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Spix Macaw - Conservation Triage

How does the world of conservation set its priorities? Shared Planet reports from Qatar and the effort being spent to save the spix macaw.

How does the world of conservation set its priorities? Shared Planet reports from Qatar and the effort being spent to save the Spix Macaw from extinction in captivity. Occasionally, when the battle to save a species from extinction has almost been lost, the only alternative is to catch the remaining individuals to be kept safe and bred in captivity with no certainly of ever being returned to the wild. In this episode of Shared Planet Monty Don asks whether last hope fights to prevent single extinctions are viable or do we need to start prioritising conservation funding to secure the future or greater numbers of species?

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28 minutes

Last on

Mon 30 Jun 2014 21:00

Nigel Collar

Nigel Collar

Nigel Collar has worked in international conservation for 39 years, most of them spent with BirdLife International assessing the status and needs of species threatened with extinction. He also helped develop the modern IUCN Red List criteria and has co-authored books on threatened birds of Africa and its related islands,Μύthe AmericasΜύandΜύAsia.


In the past decade has co-supervised 18 PhD students at five universities, mostly focusing on threatened birds, seeking simultaneously to build scientific and conservation capacity in developing countries. He is alsoΜύchairman of the IUCN Bustard Specialist Group and an honorary professor of biology at the University of East Anglia.

Hugh Possingham

Hugh Possingham
Hugh Possingham is a professor of Mathematics and Ecology at the University of Queensland, Australia where he directs two national research centers devoted to using decision science thinking to pose and solve conservation problems. He also has a Chair at Imperial College London.

The centers are outcome-focussed and have helped stop land clearing in Australia, saving 10 per cent of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. The teams also provided tools and knowledge for the re-zoning of the Great Barrier Reef and Australia's entire exclusive economic zone, creating a reserve system bigger than 2 million square kilometres. Describing his work at the lab, Hugh says: β€œI like making problems … and getting someone else to solve them for me.”

The Spix Macaw in Qatar

The Spix Macaw in Qatar
Miles Barton travels to Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation (AWWP) in Doha, Qatar, home to 60 of the 80 Spix Macaw in the official captive breeding program supported by the Brazilian Government. The program aims to one day release the Spix Macaw back into the wild in Brazil. Miles meets AWWP Head of Birds, Dr Cromwell Purchase.

Pic courtesy of Miles Barton / ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ

Broadcasts

  • Tue 24 Jun 2014 11:00
  • Mon 30 Jun 2014 21:00

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