From March 23 to 27, 2025, key Conserva Aves meetings were held in Panama with regional and national stakeholders, combining fieldwork and strategic sessions. Discussions focused on project progress, coordination, roles, and planning, with an emphasis on strengthening management and collaboration among partners. The week reaffirmed a shared commitment to bird and habitat conservation in the country.
From March 23 to 27, 2025, a series of key Conserva Aves meetings took place in Panama, with the participation of representatives leading the initiative such as Birds Canada, RedLAC, Audubon Americas, and BirdLife Americas, along with national partners like Fundación Natura and the Panama Audubon Society. These working sessions, which combined field activities with strategic planning meetings, began with a birdwatching outing in Soberanía National Park, along the Pipeline Road and at Summit Municipal Park, promoting a direct connection with the ecosystems that the initiative seeks to protect.
Conserva Aves is an innovative, bold, and visionary initiative for effective nature conservation. Thanks to its versatile and dynamic essence, it adapts to each territory to ensure the creation and sustainable management of subnational protected areas that safeguard threatened endemic and migratory birds, as well as their habitats.
As part of the knowledge exchange, formal meetings began on Monday, March 24, at a local hotel, with welcoming remarks from Carla López and Rosa Montañez, President and Executive Director of Fundación Natura, respectively; Yenifer Díaz de González, Program Director of the Panama Audubon Society; and Greg Spira, Senior Director of International Cooperation and Conservation at Birds Canada. Throughout the day, participants discussed the project’s progress and expectations, including a review of the work carried out by Fundación Natura and Audubon Panama, as well as a presentation on the current status of Conserva Aves at the regional level. These presentations served as a foundation for aligning priorities, sharing lessons learned, and defining common goals for the group within the Panamanian context.
In the following days, key topics were addressed, including communication coordination, monitoring and evaluation processes, capacity diagnostics, and the planning of activities for the coming months. Operational aspects such as the equity fund, pre-contracts, and the use of tools for tracking indicators were also discussed. Clear roles and responsibilities among consortium members emerged as a central topic, aimed at strengthening collaboration and ensuring effective program implementation.
The week concluded with a focus on financial matters, including sessions dedicated to the accounting and administrative processes of both Fundación Natura and Audubon Panama. These technical meetings helped clarify questions, standardize procedures, and strengthen institutional capacities for program resource management. Altogether, the week of work laid a solid foundation for the coordinated advancement of Conserva Aves in Panama, reaffirming the participating organizations’ commitment to bird and habitat conservation in the country.