The first call for applications to create new territories of life has been launched in Ecuador. The application period is from May 9 to June 24, 2024. Conserva Aves focuses its efforts on areas where the most threatened resident species overlap with migratory birds, especially those whose populations are in decline.
Photo credit: Doug Wechsler
Long-wattled Umbrellabird (Cephalopterus penduliger), vulnerable species in Ecuador.
Ecuador, through the Fondo de Inversión Ambiental Sostenible (FIAS) and Aves y Conservación, has launched the first Conserva Aves call to create new territories and protect habitats where birds are endangered.
In almost all regions of Ecuador, migratory birds coexist for a few months each year with resident species that spend their entire annual cycle in the same area. Of the 1736 bird species recorded in the country, 78 are currently considered globally threatened with extinction. At the national level, the Red List of Birds of Ecuador, published in 2019, documents 154 bird species in some category of threat.
In this context, the Conserva Aves in Ecuador Initiative invites community-based organizations, indigenous peoples, peasant and Afro-descendant communities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and universities interested in the conservation of biodiversity at the landscape level in general, and the conservation of threatened, endemic and migratory birds and their habitats in particular, to apply for grants under this call.
The application period runs from May 9 through June 24, 2024. For organizations interested in applying, the Initiative has two investment priorities:
a) The creation of new protected areas of the Decentralized Autonomous, Community and Private subsystems or other forms of conservation (ACUS- Autonomous Decentralized, Community or Private), OMEC and TICCA in priority areas for birds, and the design and implementation of their management and financial sustainability plans.
b) Expansion of existing protected areas of the Decentralized Autonomous, Community and Private subsystems or other forms of conservation (ACUS – Decentralized Autonomous, Community or Private) in priority areas for birds and strengthening their management plans and financial sustainability, as well as OMECs and ICCAs.
To learn more about the call, visit Conserva Aves Ecuador (fias.org.ec).
The Conserva Aves Initiative is led by the American Bird Conservancy, National Audubon Society, BirdLife International, and the Network of Environmental Funds in Latin America and the Caribbean (RedLAC), with support from the Bezos Earth Fund in the Tropical Andes.
The Conserva Aves Initiative aims to expand, create, consolidate, manage, strengthen and recognize 100 or more subnational protected areas, including communities, ethnic territories and private lands. The goal is to reach more than two million hectares in at least 9 Latin American countries.