Monday 9 March 2009.
With more than 500 people, Fundación ProAves and its partners launched the 8th “Reconcile with Nature” campaign on 7 March, 2009, in the municipality of San Francisco, Cundinamarca, Colombia, to generate awareness for the protection of the Quindío Wax Palm and Yellow-eared Parrot.
The event was launched by Alonso Quevedo, President of ProAves; Claudia Luz Rodríguez, Director of Ecosystems of the Environmental Ministry, Andrés Barreto Rozo, Secretary of Environment of Cundinamarca; Mauricio Martínez, Major of San Francisco; Fabio Arjona, Executive Director of Conservación Internacional-Colombia. Other special guests were majors of other municipalities of the department, directors of schools, regional authorities, etc.
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Max Enríquez, José Vicente Rodríguez, Andrés Barreto Rozo, Amanda Fúquene, Arnulfo Urquijo, Alonso Quevedo, Fabio Arjona and Mauricio Martínez. |
Since the year 2000, when ProAves highlighted the plight of the Yellow-eared Parrot and Colombia’s national tree, the Quindío Wax Palm, the campaign has been growing in strengthen thanks to the many partners, particularly the Catholic Church, Conservación Internacional-Colombia and the Ministry of the Environment. The Critically Endangered Wax Palm is cut down to adorn churches and processions on Palm Sunday. Sadly, the palm takes centuries to mature and is the sole habitat for the Yellow-eared Parrot.
The Campaign was launched the municipality of San Francisco because they have helped support the conservation of the Critically Endangered Sasaima Wax Palm (Ceroxylom sasaimae).