Bird watching as a form of environmental preservation

In Brazil, there are 1.971 different birds. In terms of diversity, the country is behind only Colombia and Peru. Furthermore, 293 species only exist in Brazilian territory. It is the third highest rate globally, led by Indonesia and Australia. 

The green and yellow country is one of the richest in biodiversity on the planet. But this natural heritage is still underutilized and even exterminated by conventional economies. At the same time, a new economy can help turn this around.

Birdwatching market

Bird watching is an activity that is part of nature tourism and has been growing in recent years, especially in Brazil, which is home to 18% of the world's bird diversity. Worldwide, there are more than 100 million bird watchers, generating around 90 billion dollars per year. 

In the United States, according to data, published in 2019 by United States Fish and Wildlife, there are around 800 species of birds — less than half of the Brazilian variety. However, in the USA bird watching attracts 45 million people, generates 782 thousand jobs and generates US$96 billion annually, or almost R$500 billion today.

In Brazil, there are around 50 thousand practitioners. Among them is Lucas Klassmann, bird biologist and photographer. They have photographed birds in most Brazilian states, as well as Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Costa Rica, the United States, South Africa, Kenya, India, England and France.

“In Brazil, I would highlight the Atlantic Forest on the coast of São Paulo as one of the best Brazilian routes. The structure of specialized inns for birdwatching, the diversity of species and the offer of specialized local guides is the best that Brazil has to offer today”, he states.

The numbers show that Brazil has enormous potential to attract thousands of bird watchers and, through this specific tourism, generate income and invest in biome conservation. This is how it works in the USA, the country that most explores travel itineraries. 'birdwatching' in the world, and in several South American countries that have already taken this step, such as Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

Birdwatching tourism replaces illegal hunting and trapping with a much more profitable activity for communities. In addition to preserving entire forests and biomes due to the need for conservation so that the activity can continue. “It’s a good deal for everyone”, points out Klassmann.

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A post shared by Lucas Klassmann (@klassmannphoto)

Birdwatching work

The practice of bird observation and photography involves a extensive planning. When someone publishes a photo of a bird, it may have been a spontaneous, unexpected situation, of being in a park and pointing a camera to capture the image.

This is certainly not the case for bird watchers and photographers, who spend months searching for information about places where there are greater chances of registrations of certain species. In addition to researching the rainfall regime, flowering of certain plants, species migrations, searching for sounds to attract and even any risks that exist in searching for these records.

After knowing all the information, the practical logistics part begins: flights, hiring a local guide, transportation, food and accommodation. “Only at the end of it all can we be in nature and enjoy the best part: observing and photographing birds”, says Lucas Klassmann.

The bird watcher also explains that the main barrier is still little information. Because, even for those who have few financial resources, all that is needed to start bird watching is a pair of binoculars — or a zoom camera — and a willingness to go hiking.

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