Conserva Aves


Protection of Life Territories

The project

Conserva Aves Mexico is a national initiative that is part of the Conserva Aves project, which operates across Latin America. Its goal is to support the conservation of threatened, endemic, and/or migratory bird species, along with their habitats, through the creation or expansion of Areas Voluntarily Designated for Conservation (ADVCs, acronym in Spanish) in priority sites for their protection.

Context

Conserva Aves is an international initiative aimed at creating, consolidating, managing, and strengthening more than 100 protected areas (PAs) in Latin America and the Caribbean, located in priority sites for the conservation of threatened, endemic, and migratory bird species and their habitats. This initiative is led by American Bird Conservancy, National Audubon Society, BirdLife International, Birds Canada, and the Network of Environmental Funds in Latin America and the Caribbean (RedLAC, acronym in Spanish).

In this context, Conserva Aves México aims to contribute to the conservation of threatened, endemic, and/or migratory bird species, as well as their habitats, through the certification or expansion of Areas Voluntarily Designated for Conservation(ADVCs, acronym in Spanish) in priority sites. It also supports local groups seeking to implement financial sustainability strategies to conserve their territories and the biodiversity they safeguard.

The implementation of Conserva Aves México will be led by Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature (FMCN, acronym in Spanish) in collaboration with Pronatura Sur, A.C., and with the support of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp, acronym in Spanish)—key institutions in the implementation of conservation actions in Mexico.

The lines of work guiding the actions of Conserva Aves México are:

    1. Conserve priority bird sites through the expansion or certification of ADVCs.
    2. Conserve threatened, endemic, and/or migratory bird species through the design and implementation of a Management Strategy for ADVCs.
    3. Promote community initiatives through the design and implementation of a Financial Sustainability Plan for ADVCs.

    Conserva Aves is a strategic ally in the 30×30 Agenda, supporting participating countries in achieving their commitments to protect at least 30% of their key territories by the year 2030.

    Achievements

    In April 2025, the Conserva Aves México call for proposals was published, through which twelve legally established local organizations were selected to certify or expand ADVCs in priority sites for bird conservation.

    With the start of subproject operations in June 2025, the component for strengthening technical and institutional capacities also began, led by Pronatura Sur and FMCN. As part of this phase, all selected organizations were invited to the project Kickoff Workshop, with the objective of sharing all operational details and fostering cross-communication among all parties involved.

    As part of the 2025 Conservation Knowledge Exchange Week (SICC, acronym in Spanish), FMCN led the launch and first exchange of the Conserva Aves Learning Community, which was attended by all project partner organizations, representatives from Audubon, BirdLife, and Birds Canada, leading organizations of the Conserva Aves initiative in Latin America, as well as Pronatura Sur and CONANP, the main ally in implementing the initiative and the agency responsible for issuing ADVC certifications.

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    Allies

    Donors:
    • National Audubon Society (Audubon)
    • Global Affairs Canada


    Conserva Aves Initiative:
    • American Bird Conservancy
    • National Audubon Society (Audubon)
    • BirdLife International (BirdLife)
    • Birds Canada
    • Red de Fondos Ambientales de Latinoamérica y el Caribe (RedLAC, acronym in Spanish)


    National partners:
    • National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP, acronym in Spanish)
    • Pronatura Sur, A.C.

    Environmental and Social Management System

    For Conserva Aves México, FMCN will apply its Environmental and Social Management System (SGAS, acronym in Spanish) to identify and ensure that project-related risks and adverse impacts are either avoided or, when unavoidable, properly minimized and mitigated. All selected subprojects will participate in an institutional strengthening program that will provide support, training, and monitoring for the implementation of Environmental and Social Safeguards, as well as gender perspectives, in alignment with FMCN's SGAS.

    Additionally, a key component of this initiative is the Equity Fund, which will ensure that 20% of the selected subprojects are led by, or include the participation of, women, youth, and/or Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities.