Conserva Aves Mexico strengthens the conservation of birds and their habitats through community-driven and inclusive projects. Following agreements made at COP16, it selected 12 initiatives across eight states to create or expand ADVCs. With a focus on equity and sustainable development, these projects will begin in 2025 and contribute to the global goal of protecting 30% of the planet by 2030.
Fredy Gómez
Conserva Aves Mexico is a national initiative that is part of the broader Conserva Aves project, which operates across Latin America and aims to support the conservation of birds and their habitats with a focus on community-based action. The initiative promotes social inclusion to protect essential bird habitats in Mexico while strengthening resilience to climate change and fostering local sustainable development.
The organizations selected to implement projects in their territories represent a concrete step following the commitment signed in October 2024 during the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16) in Cali, Colombia. At that event, Birds Canada, National Audubon Society, and Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (FMCN) signed an agreement to collaborate on the protection of threatened, endemic, and migratory birds along their routes across the Americas.
Thanks to this collaboration, new Voluntarily Designated Conservation Areas (ADVCs) will be established in priority sites for bird conservation, contributing to the 30×30 global target, a key goal of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which aims to protect 30% of the world’s lands and oceans by 2030.
A key component is the Equity Fund, which ensures that at least 20% of subprojects are led by women, youth, and/or Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities.
The call, launched during the first quarter of 2025, was directed at legally established local organizations interested in certifying or expanding ADVCs in strategic areas for bird conservation.
A total of 31 proposals met all the requirements of the call, of which 24 were submitted under the public call modality and 7 under the Equity Fund modality. Following an evaluation process carried out by specialists external to FMCN, 12 proposals were selected: 8 from the public call and 4 from the Equity Fund.
The subprojects will be implemented in 8 states across the country over 18 months starting in June 2025, in coordination with Pronatura Sur, A.C., the implementing partner of the Conserva Aves Mexico initiative.
This project, under the framework of the Conserva Aves Initiative, is led by American Bird Conservancy, National Audubon Society, BirdLife International, Birds Canada, and the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Environmental Funds (RedLAC). In Mexico, its implementation is led by FMCN, in collaboration with Pronatura Sur.