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Welcome to the 2006 NRC!
The
Neotropical Raptor Network held the Second Neotropical Raptor
Conference, with a Symposium on Raptors of the Southern Cone June 11-14,
2006. Scientists, conservationists, resource managers, falconers,
representatives of zoos, government and non-government organizations and
other persons and institutions with an interest in the research and/or
conservation of birds of prey in Latin America and the Caribbean
participated in a meeting to share knowledge, interests, and concerns and
help develop a network of practitioners in the fields of raptor
conservation, research, captive breeding and falconry.
The meeting
included a symposium dedicated to research and conservation of raptors of
the Southern Cone, invited speakers on raptor biology and conservation,
contributed papers and posters on raptor biology and conservation,
workshops pertaining to raptor research and conservation, as
well as a host of social activities and the constant lure of the Iguazú
Falls and National Park.
This
conference marked four years since the first Neotropical Raptor
Conference held in Panama City, Panama in October 2002. The Advisory
Board to the NRN chose Iguazú, Argentina for several reasons. Among them
the NRN and the
NRC are for all people working with birds of prey in the Neotropics, the
biogeographical region that extends from Mexico to the end of Tierra del Fuego.
Argentina brought this conference across the equator and closer to many of
its members… and species!
Argentina and
the Southern Cone were also identified as regions with a burgeoning
population of enthusiastic individuals entering the field of raptor
biology and among the goals of the NRN is to empower this growing
potential. Argentina’s varied landscapes and climates, from
sub-tropical to sub-Antarctic, offers a wide range of habitats
inhabited by many species and an important opportunity to address
aspects of Raptor biology and conservation in the Neotropical realm, outside the tropics.
Iguazú is on
the border with Brazil and Paraguay, it constitutes a part of the Atlantic
Forest, a threatened biome which harbors several species of raptors, some
of which are rare endemics. The Mantled Hawk (Leucopternis polionota)
featured in the conference image are among the most rare and threatened
raptor species in the Americas.
...and, of
course, Iguazú Falls are a world renowned tourist destination that absolutely
everyone with a passion for the our natural world must experience!
We invite you to join us for the Third Neotropical
Raptor Conference planned for
2009 in Colombia.
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