Casa Avian Support Alliance, LLC, NGO, San Ignacio, Belize
An ex-situ conservation facility dedicated to bio-diversity conservation
Welcome to CASA's Home Page
Conservation of Bio-Diversity in the Americas
On June 13, 1992 Belize signed the Convention on Biological Diversity in Rio de Janeiro, and subsequently ratified it in December of 1993. The committee on National Biodiversity was founded in 1995, and in 1998 the Belize National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan were released.
These detailed and insightful evaluations present an assessment of the nation's biodiversity, identify the activities and processes that diminish it, and speak to the actions required to promote conservation of biodiversity. The need for conventions addressing biological diversity and national strategies is evidenced in the alarming estimates of future species loss. E.O. Wilson, citing work done by Simberloff on the basis of area-species relationships and the destruction of rain forests in the New World tropical mainland, suggests that within a century,
"The stage will be set...for the inevitable loss of 12% of the 704 bird species in the Amazon Basin and 15% of the plant species in South and Central America (Wilson 2003:11)."
In response to these losses the sponsors of the Casa Avian Support Alliance (CASA) propose to create a facility and a program that addresses the needs of the avian community and the conservation of biodiversity, each of which are substantial assets of the Belizean people; the facility and program are being developed in recognition of the global consequences of the conservation of Belize's biodiversity with respect to the ecology of the America's.
(Taken from the Executive Summary of the Proposal for an Avian Rehabilitation and Release Center, submitted to the Belize Forest Department, January 2006.)
Casa Avian Support Alliance was recognized as a Non-Governmental Organization by the Belize Government in February 2006, and as a Public Charity (501(c)(3)) by the Government of the United States in October of 2007. (EIN 26-1140279 - DLN 17053360033047)
Casa Avian Support Alliance, LLC NGO (CASA) is pleased to
announce the selection of the 2009-2010 Avian Clinic Manager, Ms Tracy Anderson
of British Columbia. Ms. Anderson
has a B.Sc. degree in Biogeography from the University of Victoria and more
than 12 years experience in wildlife rehabilitation, focusing on avian
populations. Ms Anderson’s
professional experience and expertise will ensure that CASA can provide the
professional and reliable care consistent with its mission and goals; and, that
in addition to the care of avian wildlife CASA will serve in the role as
educator to raise awareness as to the need to protect the bio-diversity of the
Americas.
Ms Anderson arrived ready to help CASA patients and programs
equipped with donated items including a microscope and various medical supplies,
with more to follow from her native British Columbia. After a few weeks of acclimation and familiarization with
the daily routine, Ms Anderson began design work and discussions with Mr. Vance
Benté,
owner and proprietor of Casa del Caballo Blanco, LLC Eco-lodge, the host of
CASA. With her expertise in
analyzing cage conditions with the goal of identifying opportunities for
improving the patients surroundings thus increasing the chances of a successful
rehabilitation of CASA patients, the first order of the day was to design and
implement two upgrades to the Bird Rehabilitation Building.
First, Ms. Anderson with the assistance of Mr. Julio Hob,
local contractor, began the installation of feeding tubes that provide staff
the ability to feed CASA patients with minimal interaction, thereby reducing or
avoiding the possibility of human imprinting. The second is the installation of shade cloth on the screened
panels of the raptor section of the Bird Rehabilitation Building; this will
also serve to limit visual contact by the patients with people in the vicinity
of the caging. These two projects
are critical in support of the CASA overall mission: to keep the CASA patients
wild so they can be successfully rehabilitated and released back to their
natural habitat. Ultimately, minimal
human interaction will reduce the stress on patients so each can focus their
energies on healing and regaining their strength.
Ms. Andersons’ love of helping wildlife and her innate ability to teach provides CASA with the much needed and valued opportunity for the on-site Belizean team to learn bird handling techniques, nutritional basics, and general psychological needs of the patients surroundings during its rehabilitation. Her focus is to ensure each patient is cared for in the safest, and most humane way to ensure successful release to the best of our ability. As a natural born teacher, Ms Anderson gained recognition as a speaker on topics that included ageing and sexing of birds in rehabilitative care. In support of raising awareness of the need to protect and responsibly promote the bio-diversity of the Americas, we welcome Ms Anderson to CASA.
Contact Ms Anderson via email ACM@casaavian.org or by calling 011.501.824.2098.
CASA’s Primary Sponsor and Location
Casa Avian Support Alliance is located on the grounds of our Project Sponsor, Casa del Caballo Blanco. We are situated approximately 1.2 miles west of Double Street, San Ignacio Town, Cayo, Belize. The project sponsors are pleased to offer discounted lodging to interested volunteers and visiting avian veterinarians.
The accommodations of CDCB can be seen at http://www.casacaballoblanco.com/ CDCB is listed on the Rainforest Alliance Eco-index.
Casa Avian Support Alliance is a company limited by guarantee, incorporated in Belize on January 3, 2006. It was registered on February 7, 2006 as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). Its long term objective is to provide professional medical treatment and care and rehabilitation for resident and migratory birds recently released from captivity, or who have been ill or injured, and to provide lifetime care to birds that cannot be released back to their natural habitat.
