - who
asked me to post this to Birding-Aus. It explains a last effort to
save two rare species from extinction unless some action is taken -
and askd for our help.
Regards,
Chris Gladwin
Sydney, Australia
Late last year two Brazilian ornithologists, Marcos Bornschein and Bianca
Reinert, discovered a new bird near the city of Curitiba, state of Parana,
in Brazil. However, the bird is already in danger of extinction. Please
find the original letter of appeal sent by the ornithologists, with
detailed explanations, later in this e-mail.
The ornithologists and we all need your help to save this new bird by
sending the letter below to the appropriate authorities in Brazil (see the
E-mail addresses with a model letter below).
Also, please forward it to all your friends and other organisations, post
it to mailing lists, publish it in your web page or in the communications
media of your organisation.
We really appreciate your help!
Dimas Pioli
Brazil, Minas Gerais, Uberlandia
Electronic Engineer - Birdwatcher
VIP - Language School
Member of COA - Clube dos Observadores de Aves (association of birdwatchers
of Brazil)
ORIGINAL LETTER OF APPEAL
DO NOT SEND THIS TO THE AUTHORITIES:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
OPEN LETTER
Subject: New species of bird discovered in Brazil is in danger of
extinction and needs your help.
Dear Friend,
We, Marcos Bornschein and Bianca Reinert, Brazilian biologists, are
currently working in our Master Degree in Nature Conservation and we have
been independent researchers in ornithology for 10 years. We have already
developed several research projects, published several scientific papers in
national and international magazines and we have discovered two new species
of birds, unknown to science, in the marshes of the State of Parana, south
of Brazil.
The first was the "Bicudinho-do-brejo", Marsh Antwren (Stymphalornis
acutirostris) that it is not just a new species, but also a new genus, that
we discovered in 1995 on the coast of Parana. The second is the
"Macuquinho-da-v=E1rzea", Wet Tall-grass Tapaculo (Scytalopus sp. nov.),
whose scientific description will be published in July of this year, in the
magazine of the Brazilian Society of Ornithology. This species was
discovered in the surroundings of Curitiba, capital of Paran=E1, where it
lives in wet tall-grass meadows.
We found the Wet Tall-grass Tapaculo in only 3
areas that don't add to 10 hectares altogether. In two of these areas, the
new species is very rare because of the high level of degeneration of the
environment. These places are being filled to allow human occupation and
shortly will completely disappear. In the other area the species is
abundant, but this place will also disappear. The area will be flooded,
this year yet, by a dam that a government company (SANEPAR) is building to
increase the water supply for Curitiba.
From the beginning of the occupation of Curitiba, the marshes of the area
have been strongly affected. Many neighbourhoods of the city were built on
this environment. Now, the few areas that remain continue to be destroyed
by the extraction of sand of the underground, by bulldozing / filling for
new development, by fire, etc.. In the next years the government will build
3 more dams in the surroundings of Curitiba, that will also flood marshes.
Because of this situation, we believe that the Wet Tall-grass Tapaculo is
under serious risks of extinction.
We began a campaign to bring to the attention of the authorities the
importance of the discovery of this new species and to request that urgent
measures are taken to preserve it. Unhappily we didn't get any concrete
response that really helps in the protection of the Wet Tall-grass
Tapaculo.
Since the authorities are not concerned with the future of the new species,
we ask your help. We need that you, individual or organisation, send the
letter below to the appropriate authorities. This help is essential.
Without it the authorities won't know that it is important to conserve a
species recently discovered. Also, they won't know all the negative
repercussions in the whole world if nothing is done. We would also like to
count on your help to spread this information to friends / organisations
and to ask their support.
Thank you so much,
Marcos R. Bornschein & Bianca L. Reinert
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE LETTER:
Please send your e-mail to all the following addresses:
(Respectively: governor of the state of Parana, president of water supply
company of Parana, environmental institute of Parana, secretary of this
campaign)
Please use the subject: Newly found bird species under the threat of
extinction
You may use the following content for your letter, or one of your own:
Your Excellence Mr. Jaime Lerner
Governor of Parana
Mr. Carlos Afonso Teixeira de Freitas President of SANEPAR
(The Water Supply Company of Parana)
Mr. Jos=E9 Ant=F4nio Andreguetto
President of IAP
(The Environmental Institute of Parana)
Dear Sirs.:
Through the communication media, we learned about the recent discovery of a
new bird species, not yet classified by science, found by researchers only
in the surroundings of Curitiba. This bird is the Wet Tall- grass Tapaculo
("Macuquinho-da-varzea"), a small bird that lives exclusively in the
marshes. It is also of our knowledge that this bird is in serious danger of
extinction because its environment will be flooded, this year yet, by the
dam of Irai, that SANEPAR is building to increase the water supply
for Curitiba.
Aware of your concern about the environment, we trust that you won't
measure efforts to preserve this new species, allowing it to be better
studied before the area is flooded by the dam and creating conservation
units to protect it.
The discovery of this new species is a fact of extreme importance and the
news about it are been globally publicized. Therefore, we sincerely hope
never to hear that Parana became the first Brazilian State to be
responsible for the extinction of a bird.
Certain that we can count on your emergencial help, we thank you in
advance,
(replace this with your name)
(replace this with your country, state/province, city) (replace this with
your profession - optional) (replace this with your institution or company
- optional)
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