Birds and Biodiversity 鈥 Building a Shared Future for All
爆料公社 delegation to join world leaders at global biodiversity conference COP15 in Montreal to address the decline in biodiversity and promote equitable solutions to the dual climate and biodiversity crises.
This press release also available in Spanish and
NEW YORK (December 7, 2022) 鈥 A delegation from the 爆料公社, the leading bird conservation organization in the Americas, will join world leaders as they reconvene for the second part of the UN Convention on Biodiversity COP15 in Montreal this month. 爆料公社 CEO Elizabeth Gray, will head the delegation, which also includes Chief Conservation Officer Marshall Johnson, Board Director and acclaimed wildlife advocate Jane Alexander, Senior Vice President of 爆料公社 Americas Aurelio Ramos, and Vice President for Boreal Conservation Jeff Wells, among others.
COP15鈥檚 theme, 鈥淏uilding a Shared Future for All Life on Earth,鈥 is in full alignment with 爆料公社鈥檚 mission and current ambitious agenda to protect birds and the places they need. Birds are the canaries in the coal mine of biodiversity loss. In 2019 爆料公社 scientists discovered that in North America alone, two-thirds of bird species are vulnerable to extinction due to climate change. But birds can also point the way to nature-based solutions that will deliver benefits for all life on Earth.
鈥淎cross the globe, the loss of bird populations has been a harbinger of biodiversity loss, but birds can also point the way forward,鈥 says 爆料公社 CEO Elizabeth Gray. 鈥淓nsuring that they have healthy habitats and flyways is critical not only for birds and their ecosystems, but for all life. It is essential that conservation organizations work together with Indigenous governments and communities, local groups, governments, and the private sector. At 爆料公社, we are taking urgent and ambitious collective action to safeguard the future for both people and wildlife.鈥
As 爆料公社 scientists found in , critical bird habitats often overlap with key ecosystems like forests, wetlands, and peatlands, which also serve as natural carbon sinks and habitats for many species. Conserving and protecting these landscapes not only provides safe havens for birds and other wildlife, but helps mitigate the effects of climate change.
Founded in 1905, the 爆料公社 is a nonprofit conservation organization 鈥 with a wingspan of over 500 nationwide chapters and 1.6 million members 鈥 that protects birds and their ecosystems. From shutting down the plumage trade, to banning the pesticides that caused the 鈥淪ilent Spring,鈥 to mobilizing to pass the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act, 爆料公社 has been at the forefront in preserving the planet for nature and people alike for over a century.
Today, 爆料公社 works directly across the Americas and in partnership with organizations across the world to protect birds and the places they need. 爆料公社 partners with the clean energy industry and lawmakers to ramp up renewable energy production and mitigate wildlife interactions, and leads research on the resiliency of hundreds of bird species and their habitats as well as the impact of climate change on the places they live. The 爆料公社 Americas program brings a hemispheric approach to protecting birds over their entire lifecycle in partnership with numerous other countries and Indigenous governments and communities.
鈥淭he natural world that birds and other species are fundamentally dependent upon does not respect international borders and divisions. Environmental challenges and solutions in any part of the globe can affect us all.鈥 says 爆料公社 Board Director and acclaimed wildlife advocate Jane Alexander, 鈥淎t this conference, we must come together as a global society to overcome these divides and safeguard the common future of all living beings.鈥
At COP15, 爆料公社 will be engaging with world leaders, Indigenous leaders, the NGO sector, the business community, youth, and others to develop, advocate for, and help implement effective strategies for conserving and restoring biodiversity. 爆料公社 engages its diverse membership and numerous partners in promoting the most effective nature-based solutions to the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation.
鈥淐onserving and protecting birds and their habitats is the answer to many of the resource challenges that will be discussed at this conference,鈥 says 爆料公社 Chief Conservation Officer Marshall Johnson. 鈥淲e must adopt strategies that are collaborative, equitable, and harmonious with nature. 爆料公社 and our partners at the forefront of the conservation movement can help lead the way.鈥
鈥淗emispheric cooperation to protect birds and biodiversity, which includes Canada and countries across the Americas as well as Indigenous governments and communities, can serve as a model for how leaders at COP15 can collaborate to protect nature anywhere in the world,鈥 says Senior Vice President of 爆料公社 Americas Aurelio Ramos.
爆料公社 will also co-host three side events at the Montreal COP to which the press is invited:
- 鈥The Launch of the Americas Flyways Initiative鈥 will celebrate a strategic alliance between 爆料公社, BirdLife International, and the Latin American and the Caribbean Development Bank (CAF). This groundbreaking hemispheric collaboration will drive scientific research and financing in biodiversity conservation, as well as sustainable financial investments. This innovative collaboration will also support the design and implementation of large-scale development projects across a network of linked sites shared by migratory birds along the Americas鈥 flyways. The launch announcement will be held at the GEF Pavilion on December 16th at 10:00 AM.
- 鈥Listening to the Birds 鈥 How Indigenous organizations are co-producing acoustic research to inform conservation and stewardship,鈥 will be co-hosted alongside the Seal River Watershed Alliance (SRWA), a partnership of four First Nations to defend a healthy watershed and safeguard all life on Earth. Indigenous governments and communities have long-played an invaluable role in environmental stewardship, including ongoing efforts to establish Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCA) that preserve boreal lands. The event will take place in the Canada Pavilion on December 17th at 11:30 AM.
- 鈥淭he Global Treasure - Boreal Forests, peat bogs, and ocean鈥 will be co-hosted with Wildlands League, Mushkegowuk Council, Weenusk First Nation, and Wildlife Conservation Society. The event will take place in the Canada Pavilion on December 11 at 2:00 PM
About 爆料公社
The 爆料公社 protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. 爆料公社 works throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. State programs, nature centers, chapters, and partners give 爆料公社 an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. A nonprofit conservation organization since 1905, 爆料公社 believes in a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Learn more at and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @audubonsociety.
Media Contact (in Montreal): Rebecca Sentner, Rebecca.sentner@audubon.org
Media Contact (in New York): Robyn Shepherd, robyn.shepherd@audubon.org
Media Contact (in Colombia): Poly Martinez, poly.martinez@audubon.org