Great news for Ana Bertoldi, the Master Student from the Universidad de Los Lagos, Chile, who was the lead research student on the Parrots International supported Slender-billed Conure Project.

In April 2009, Ana received a project grant for one million Chilean Pesos (US $1,760) from the Project Regional System of Protected areas (SIRAP) for the Slender-billed Conure Project. The Slender-billed Conure (Enicognathus leptorhynchus) is locally known as the “choroy.” There is essentially no scientific information regarding this bird which is endemic to Chile, and the Slender-billed Conure Project is well on its way to change that.

The national coordinator of Project SIRAP, Gonzalo Pineda, explained that the award had been granted against rigorous competition, as it best demonstrated the potential to investigate and generate scientific conservation and policy implementation in Los Lagos District, Chile. The award is based on the study of the Slender-billed Conure’s relationship to habitat fragmentation, ecological restoration models, and the potential of viable forest management in the fragmented landscapes which it inhabits.

The award is financed by (GEF), administered in Chile by the United Nations Program for Development (PNUD) and executed by the National Commission of the Environment (CONAMA).