Gold-green treasure

Project goal: 1. protecting Cape Parrots living in the wild, reforestation of key forests (Cape Parrot Project) and 2. setting up a climate program to support the South African environment agency (IKI)
Implementation: 1. a nursing enclosure for diseased parrots, planting a million native trees in the coming five to ten years together with local communities (Cape Parrot Project), 2. researchers are creating climate change scenarios for key biotopes to serve as a foundation for a long-term climate policy in South Africa (IKI)
Size: 1. the Amathole mountains situated in the Eastern Cape province in South Africa (Cape Parrot Project), 2. South Africa
Investment: 1. 7 employees, support from donors (Cape Parrot Project), 2. German government’s International Climate Initiative (IKI), worth 8 million Euros

The Cape Parrot endemic to South Africa is threatened with extinction. A little over 1,000 of the large, gold-green birds survive in the wild. Poaching, habitat destruction and an avian epidemic are all to blame. Bird researcher Steve Boyes is trying to reverse that with his “Cape Parrot Project” that focuses on captive breeding, caring for diseased birds and releasing cured creatures into the wild. Boyes is also trying to replenish native forests that provide a habitat for the birds and is working with the local population to set up artificial nesting grounds. The effort is also helped by a project led by Stephan Paulus within the framework of the German government’s International Climate Initiative (IKI). He supports the South African government in recognizing threats to the country’s biodiversity and helping develop timely policies to combat the problem.

A film by Cornelia Borrmann