Shorebird conservation through capacity building at the flyway scale: five years of the Coastal Solutions Fellows Program

The Coastal Solutions Fellows Program at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology was developed in 2018, with the goal of improving resiliency along the Pacific Flyway of Latin America to help recover shorebird populations and support a regenerative development in the region. The program is based on capacity building to cultivate a collaborative network of emerging conservation leaders, and the implementation of effective conservation projects with measurable impacts. In 2023 we launched our fifth cohort, with which there are now 30 fellows working in 37 sites in nine countries. The fellows have created a network of over 120 mentors and collaborators and 200 partner organizations that are participating in shorebird conservation through science, engineering, public policies, landscape design, engagement of the private sector, and community participation. Some of the common elements for success in these initiatives include the cultivation of leadership, planning, governance, conflict resolution, and strategic communication, as well as the implementation of science-based innovative projects with cross-sectoral collaborations, ranging from the real estate sector and shrimp producers to indigenous communities and social justice groups. The program has catalyzed outcomes that include the creation of new natural protected areas and the establishment of conservation easements, as well as the development of federal regulations for the protection of urban wetlands and the creation of local ordinances to reduce human disturbance, with an estimated conservation impact on 115,000 hectares and benefits to at least 28 shorebird species, including priority species such as Snowy Plovers, American Oystercatchers, Red Knots, and Hudsonian Godwits.

Visit our Speakers page to read more about Osvel and the Coastal Solutions Fellows!