Conserving birds through scientific training, monitoring and research in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean
Mission - The mission of the Latin American Program of PRBO Conservation Science is to conserve birds, wildlife, and biodiversity through professional training, ornithological research and monitoring, and public outreach and education in Latin America.
Birds are excellent indicators of ecosystem function and thus are key to wise environmental stewardship. PRBO Conservation Science (PRBO) and locally-based partners have begun to establish a network of long-term avian monitoring and research stations in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Our plan to strengthen conservation in Latin America is based on the premise that locally-based organizations, along with their biologists and volunteers, must develop their own avian monitoring, research, and conservation efforts. PRBO can help to facilitate these efforts by offering our expertise as trainers and advisors, and helping to funnel resources to select local organizations. As such, we are developing with local partners a network of Avian Conservation Centers, geographically dispersed throughout Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. With a focus on multiple species of Neotropical migratory and permanent resident birds and their associated habitats, these sites serve as:
training centers for local biologists and land managers from the entire region;
important long-term ecological monitoring sites;
regional data centers where data on bird population trends and avian natural history and ecology can be stored, shared, and analyzed; and,
centers for the interpretation and application of monitoring data to conservation planning, and development of strategic conservation efforts for protected areas.
By building local scientific capacity to monitor birds and their habitats, PRBO and our partners will help ensure effective and successful conservation efforts for the long term.
Strategies - The Latin American Program seeks to develop integrated strategies to accomplish our stated mission. Our strategy consists of five areas of work, including:
Avian Conservation Network- PRBO seeks to develop partnerships with locally-based collaborators to form an informal network of Avian Conservation Centers in Latin America. Through these partnerships we will offer training workshops, support of interns and students, support of long-term monitoring efforts, professional exchanges, and collaborative research efforts.
Capacity Building- The Latin American Program offers, with locally-based collaborators, training workshops in avian monitoring and field research techniques, and supports internships for in-country trainees and students to gain practical expertise and share skills with others.
Avian Monitoring- The Latin American Program supports on-going avian monitoring efforts and provides advice on monitoring plans, analysis, and interpretation of results based on locally-defined objectives.
Research- The Latin American Program conducts and supports basic and applied research, especially as it relates to the ecology and conservation of wintering Neotropical migratory birds, and also strongly supports similar conservation-oriented research on resident bird species.
Collaboration- The Latin American Program seeks to collaborate and integrate its activities with those of other national and international avian conservation organizations and conservation efforts.
