At COP16 in Cali, Conserva Aves announced its expansion to Mexico through an agreement signed between the Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature (FMCN, by its acronym in Spanish), National Audubon Society and Birds Canada. The initiative will focus on community conservation, the creation of Areas Voluntarily Designated for Conservation, and meeting the 30x30 goal of the Global Biodiversity Framework. Led by FMCN and Pronatura Sur, with support from CONANP and funding from Global Affairs Canada, this effort seeks to protect key bird habitats, foster climate resilience and promote sustainable development.
Photo credit: Jair Coll / Audubon.
Signing of the trilateral agreement between Patrick Nadeau, President and CEO of Birds Canada; Elizabeth Gray, Ph.D., Executive Director of the National Audubon Society; and Renée González Montagut, General Director of the Mexican Fund for Nature Conservation (FMCN).
On the occasion of COP16, held in Cali, Colombia in October, a strategic alliance was formalized, marking the beginning of Conserva Aves’ expansion into Mexico. Renée González Montagut, general director of the Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature (FMCN), Elizabeth Gray, Ph.D., executive director of the National Audubon Society, and Patrick Nadeau, president and CEO of Birds Canada, signed a trilateral agreement that will allow the implementation of this initiative in Mexico. This agreement reflects the commitment of the participating organizations to work together to conserve key bird habitats and promote biodiversity in Mexico.
Conserva Aves in Mexico will focus on supporting community-led conservation and fostering inclusion in efforts to protect natural habitats that are essential for bird life in the country. Through this collaboration, new Voluntary Designated Conservation Areas (VCAs) will be created in priority sites for bird conservation, which will help meet the global 30×30 conservation target, a crucial objective within the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which seeks to protect 30% of the planet’s land and seas by 2030.
This joint effort aims not only to protect birds, but also to create a more resilient environment in the face of climate change and promote sustainable development in local communities. The implementation of Conserva Aves in Mexico will be led by the Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature (FMCN), in collaboration with Pronatura Sur A.C., as well as the accompaniment of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), key institutions that have demonstrated their capacity to carry out high-impact conservation projects in the country. In addition, the project will be financially supported in part by the Government of Canada, through Global Affairs Canada (GAC).
Conserva Aves brings together organizations such as American Bird Conservancy, National Audubon Society, BirdLife International, Birds Canada and the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Environmental Funds (RedLAC), with the common goal of protecting biodiversity, promoting climate resilience and contributing to sustainable development in the region. This expansion into Mexico represents a significant step in the expansion of its conservation efforts throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, seeking to positively impact the conservation of species and their habitats in various regions of the continent.
