Mangroves and Beyond: from Data Collection to Community Action—the Power of People to Safeguard our Wetlands and Waterbirds
From mangroves to mudflats, beaches and salt ponds our Caribbean wetlands and coastal habitats are severely threatened by development, human encroachment, and climate change. Protecting these habitats is critical for the birds that rely on them. Wetlands host resident and endemic waterbirds who rely on them as breeding and feeding areas, as well as being critical stop-over and wintering areas for migratory shorebirds and ducks. This importance for such a diversity of birdlife makes a session focusing on the protection of both wetlands and waterbirds central to the theme of ‘safeguarding our avian treasures.’ In this symposium, by focusing on the role people have to play, we will showcase the diversity of contributions that can be made to wetland and waterbird conservation. This symposium will cover topics from data collection and the contribution of ‘community science’ programs, such as the Caribbean Waterbird Census (CWC), to research and site protection; as well as how people can contribute to our understanding of threats to wetlands and waterbirds, and how building community ‘buy-in’ through outreach and awareness raising can help conservation outcomes. Overall, we aim to demonstrate through these examples, how building an understanding of the importance of wetlands for birds can lead to greater and more effective advocacy for their protection.
Organizers: Alex Sansom, BirdsCaribbean, Lisa Sorenson, BirdsCaribbean, and Jessica Rozek Cañizares, BirdsCaribbean/ The Nature Conservancy. Emails: waterbird.manager@birdscaribbean.org, lisa.sorenson@birdscaribbean.org, jessicarozek@gmail.com
Purpose: Participants of this symposium will share knowledge, research, experiences, and insights on waterbird and wetland conservation, with examples from the Caribbean and beyond. We propose to highlight the role of ‘people on the ground’, including data collection, understanding threats, outreach to build conservation communities, advocacy, and actions to protect our vital wetlands and their birdlife.
Overview: From mangroves to mudflats, beaches and salt ponds our Caribbean wetlands and coastal habitats are severely threatened by development, human encroachment, and climate change. Protecting these habitats is critical for the birds that rely on them. Wetlands host resident and endemic waterbirds who rely on them as breeding and feeding areas, as well as being critical stop-over and wintering areas for migratory shorebirds and ducks. This importance for such a diversity of birdlife makes a session focusing on the protection of both wetlands and waterbirds central to the theme of ‘safeguarding our avian treasures.’ In this symposium, by focusing on the role people have to play, we will showcase the diversity of contributions that can be made to wetland and waterbird conservation. This symposium will cover topics from data collection and the contribution of ‘community science’ programs, such as the Caribbean Waterbird Census (CWC), to research and site protection; as well as how people can contribute to our understanding of threats to wetlands and waterbirds, and how building community ‘buy-in’ through outreach and awareness raising can help conservation outcomes. Overall, we aim to demonstrate through these examples, how building an understanding of the importance of wetlands for birds can lead to greater and more effective advocacy for their protection.
Objectives:
To share results from research, CWC monitoring, conservation, and outreach programs related to wetland and waterbird protection, including sharing how the CWC has helped advance appreciation and protection of wetland areas.
Increase the understanding of how birds can be a tool for raising awareness about the value of wetlands and building community to increase engagement in wetland protection.