The Americas Flyways Initiative to begin implementation in January 2025

CALI, Colombia (October 30, 2024) — Throughout the framework of COP16, Audubon, BirdLife, and the Progress Monetary establishment of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) have launched the progress of the Americas Flyways Initiative (AFI) as part of their imaginative and prescient and dedication to protect, protect, and restore nature and sort out biodiversity loss and the native climate change catastrophe.

After two years of rigorous science-based design, AFI strikes into its implementation half in 2025 to protect and restore very important ecosystems through Nature-Primarily based Choices (NBS) and bird- and people-friendly infrastructure.

Impressed by the wondrous world of birds and their epic migratory journeys all through the hemisphere that be part of landscapes, cultures, and different individuals, AFI’s science crew has acknowledged a portfolio of important web sites to ensure the connectivity and conservation of not lower than 10% of the prioritized populations of migratory shorebirds and land birds throughout the Americas.

Birds are an excellent bio-indicator of the properly being of nature. They inform us the problem and the reply: the place and the best way we now have to behave. For individuals who defend birds, you defend life. As an illustration, 85% of the mandatory web sites for hen conservation in Colombia coincide with key areas for water regulation and native climate change mitigation.

Subsequently, actions aimed on the conservation, restoration and sustainable administration of ecosystems and their biodiversity are an obligation and responsibility of all sectors, as they’re the essential basis for our societies to reside on and prosper. Fortunately, loads of the reply to the issue of channeling funding in favor of biodiversity is to be current in nature itself.

In opposition to this backdrop, at COP15 in Montreal, the Nationwide Audubon Society, BirdLife Worldwide and the Progress Monetary establishment of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) made a dedication and laid the foundations for a strategic, transformative, and visionary alliance that may mobilize, through an entire financial mechanism, funding in favor of nature and the communities that depend on it.

The Americas Flyways Initiative (AFI) is a symbiosis for prosperity that mixes cutting-edge utilized science and agile financial mechanisms to sustainably deal with larger than 30 landscapes and seascapes through 2050, mobilizing between $3  trillion {{dollars}} and 5 trillion {{dollars}}.

AFI at current has 5 preliminary initiatives, additionally known as nest initiatives, whose determine was impressed by the traits of these pure constructions linked to shelter, enchancment, and well-being.

1. Enchancment of coastal native climate resilience throughout the Rocuant Andalién Wetland in Chile;

2. Restoration of montane forest landscapes and aquatic ecosystems throughout the northwestern Andes in Ecuador;

3. Integration of bird-friendly practices throughout the transmission and distribution strains that attain the coast of Guayas, Ecuador;

4. Incorporation of bird-friendly construction and design at CAF headquarters in Panama Metropolis;

5. Info sharing on best practices on the Iona Fraser River Wastewater Treatment Plant on Iona Island, British Columbia.

To advise and knowledge enterprise structurers in designing and implementing proposals that blend conservation and sustainable enchancment, AFI moreover launched 4 guides, understood as wise and strategic devices.

• Info 1: Extreme biodiversity and carbon-dense ecosystems.

• Info 2: Water security: ingesting water, sanitation, and entry to irrigation.

• Info 3: Coastal administration.

• Info 4: Infrastructure.

AFI’s relevance amenities on the premise that conservation with out funding is focus on. With out agile and sustainable financial belongings, environment friendly conservation, security, and restoration of nature cannot be achieved. There’s an monetary gap between $598 billion and $824 billion per 12 months to articulate actions to deal with the native climate catastrophe and biodiversity loss.

Certainly one of many major targets to be achieved at COP16 is to make progress on the small print and mechanisms to be used to fulfill purpose 19 of the Worldwide Biodiversity Framework: to comprehend the annual mobilization of not lower than $200 billion by 2030. Of this amount, not lower than $30 billion is predicted to be focused on creating nations, that are generally most affected by the impacts of native climate change and the detriment of wildlife and biodiversity loss.

As of this writing, eight governments have indicated they’ll current $163 million for the Worldwide Biodiversity Fund (GBFF) to implement the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework. Whereas it’s a step forward, it is nonetheless incipient given the magnitude of what is required and our context.

The security and sustainable use of the businesses and belongings we acquire from nature won’t be solely an obligation of the naturalist or scientific group. Larger than half of the world’s financial system is decided by the benefits provided by nature: clear water and air, fertile soils, meals, medicines, and raw provides, amongst others. Larger than half of the world’s GDP is fairly or extraordinarily relying on nature and its firms. Consequently, this decide is linked to the risks and impacts of the destruction of nature.

Apppointments:

Elizabeth Gray, Audubon’s chief govt officer, highlighted the importance of the initiative. “We’re working collectively to protect 30 landscapes and seascapes on this enormous space. That’s necessary to promote nature-based choices and sustainable enchancment. The Americas is probably going probably the most biodiverse areas on the planet, and we have got so much to do to deal with every the biodiversity and native climate crises.“

Martin Harper, CEO of BirdLife Worldwide, thanked and acknowledged the teams from the three organizations for his or her exhausting work in getting to this point. “We’re establishing one factor extraordinary to unite conservation efforts all through the Americas. This initiative is already inspiring comparable initiatives in several major flyways worldwide.“

Sergio Díaz Granados, CAF’s govt president, recalled the monetary establishment’s efforts to show into the realm’s inexperienced monetary establishment, along with rising its capital to deal with the native climate emergency. “Biodiversity loss is definitely considered one of our most urgent points. Mitigating and adapting won’t be a various nonetheless an obligation we should always fulfill. Now we now have collaborated with institutions similar to Audubon and BirdLife to close conservation gaps in Latin America and the Caribbean.“

Media Contacts: Santiago Aparicio, santiago.aparicio@audubon.org; Lucía Rodríguez, lucia.rodriguez@birdlife.org; Mauricio Velasquez, Senior Govt, CAF – mvelasquez@caf.com

About Audubon

The Nationwide Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, proper now and tomorrow. Audubon works all by means of the Americas using science, advocacy, coaching, and on-the-ground conservation. State packages, nature amenities, chapters, and companions give Audubon an unparalleled wingspan that reaches a whole bunch of hundreds of people yearly to inform, encourage, and unite numerous communities in conservation movement. A nonprofit conservation group since 1905, Audubon believes in a world whereby people and wildlife thrive.