Andean Flamingo Monitoring Course to Be Held for Tolar Grande Students

The course will be led by Dr. Enrique Derlindati, a biologist. This initiative is part of a joint project between the CEDHA Foundation and ARLI SA Mining Company, aimed at generating a technical and scientific foundation for managing this threatened species in the Andes.

On October 7 and 8, the CEDHA Foundation and ARLI SA Mining Company will conduct a course on 'Monitoring the Andean Flamingo' in the Municipality of Tolar Grande. This small town in the Los Andes Department is located in the heart of the Salta high plateau, at kilometer 131 of Provincial Route 27, along the tracks of the General Belgrano Railway’s Branch 14, which crosses into Chile via the Socompa International Pass. It is approximately 380 kilometers from Salta City and about 214 kilometers from San Antonio de los Cobres.

The training activity—featuring both theoretical sessions and fieldwork—will involve high school students from Tolar Grande and other areas of the northern province. It will be led by Dr. Enrique Derlindati, a PhD in Biological Sciences and a researcher at the National University of Salta (UNSa). The initiative is part of the Andean Flamingo Project, which seeks to generate a technical base with ecological data for understanding and managing populations of this threatened species in the Andes, in alignment with conservation priorities set forth by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Return in Spring
It is worth noting that in September, the Andean and Puna flamingos return to their breeding grounds in the high Andes after traveling thousands of kilometers from central Argentina.

This year, the arrival of these emblematic species of the highland wetlands—shared by Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru—was confirmed at their wintering sites in Hombre Muerto and Pastos Grandes, during a field campaign conducted from September 16 to 22.

International Censuses
A key aspect of gathering scientific data on high-Andean flamingos and wetlands has been the implementation of Simultaneous International Censuses, which have been carried out jointly and in coordination across the four countries within the species’ natural range since 1997.

Since then, five summer and two winter Simultaneous International Censuses have been conducted.

The next census is scheduled for February 2025.