Voices of the Flyways: Diana Eusse

Diana Eusse is a biologist with Asociación Calidris, our BirdLife Partner in Colombia. She works with communities of people, scientists, local stakeholders, producers, site managers, governments, and decision-makers to conserve shorebirds and wetlands along the entire Pacific coast. She leads the Migratory Shorebird Project, a well-established initiative for tracking and conserving shorebirds which was recently recognised with the BBVA Award for Biodiversity Conservation.

Join Diana in this Q&A to learn more about the work she is doing to conserve birds along the Pacific coast.

Tell us about where you work. What is the habitat like, and what makes it important for migratory birds?

Dianna Eusse: “My work in Colombia takes place on the Pacific coast, primarily in the southern part of the country, in the department of Nariño. These are mangrove forest areas with significant tidal changes, home to human communities that live in harmony with the tides and interact with the mangroves and the sea.

One of these sites, the Iscuandé River Delta, is a collective territory of communities with one of the best-preserved and tallest mangrove forests in South America, and I would venture to say, one of the tallest in the world. There, the Esfuerzo Pescador Community Council has been working tirelessly for nearly 20 years to protect the mangroves and the mudflats that sustain the community and shorebirds.

Another site, Sanquianga National Park, protects one of the largest delta-estuaries in South America, that of the Patianga River, with its mangrove forests, intertidal flats, estuaries, and floodplains. This protected area is an example of co-management between Colombia’s National Parks and six community councils of Afro-Colombian communities, who have successfully identified conservation values in biodiversity and in the cultural traditions that support ecosystem services.”

Header image: The Colombian mangrove forests of the Pacific coast. © Asociación Calidris

What have you and your organisation been doing for migratory birds across the Americas Flyway?

DE: “Asociación Calidris was founded with the idea of understanding bird migration. That was its initial objective: to understand the migratory movements of birds recorded in Colombia at certain times of the year. That was 35 years ago, and we continue to maintain the same interest, having added knowledge and lessons learned.

Our work has focused on achieving a better understanding of ecosystem interactions and the benefits they provide to human communities, and migratory birds play a crucial role here because they are the focus of our research.

Another important component is strengthening governance and the participation of local communities as stewards of nature. Calidris’ slogan is ‘for the birds, with the people.’ To this we have contributed through leadership training, improvements to the local economy, communication initiatives, and the social appropriation of knowledge, as well as outreach and awareness-raising activities about the value of these territories, especially birds.

The Colombian Pacific coast is inhabited primarily by afro-descendant and Indigenous communities. The Colombian Constitution (1991) granted Indigenous communities the autonomous management of their collective territories, making this commitment to governance and self-determination particularly relevant in these territories, which offer numerous benefits for food security and natural and social capital.

In addition to its work in Colombia, Calidris is part of a network of partners from multiple countries and sectors working together to advance joint initiatives. One such alliance is the Migratory Shorebird Project, where science, participatory monitoring, and conservation have fostered partnerships among 13 countries in the Americas, focused on shorebirds.”

Not everyone knows how important the flyways are. What is one thing you wish everybody knew about the species and habitats you’re protecting?

DE: “Bird migration is remarkable. Some of these birds are small, only 10 grams or so, but travel tens of thousands of kilometres from the Arctic in the United States and Canada all the way to Patagonia in Argentina and Chile. I would like many people to understand that we can do a great deal to protect these migrations by working together, across countries and sectors, making agreements and alliances where everyone contributes and everyone benefits. Flyways are a great alliance where local context matters and adds to the global picture, where it’s possible to learn from each other’s experience, and where the benefits for the birds multiply.

Birds use these flyways through mechanisms that still aren’t entirely clear. It appears they use the Earth’s magnetic field and certain stars to guide them. They also change their physiology to prepare for the long journey and for the other stages of their life cycle. They use the sites along the flyway differently, as well. For example, they breed in some sites, stop to rest in others, feed in another — so every site and every action counts.”

What are the biggest challenges you face?

DE: “The mangroves of the Colombian Pacific are among the best preserved in the hemisphere. And that’s the positive side. The other side of the coin is that healthcare, education, and infrastructure are minimal in this region. So, while biodiversity conservation efforts have many opportunities, they must be approached from a local and traditional perspective. They must also consider that people need secure and sustainable incomes for protecting nature to be a viable option.

It’s strange to say in a community that their mangroves are tall and well-preserved and then know that there’s no drinking water or that the nearest hospital is two hours away by boat.

These territories have also been caught in the crossfire of armed conflict, a situation that affects not only the human communities but also those of us who work to conserve nature.”

If you had to choose one species to represent your flyway, what would it be and why?

DE: “I have a clear favourite: the Whimbrel (Numenius hudsonicus). Its presence is very noticeable, due to its song, the shape of its beak, and its size. It’s one of the birds most easily recognised by local communities for its distinctive appearance. But what I also love most is that the women and people who collect mangrove shellfish say that when the Whimbrel begins to sing and return to the mangroves, it’s time to leave because the tide is about to rise. This illustrates a long-shared history between these birds and the people who live near the mangroves in Colombia.”

You must love working on flyways conservation. What’s your favourite thing about doing this job? 

DE: “I have been fortunate enough to meet many people, visit many places, and experience many different realities as part of the Migratory Shorebird Project (MSP).

This project began 15 years ago, and in that time, we have forged connections that extend far beyond nature conservation. The MSP is a project that links science, participatory monitoring, and conservation. Through each partner, we have been able to act within the context of each site to impact the entire flyway in terms of knowledge and actions for shorebirds. Furthermore, we have incorporated the productive sectors, which have been a great learning experience along the way.

Each site I have visited has given me a perspective on how this flyway functions in its entirety, but it has also allowed me to understand something of the local context, and especially what is happening in Colombia. I enjoy being able to share these perspectives and lessons learned with the other people and organisations with whom we collaborate. But also, to see how there are various solutions to common problems and how we are sharing and testing those solutions in different places.”

What’s the funniest or strangest thing that’s ever happened to you in the field?

Sometimes biologists, because they’re traveling light or leaving early, opt for something light to eat. After receiving feedback on an activity, we started to better organise our meals, buying local products and hiring the help of someone to prepare food for us, along with the necessary utensils.

Now we have breakfast in the middle of the channels that flood the mangroves, rocked by the tide, enjoying food from the Colombian Pacific coast: lots of fish, seafood, and of course, coconut. This makes our day, counting birds in the intertidal zone, much more interesting.

Personally, my favourite dish is Tapao, a meal that fishermen also prepare on their boats, with fresh fish, water (sometimes straight from the sea!), onions, and plantains. The cooking process allows the flavours to mix, and since it has few ingredients, everyone enjoys it.

What makes you feel optimistic about your work?

DE: “In these years of work in the flyway, I have seen how we have grown professionally and personally — the organisations, the individuals, the researchers, and the productive sectors. I feel that this networking, involving multiple countries and sectors, is having an impact, and we have found new ways of relating to nature. I believe we have achieved leadership and greater governance by local communities, improved production practices in sectors such as shrimp farming and salt production, and children and young people have had contact with shorebirds and their habitats.

Now we must begin to take action to reduce the rate of deterioration of shorebird sites and populations and to ensure that our actions have a positive impact. So far, landscape transformation and biodiversity conservation are progressing at different paces, the former faster. But progress has been made, and we have achieved more than we did 20 or 30 years ago, so the task is not yet finished.”