Alexander Martinez – Saving the Macaws of Costa Rica, One Tree at a Time
By Frank Matheis 2024
Author’s Preface
We are by now more than seven billion humans. As we require more living space and a way to feed us all, we are destroying the natural habitats of animals and plants through deforestation, development, and never-ending agricultural expansion, a major cause of deforestation. I met Alex Martinez during a birding trip to Costa Rica, when he lectured about the Great Macaws and showed us the nesting sites that he worked to protect. I immediately admired his passionate commitment to helping to save these majestic birds from near extinction in the wild. The man had tenacious fire in his eyes when he talked about the need to protect the macaw species. He has dedicated his life to saving these birds, utterly without financial gain for himself. He is a remarkable man of direct action, a “boots-on-the-ground” activist, someone who made a true difference. He is an admirable and heroic conservationist with an amazing story to tell, and I am honored to be able to write about him.
We Live in Perilous and Outrageous Times
There is no way to whitewash it. It’s almost too cruel to articulate the crazy things we naked apes have inflicted on the planet, and the living creatures we share it with. We are the most destructive and dangerous species. Some biologists estimate that 35%-40% of animals and plants could become extinct in the wild by 2050 due to global climate change.[1] That’s an almost unimaginable calamity. Even if it was one-tenth of that, it would still be an unfathomable environmental catastrophe. Sadly, long before climate change became a known existential threat, humans have already caused immensurable damage, wreaking havoc on our fellow creatures. The US and Canada has lost a third of its bird population since 1970! The journal Science published a comprehensive assessment of net bird population changes in the U.S. and Canada reveals across-the-board declines that scientists call “staggering.” All told, the North American bird population is down by 2.9 billion breeding adults, with devastating losses among birds in every biome. Forests alone have lost 1 billion birds. Grassland bird populations collectively have declined by 53%, or another 720 million birds.[2]
Between 2001 and 2015, over 742 million acres of tree cover was lost: nearly the size of India. Deforestation accounts for 8% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.[3]
We hunted animals to extinction. We kill billions of birds and insects with pesticides and herbicides. Poachers eradicate fragile species for the illicit international trade of animals and horns. Animals are still captured for the illegal pet industry, among them exotic pets and birds, including the macaws from Central and South America.
The Great Macaw – Majestic and Critically Threatened
Macaws are the world’s largest parrots residing in the rainforests. While living in the wild, their average lifespan is around 60 years, but they can live up to 100 years. The colorful Scarlet and Great Green Macaws, found in Costa Rica, are some of the most recognizable parrot species in the world. Most people outside of the Central and South America rainforest know macaws (aka Ara) as popular pets, which is one reason for their near eradication.
Humans have caused significant devastation to macaw populations, and others like the Yellow Naped Parrot. Since the 1960s and ‘70’s, the macaw populations have drastically declined. The main cause is the loss of rainforest habitat, and the destruction of Yellow Almond trees, on which the macaws build their nests and on which they depend for food. Historic deforestation of rainforest for cattle pastures, and the loss of vast stretches of forest for agricultural plantations for oil-palm, banana and pineapple, have led to catastrophic bird population decline. In addition to rainforest habitat destruction, poachers still trap or hunt macaws for their colorful feathers, meat, and for the illegal exotic pet industry. The Green Macaw, once prevalent throughout the entire Caribbean slope, is critically endangered with only 500-1,000 birds left in the wild, with between 400-600 in Costa Rica. The Scarlet Macaw fares seemingly better, with 20,000-50,000 birds in the wild, with approximately 2,000 in Costa Rica. The total Central American Scarlet Macaw population is approximately only 4,000.[4] While more survive than Great Green Macaws, these are still seriously threatened populations. South American Macaws, like the Hyacinth and the Spix, are equally threatened. There are on 2,000-6,500 Hyacinth left in the wild.
Alexander Martinez – Friend of the Wild Macaws
Before he emerged as a renowned Costa Rican environmental activist and conservationist in Sarapiqui, in the north of the country, Alexander “Alex” Martinez was a regular guy, neither a learned naturalist, nor an ornithologist. A machinist by trade, he was an avid hunter and fisherman, like many Costa Rican country folks. Hunting was done at night, so he learned from an early age on to traverse the wild ways of the jungle in the dark. At age 20, he emigrated to Canada, where he learned English and worked as a machinist in downtown Vancouver, while living in the woods and continuing to hunt. While in Canada, he had an epiphany and recognized the importance of land and environmental conservation, seeing firsthand and understanding the right way of how to manage wildlife and protect natural resources. He returned to Costa Rica in 1985 and has been there ever since, but he came back as a new man, having reinvented himself from hunter to devoted environmental activist.
Recognizing the drastic environmental peril in Costa Rica, he joined the newly formed corps of volunteer rangers, sanctioned by the nation, and dedicated his life over the next 30 years working to protect the rainforest, and especially the macaws. With just a pistol and a badge, he confronted rainforest poachers, loggers and animal trappers, sometimes at great personal peril. He’s been physically attacked, had his teeth knocked out with a motorcycle helmet and received countless death threats. He made himself into a highly unpopular persona among the poachers, which created conflict at home because many of the same people who he confronted in the rainforest at night lived in his own community. At home in the town of Puerto Viego, they cut his car’s brake lines and even poisoned his dog. He was under constant danger, and he had numerous showdowns with ruthless bandits, yet his dogged determination and commitment did not cease. Once he fell into a deep ravine in the darkness of night while on jungle patrol and broke his hip. Yet, nothing stopped him. He is the living example how one regular guy can affect positive change.
He is a tough guy, a fighter for nature and a conservation hero, persistent and fully committed. They could make a Hollywood movie of his life fighting for the forest and animals. Given his fearless jungle exploits and courage against life-threatening danger, you would expect Alex Martinez to be a physically big man, a Rambo type. He’s actually slight in build, lean and sinewy, agile and tenacious, with fierce determination in his eyes. When he speaks, you know he means it. He will make you listen because he knows he is doing the right thing. That’s why his grassroots, boots-on-the-ground direct-actions had huge results.
Martinez explained:
“When I came back home to Costa Rica from Canada, I was shocked and impressed that in such a short time everything got cut, everything was ruined. The banana companies came in and cut thousands and thousands of acres of rainforest to plant bananas and pineapples. The region was devastated. Costa Rica had to change – and it did. I had heard a lecture by the famous American ornithologist and preservationist Dr. George Powell, who spoke about the decline of the bird population, particularly the Green Macaw that was once plentiful in our rainforest but now near extinction and that changed my life. I had a profound transformation from being a hunter myself, to protecting the animals and trees. That’s when I really got seriously involved – instead of hunting, I decided to become a ranger, a volunteer game warden.
They had a program in Costa Rica which is still happening, when people who know the forest can be official game wardens for the country. You get a pistol and a badge, but they did not even supply the ammunition. I went into the jungle at night to confront poachers, illegal loggers and pet traders who were capturing birds for sale to the pet stores. I confronted people who were hunting and fishing illegally, with nets, spear guns and even with dynamite. The government issues us ID cards as official forest rangers for us to be able to confiscate weapons and the wildlife that was being killed. I had a couple of close calls. You don’t know who you’re going to meet out in the middle of the dark, because we were patrolling in the jungle in the dark. It was way more exciting than hunting for animals. We were catching people who were ignorant of the importance of all preservation. We had to bring a change to the way the locals were perceiving nature. The way it used to be, people did whatever they wanted. Everything was game and they sold in the illegal market. Most of these people did not hunt out or trap birds out of necessity; they hunted because they wanted to sell the meat or the live animals – mostly pigs, deer, and lots of birds, like the Great Currassow and Macaws. They captured live animals for the pet trade – everything from boa constrictors to birds. There’s always someone who is willing to do all these kinds of atrocities to nature. Fortunately, there were other people, hunters like me, who were experts in the jungle, handling dangerous snakes and wildlife. We were volunteers working for La Selva Biological Station. They were hired by the researchers and investigators, and they were doing good. The La Selva Biological Station was the one who gave inspiration for us to change our habits completely altogether and to save our rainforest and wildlife. Today, most people have a better understanding of the importance to preserve our nature. It still happens.”
Alex Martinez dedicated his life to the conservation of the amazing macaws and other birds and animals, and their environment. In the end, he and those like him prevailed. Attitudes in Costa Rica have changed as the nation and its citizenry recognized the benefits of environmental conservation, protecting their flora and fauna, and attracting international eco-tourists. While there are still poachers and illegal loggers, the problem is far less today than it was in the1980s and ‘90s.
Now, at age 75, Alex Martinez leaves the nighttime jungle patrols up to a younger generation. He still actively works as a birding guide and animal expert. He still works to save the macaws and has actively participated in reforestation programs with a priority focus on almond and other nesting trees. He has been involved in numerous studies and monitoring programs regarding the population of the Great Green Macaws. Often, as a jungle guide, he is the first person to find their nests in the wild. Consequently, he conceived the “Adopt a Nest” program, which protects the standing trees on private properties where the Great Green Macaws and other macaw species nest. He has spent a lifetime raising awareness in Sarapiqui, and his work and vision have been instrumental in helping these magisterial bird species recover.
Protecting the Nesting Trees
Costa Rica has made exemplary progress to protect its environment and to revive bird species. In Sarapiqui, Alex Martinez is now as preservationist of their nesting trees, the towering, wild Yellow Almond trees. These rainforest giants reach heights up to 197 feet/60-meters, and up to 7 feet/2-meters in diameter. The enormous trees, native to Costa Rica, provide both food and shelter to macaws. It is not unusual to see three nests on one tree, a virtual “apartment complex” for macaws. After flowering, the almond trees produces oval shaped nuts up to 3 inches/7 cm long, a primary food source for many mammals and birds, especially by the macaws. Monkeys, parrots, bats, coatis and agoutis also prefer these trees, which play a vital role in the local ecosystem.
As an exotic hardwood, the wild Yellow Almond trees are valuable and highly desired for export.
The wood is resistant to insects, humidity and fungi, and beautiful when planed. Even though they are protected under Costa Rican law, there is a substantial financial incentive for owners of private property to illegally sell the trees to loggers for the illicit international wood trade.
Given the value of Yellow Almond trees to loggers, and the general broad deforestation for agricultural expansion of vast banana and pineapple plantations, the natural habitat of macaws was severely impacted. As the trees disappeared, so did the macaws. By the mid-to-late 1990s, the macaw population in Costa Rica was reduced to just 35-50 pairs living in the wild. Since 90% of macaw nests are in Yellow Almond trees, swift and effective environmental conservation efforts were initiated by the Costa Rican nation, and specifically through the Centro Científico Tropical (CCT – Tropical Science Center) a private, non-profit, Costa Rican organization established in 1962, located in San Pedro de Montes de Oca.
CCT is comprised of distinguished scientists and professionals from a variety of disciplines and academic backgrounds, organizations, institutions, and businesses throughout Costa Rica and the Americas. They actively engage farmers in the conservation efforts to provide nest protection, carry out environmental education to the local population, and generally engage the community to protect the endangered birds. By now, the macaw population has increased to several hundred birds nesting across the Caribbean and Northern parts of Costa Rica. Costa Rica has also established numerous wildlife refuges and biological corridors.[5]
The Highly Successful ‘Adopt a Nest’ Project
Many of us are devastated to know that extinction threatens animals worldwide. What can we do? Often, we feel helplessness, righteous indignation and anger. We know it’s happening – and we know who is doing it. The global situation for animals is a disaster. We witness these tragedies with outrage about what is happening all over the world, but we have few options when it comes to helping to protect threatened species of flora and fauna. Many of us want to help and have contributed to the big non-for-profit environmental organizations over many years, but nothing seems to change. We often pay but we don’t know where the money is going. Here we can see immediate positive results. Save a nesting tree and protect the macaw’s natural habitat and help a population recover.
At age 75, Alex Martinez is one of the most respected rainforest and birding guides in Sarapiqui. He actively cooperates as a volunteer with the Centro Científico Tropical (CCT) to save the macaws. As a “boots-on-the-ground” activist, he is often the first to identify to location of the vital Yellow Almond trees. He personally conceived the “Adopt a Nest” project, now a highly successful program of the CCT. Sponsors literally “buy a tree” from the owners, who pledge to permanently protect the trees. This program has been highly successful, with 34 trees already protected. It’s a win-win effort. So far, all the farmers and property owners have kept their pledge and not one of the sponsored trees has been lost.
It’s a common-sense, grassroots effort. The market value of a full-grown Yellow Almond tree is $1000 US. The owners agree to protect the trees, while getting the same financial benefit as they would get from the illegal loggers, and they do the right thing in compliance with government programs. Plus, they are validated by the local conservation teams for doing the right thing, which has become a source of patriotic pride. A recognition plaque is placed on each tree, publicly acknowledging their conservation effort, as well as the name of the funding sponsor.
The tree sponsors fund the purchase of the trees with $1000 because they want to make a real difference in the most rewarding way, where they can directly see where the money is going and to achieve immediate results. The official program is managed by Centro Científico Tropical’s naturalists and ornithologists in tight cooperation with Alex Martinez, who locates the trees and negotiates with the property owners.
The program seeks to save as many trees as possible. Each tree will be a home to at least one nesting pair of macaws, plus other animals. By protecting their habitat, the species can perpetuate and recover.
Alexander Martinez on Saving the Macaws of Costa Rica (Spanish)
Alexander Martinez on Saving the Macaws of Costa Rica (English)
The Inspiration Art Group International Sponsors an Almond Tree in Costa Rica to Save the Green Macaws
Inspiration Art Group has raised the $1000 needed to save one of the Yellow Almond trees that endangered Green Macaws use for nesting. Alex Martinez and crew installed the Inspiration Art Group International plaque on the sponsored wild almond tree on Oct. 17, 2024.
Thank you to everyone who contributed!
Acknowledgements
The author thanks…
Melissa Groo for permission to use her photo Three Macaws in Flight.
A wildlife photographer, writer, and conservationist. She’s passionate about conveying the marvels of the natural world to diverse audiences. She believes that photography can be both fine art and a powerful vehicle for storytelling and considers herself a “wildlife biographer” as much as a wildlife photographer. By capturing and sharing stories about individual wild animals, she hopes to raise awareness and change minds about not only the extrinsic beauty of animals, but also their intrinsic worth. Melissa is a Sony Artisan of Imagery, an Associate Fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers, and advisor to the National Audubon Society on photography content and ethics. Melissa’s photographs and articles have been published in numerous magazines including Smithsonian, Audubon, Outdoor Photographer, National Wildlife, National Geographic, Living Bird, and Natural History. She travels frequently on assignment for magazines, to give presentations. and to conduct photography workshops.
Lopez Baylon for permission to use his watercolor painting of the Scarlet Macaw.
Lisandro Lopez Baylon is an artist born in Argentina in 1951, who now resides in Costa Rica. He studied at the Pan-American School of Arts as well as the School of Fine Arts, both situated in the city of Buenos Aires. Since 1971, he has dedicated his energies exclusively to painting. Among many other subjects, his popular watercolor paintings of Costa Rican birds and animals draw attention to the diverse species of the country. Indirectly, he represents a form of artivism, art as a form of activism, as he symbolically gives the birds a voice by representing their importance, not just for ecology but for nation of Costa Rica. He has traveled widely and has gained tremendous insight from the distinctive realities of the various countries as expressed in the dramatization of his paintings.
Mary Smith for the article layout and uploading it to the website
Mary Smith is the webmaster for the Inspiration Art Group International. A multifaceted, naturally curious intellectual, she was a teacher in Maryland. She was a chemistry/psychology major at the University of Maryland and received a master’s degree in education at Notre Dame University of Maryland. Web design is just one of her skills and talents, which include watercolor painting.
[1] https://www.livescience.com/which-animals-might-go-extinct-by-2050
[2] https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/bring-birds-back/
[3] https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/how-banks-deforestation-and-climate-crisis-are-linked.
[4] https://macawrecoverynetwork.org/the-network/threatened-species/
[5] https://www.fao.org/mountain-partnership/members/members-detail/en/c/43201/