A joint initiative between the Blue Macaw Institute (ITA) and the Vale Institute of Technology (ITV), with an emphasis on monitoring and conserving the hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) in Canaã dos Carajás (PA). The partnership combines ITA’s more than three decades of expertise in bird conservation with ITV’s scientific excellence in ecological and genomic studies of birds. The project is part of Vale’s environmental compensation actions. ITV acts as a strategic partner, contributing with scientific research, technological innovation, and communication and awareness-raising actions.

The justification for the project is the endangered status of the hyacinth macaw, a species that was once on the brink of extinction due to illegal capture, habitat loss, and the feather trade. It is estimated that more than 10,000 individuals had been removed from the wild by the 1980s. Since then, the Blue Macaw Project has promoted the monitoring of natural and artificial nests, environmental education, and habitat management, which has helped to triple the species’ population. However, the fragility of the species and the recent impacts of climate change require continued intensification of conservation actions. The current effective population size is the smallest recorded in thousands of years, which reinforces the urgency of conserving all wild populations to guarantee the species’ evolutionary potential.