Protected Areas

Conservation portfolios of the Americas
Wetlands in the Valle del Cauca department of Colombia. Photo: Andres Estefan

Well-managed protected areas are essential to sustaining bird populations and reversing their decline. They are also a proven strategy for safeguarding biodiversity and are crucial in the fight against climate change. This conservation approach is not new to 约炮视频. Beginning in North America early last century, and with a Hemispheric perspective since the 1950s, 约炮视频 has worked with partners (local NGOs, governments, multilateral institutions) and communities all over the Americas in the designation process of Important Bird Areas (IBAs) and supporting protected areas initiatives that effectively contribute to the conservation of birds and the places they live.

In the Bahamas, 约炮视频 has partnered with the  since 1959 to protect the natural heritage of the islands. We have supported the creation of oulter Cays National Park (2015), an important wintering area for 13 shorebird species, including the endangered Piping Plover, Red Knot, Semipalmated Plover, Short-billed Dowitcher, and wading birds like the Reddish Egret. 

In Belize, 约炮视频 has a long history of working with the to safeguard and improve the management of four of the country鈥檚 most important protected areas. Our work with Belize 约炮视频 Society aims to improve the management of  58,680 hectares (145,000 acres) of protected lands that support the Wood Thrush and many other migratory birds from the Atlantic Flyway as well as resident species.

In Mexico, 约炮视频 and Pronatura Noreste have formed a partnership to conserve grassland birds in the Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands of Northern Mexico, which provide wintering habitat for 85 percent of the grassland species of birds that breed in the western Great Plains of the U.S. and Canada. Grasslands also play an essential part in the lives and livelihoods of ranching communities on both sides of the border.

In Panama, 约炮视频 Americas and are working to save 202,340 hectares (500,000 acres) of the Panama Bay wetlands from unsustainable development. The Panama Bay mangroves and mudflats support migratory shorebirds from across the hemisphere, including some 30 percent of the global population of Western Sandpiper. To date, we have helped to develop the first conservation action plan for the wetlands.

约炮视频 started working in Colombia in 2015 focusing on key coastal and forested sites in the country. Our efforts began on the Caribbean coast, which includes the highly threatened tropical dry-forest ecosystem as well as the forested flanks of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, a critical stopover and wintering area for migratory species. 

We have expanded to the Central Andes, the major coffee production zone in Colombia, and to the Cauca Valley region, a strategic landscape in 约炮视频 Americas` . Our aim is to bring bird-friendly practices to 1 million hectares (2,5 million acres) of productive lands, providing habitat and connectivity across landscapes that will benefit coastal and forest priority species such as the Canada Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Reddish Egret, and Least Tern.

Further south, 约炮视频 has worked in Chile for over 15 years, to protect migratory shorebirds and their habitats. In the Chilo茅 Archipelago, partnering with the Centro de Estudio y Conservaci贸n del Patrimonio Natural (CECPAN), conservation efforts have benefitted over 90 percent of the Pacific coast population of the Hudsonian Godwit and about 60 percent of Pacific coast Whimbrels that winter on Chilo茅. More recently, with the support of the US Fish & Wildlife Service and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, 约炮视频 helped secure the long-term conservation of some of these important sites for shorebirds and waterbirds through the purchase of strategic tracts of land in Pullao, Curaco de V茅lez y Huildad. 

Conserva Aves

Protected area coverage has increased steadily over the past decade, but substantial conservation target and area gaps remain in Latin America while large-scale habitat degradation along with alarming biodiversity loss are advancing rapidly throughout the region.  

Conserva Aves is 约炮视频 Americas' new approach for protecting and managing priority areas for bird conservation in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, and Chile. This initiative leverages the latest science, gives a systematic approach to conservation planning, and draws on the extensive experience in the region of 约炮视频 and its partners - American Bird Conservancy, BirdLife International, and RedLAC - to drive a groundbreaking platform that will elevate conservation across the hemisphere over the next ten years.

Click here to learn more about Conserva Aves.

Our Focus Birds Across the Americas
! Priority Bird
Least Tern
Gulls and Terns
! Priority Bird
Piping Plover
Plovers
! Priority Bird
Red Knot
Sandpipers
! Priority Bird
Western Sandpiper
Sandpipers
! Priority Bird
Black Oystercatcher
Oystercatchers
! Priority Bird
Clapper Rail
Rails, Gallinules, Coots
! Priority Bird
Reddish Egret
Herons, Egrets, Bitterns
! Priority Bird
Snowy Plover
Plovers
! Priority Bird
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Sandpipers
! Priority Bird
Saltmarsh Sparrow
New World Sparrows
! Priority Bird
Brown Pelican
Pelicans
! Priority Bird
American Oystercatcher
Oystercatchers
Ridgway's Rail
Rails, Gallinules, Coots
! Priority Bird
Sooty Shearwater
Shearwaters and Petrels
! Priority Bird
Hudsonian Godwit
Sandpipers
! Priority Bird
Black Skimmer
Gulls and Terns

News from the Americas

Colombia's National Bird Conservation Strategy Takes Flight
February 17, 2023 — After two years of consultations, with the contribution of more than 2000 people, today Colombia, the country with the most bird species in the world, has a roadmap for conserving its rich bird life and the places it inhabits. Here is the story.
A group of community scientists participating in the Christmas Bird Count.
约炮视频鈥檚 Geoff LeBaron Speaks Before the Parliament of Canada鈥檚 Committee on Science and Research
February 13, 2023
Colombia's 2030 National Conservation Strategy
February 13, 2023 — Working together to protect local and migrant birds.