Conservation action planning for Catharus bicknelli (Bicknell’s Thrush) and Pterodroma hasitata (Black-capped Petrel) : flagships for montane forest conservation on Hispaniola : final workshop report

Abstract

This workshop brought together managers, scientists, conservationists and decision makers from seven countries at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from 2-4 November 2010. The 60 participants spent three days of intensive work, planning concrete conservation actions for the benefit of these two focal species, their montane forest habitats, and associated bird species. This meeting of two species-specific working groups — the International Bicknell’s Thrush (BITH) Conservation Group (IBTCG) and Black-capped Petrel (BCPE) Working Group — was convened in part as a follow-up to a 1998 conference in Santo Domingo on the state of Hispaniolan bird conservation. Both species inhabit montane forest areas in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and elsewhere in the Greater Antilles, and so face similar conservation issues. The basic premise behind organizing a workshop for these overlapping groups was to explore synergies and foster collaborations for their shared conservation.