North America United by its Birds to Secure Vital Habitats
Washington D.C. (May
19, 2016)- Yesterday, the North American Bird
Conservation Initiative (NABCI) published The State of North America’s
Birds 2016, the first comprehensive report
assessing the conservation status of all bird species that occur in Canada, the
continental United States and Mexico. The report was released by NABCI partners
at the Museum of Nature in Ottawa, Canada, on behalf of all three countries,
with a simultaneous event at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC, in
partnership with International Migratory Bird Day. NABCI was created by Canada,
the United States and Mexico as a tri-national commitment to protect birds and
their habitats.
“This
report will allow us to base conservation actions on the best available science
on the status of birds and their habitats in North America,” said Environment
and Climate Change Canada Minister Catherine McKenna. “It is an unprecedented
continental analysis, drawing on the efforts of tens of thousands of
citizen-scientists from Canada, the U.S., and Mexico.”
This
report shows that more than one third of all North American bird species need
urgent conservation action and calls for a renewed, continent-wide commitment
to saving our shared birds and their habitats. Healthy environments for birds
also provide benefits to other wildlife and people, such as clean air and
water, flood and erosion control, and coastal resilience. When bird populations
struggle, our natural resources are stressed.
The
report evaluates the conservation status of all native North American bird
species across all major habitats —nine key ecosystems. It is based on the first-ever conservation
vulnerability assessment for all 1,154 native bird species that occur in
Canada, the continental U.S., and Mexico, and reflects a collaboration between
experts from all three countries. The
overall conservation status of each species takes into account its population
trend, population size, extent of breeding and nonbreeding ranges, and severity
of threats to populations. Methodology
information, the complete assessment database, animated maps and other
resources are available at stateofthebirds.org.
“This report is a superb demonstration of the power of birds, and
the growing power of citizen science. Tens of thousands of Canadians,
Americans, and Mexicans contributed bird sightings to help produce an
unprecedented continent-wide assessment of North America’s birds,” added Dr.
John W. Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
“Because birds are sensitive barometers of environmental health, I encourage
leaders across our three nations, in both government and industry, to consider
the findings in this report, which is based on the best available science about
our bird populations. Across the continent, it is the will of the people that
these species and their habitats be conserved for the future.”
The
State of North America’s Birds Report is being released during the Centennial
year of the Migratory Bird Treaty, an agreement between the United States and
Canada that promised collaborative conservation to protect the migratory birds
of North America. In 1936, twenty years
after the signing of the Migratory Bird Treaty, Mexico and the U.S. committed to
a similar treaty, connecting all of North America in its efforts to protect our
shared species. This report reflects a
groundbreaking collaboration to evaluate bird populations across the continent.
It calls for a renewed commitment to continental bird conservation agreements
to keep our shared birds safe and healthy for the next 100 years.
The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies is a key NABCI
partner in the United States. Three of
the Association’s Committees or Working Groups- the Bird Conservation
Committee, Resident Game Bird Working Group, and Migratory Shore and Upland
Game Bird Working Group- are represented in the NABCI partnership. For more information about AFWA’s partnership
with NABCI, contact AFWA’s Bird Conservation Program Manager, Judith Scarl jscarl@fishwildlife.org
About NABCI
The North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) was
created by the governments of Canada, the U.S., and Mexico in 1999 after the
diplomacy that produced NAFTA. The NABCI
agreement recognized birds as an international “natural economic
resource.” NABCI is a trinational
commitment to protecting, restoring, and enhancing populations and habitats of
North America’s birds—with an integrated vision for “all birds and all
habitats.” For more information, please
visit: http://www.nabci-us.org/
