Successful approaches to conservation of grassland birds during the wintering period

RENFREW, ROSALIND B.; DI GIACOMO, ADRIÁN S.

Milwaukee

Congreso; 20th Annual Conference of The Wildlife Society; 2013

The Wildlife Society

Full life cycle (FLC) conservation considers the limitations, threats, and needs of species throughout their life, and has been advocated as means to holistically address declining migratory bird populations. FLC conservation challenges our thinking, requiring new approaches not only at landscape scales, but for long-distance migrants, at hemispheric scales. For successful conservation of grassland bird species, economic and social factors must be fully integrated into planning. Over the last decade, initiatives in the South American wintering grounds of some eastern tallgrass bird species have been incorporating key stakeholders in agriculture-related sectors. The Southern Cone Grasslands Alliance launched a broad-scale effort in 2006 to conserve grasslands and their biodiversity through actions coordinated internationally and among sectors (producers, civil organizations, academia and government), in a sustainable development framework. They seek to mainstream conservation through a multi-disciplinary approach that includes promotion of best management practices, as well as national and regional policies that support/develop market and fiscal-based incentives. The Alliance has established a platform led by a board of producers and conservationists that is creating new opportunities for the conservation of the Pampas grasslands, the most important of which is a bird-friendly beef certification scheme. By the end of 2013, it is expected that a total of 50,000 ha will have been certified. Smaller, country-wide initiatives in South America have addressed threats posed by pesticides through farmer outreach and collaboration with industry and government leaders. An emerging business plan for a suite of eastern tallgrass bird species weaves these and other programs together, providing a hemispheric-wide decision support tool. Recently developed by a broad, international consortium of biologists and conservationists, the plan provides an FLC framework for prioritized, coordinated conservation strategies to achieve long-term sustainability of eastern tallgrass bird populations.