The summer of 2013 has been very important for bird conservation. In June our partners at Bird Studies Canada helped co-host, with Nature Canada and BirdLife International, the Birdlife World Congress with conservation leaders from over 120 countries. The event, “Partnerships for Nature & People” showcased leading work from around the globe on bird conservation- including work on maintaining the integrity of flyways, the importance of community science, and connecting youth to nature.
In August, Partners in Flight (PIF), hosted by our partner American Bird Conservancy held their 5th International Meeting. While BirdLife draws participants from around the globe to share conservation practices, PIF focuses on the shared birds of North, Central, South America and the Caribbean. As early as 1966 it was recognized that conservation for migratory birds- such as Kirtland’s Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Canada Warbler- is a shared responsibility of countries in the western hemisphere; Partners In Flight continues to work on this theme.
Tools highlighted at these important conferences such as Cornell Laboratories and Audubon’s e-Bird , the work of the Migratory Connectivity Project, Bird Studies Canada Breeding Bird Atlas’ and American Bird Conservancy work in pine forests help move conservation science forward.
Ultimately the work of the scientists and managers at the BirdLife Word Congress and PIF V help SFI Program Participants better understand how to manage birds in their forest lands, and SFI is pleased to help contribute to that shared knowledge by sponsoring these events.
Photo courtesy of Forest Products Association of Canada
