Home » Country & Regional Profiles » LAC Key Issues » LAC: Democracy » LAC: Environment » LAC: Trade » Press Room » Congressional Budget Justification 2006 » Economic and Social Database »
	USAID Information: USAID Country Page More Stories From Panama FY 2009 Congressional Budget Justification Mission Web Site Selected Reports from the USAID Document Database External Links: U.S. State Department CIA World Factbook Upated Nations Development Programme (Spanish) World Bank Group
	Advanced search... Search USAID Personnel... Search USAID Documents...

Panama

USAID Panama Works to Save
The Harpy Eagle from Extinction

Panama’s mighty national bird -- the Harpy Eagle -- weighs up to 20 pounds, has a seven foot wing span, and is armed with talons as large as grizzly bear claws. The most powerful raptor in the world, its numbers are unfortunately in decline.

The endangered Harpy Eagle of Panama receives a boost of protection from USAID, the Peregrine Fund and a group of local junior high students who have rallied to save the species. (Photo by the Peregrine Fund)

Panama’s rain forests are among the few places where the bird survives and so USAID-Panama launched a program to save the eagle from extinction and return it to its natural habitat through support for the Peregrine Fund, a U.S. non-governmental organization (NGO).

Through the Peregrine Fund, USAID helps to breed the eagle in captivity until they reach a level of independence, at which time the Harpy Eagles are relocated to remote areas of Panama where suitable forest habitat still exists. Most of the birds are then fitted with satellite transmitters so that their movements, survival, and breeding can be tracked for many years.

Just as important as the actual work to preserve the species is the environmental education outreach of the program.

“Saving the Harpy Eagle means saving its habitats which are one of Panama’s most valuable resources” said Kermit Moh, the USAID representative in Panama.

The Peregrine Fund works with neighboring local and native communities to educate them about how poaching devastates the Harpy Eagle and other bird and animal populations.

Moh said that the Peregrine Fund targeted Panamanian children and students as principle messengers to communicate the Harpy Eagle’s role in a healthy ecosystem. The educational activities include instruction, tours, presentations, games, videos and educational materials. USAID supports the development of a guide in the curriculum, “Using the Harpy Eagle as a Flagship for Conservation,” that has become a model for a successful community education program.

Junior high school students of Brader School in Panama are an example of the impact that the Peregrine Fund education effort is having. The more the students learn about the endangered eagle, the more inspired they became to educate other students on the need to protect the Harpy Eagle, Moh said.

Last year, they visited four public schools, addressing the plight of the Harpy. One such group included students from an indigenous reservation (“comarca”) who expressed an interest in educating others about the Harpy in their dialect.

Moh added that activities to protect the Harpy Eagle contribute to the conservation of Panama’s rich natural resources through the protection of natural habitats for endangered species in critical watersheds, including the economically and biodiversity important Panama Canal Watershed.

Back to Top ^