 Questions
and Answers
The U.S.
Communications Subcommittee of the North American Bird Conservation
Initiative (NABCI) developed this Q&A document for people seeking
answers to specific questions regarding NABCI and how it relates to
other bird conservation initiatives, organizations, and programs.
As with
all web documents, the Q&A is dynamic, and will be continually
updated as integrated bird conservation progresses across the continent
and hemisphere. If
there are additional questions that you would like to see answered,
please contact Roxanne Bogart.
1. What is the the North American Bird Conservation
Initiative (NABCI) Committee?
The U.S.
NABCI Committee is a forum of government agencies, non-profit organizations,
and initiatives dedicated to advancing integrated bird conservation
in North America. It's strategy is to foster coordination and collaboration
among the bird conservation community on key issues of concern and to
help ensure that organizations have the capacity to support and deliver
conservation on-the-ground. The Committee is fostering cooperation through
partnerships that span geographic, taxonomic, organization, and sociocultural
divides to secure the future for North America's wild birds. Through
annual work plans, the Committee focuses its efforts on advancing bird
monitoring, conservation design, international conservation, and institutional
support in state and federal agencies for bird habitat conservation.
The US
NABCI Vision: Populations and habitats of North America's birds
are protected, restored, and enhanced through coordinated efforts at
international, national, regional, state, and local levels, guided by
sound science and effective management.
The US
NABCI Goal: To deliver the full spectrum of bird conservation through
regionally based, biologically driven, landscape-oriented partnerships.
The U.S.
NABCI Committee is a forum for:
- Initiating
and broadening partnerships for bird conservation across the continent;
- Increasing
funding for conserving birds in the United States, Mexico, and Canada
and wherever else they may occur during their life cycles;
- Making
partnerships and resources more effective and efficient by fostering
integrated bird conservation;
- Building
on existing structures for delivering conservation, such as Joint
Ventures, and stimulating new Joint Venture-like structures and mechanisms
as appropriate;
- Developing
a common biological framework for conservation planning, design, and
delivery; and
- Fostering
greater cooperation among the nations and peoples of the continent.
NABCI's overall
approach is to provide these services by strengthening and facilitating
coordination among existing partnerships and initiatives, rather than
creating new, redundant structures for conservation delivery.
2.
Why was NABCI started?
The concepts
of NABCI and integrated bird conservation grew out of the realization
among bird conservation leaders that, despite our best efforts, bird
populations in North America still face tremendous threats to their
long-term health. Only through a coordinated and, when appropriate,
integrated approach among the many segments of the bird conservation
community can these numerous threats be overcome.
The last
two decades of the 20th century experienced an unprecedented development
of proactive, partnership-based bird conservation initiatives: The
North American Waterfowl Management Plan, Partners
in Flight, US Shorebird
Conservation Plan, Waterbird Conservation
for the Americas, Northern
Bobwhite Conservation Initiative , and the North
American Grouse Management Strategy. In the United States, NABCI
evolved out of a recognition among conservationists of the value of
coordinating and, when appropriate, integrating the conservation planning,
implementation, and evaluation efforts of these initiatives to achieve
a comprehensive, biologically based, landscape-oriented approach to
bird conservation.
The phenomenal
growth in non-consumptive bird recreation and expanding grassroots support
for comprehensive bird conservation gave added impetus to the development
of the collaborative approach embodied in NABCI.
3.
Who's in charge of NABCI?
No single
individual or entity has top-down authority over NABCI and its participants.
NABCI is an approach, which many in the conservation community voluntarily
espouse, to protect and restore bird populations for future generations.
To the degree that there is a NABCI "organization," it is
designed to serve as a forum for furthering this approach.
The following
entities exist in the United States:
In addition,
there is a Trinational
NABCI Committee consisting of three representatives each from the
United States, Canada, and Mexico. These individuals represent their
national committees in consideration of issues that are appropriately
addressed at a trinational level.
4.
Who makes decisions concerning NABCI?
In the United
States, national level decisions are made by the U.S. NABCI Committee.
The Committee works by consensus, although there are provisions for
voting if needed. (Click here to see the U.S. NABCI Committee's Charter).
The Committee's decisions concern strategic, national level guidance
to facilitate integrated bird conservation.
No similar
NABCI decision-making bodies exist at the regional, state, and local
levels. Partners at these levels work through their individual organizations,
the bird conservation initiatives, and other partnerships, such as Joint
Ventures, to coordinate conservation activities when and where they
deem necessary (see Questions below).
5.
What is the US NABCI Committee doing to further bird conservation?
The U.S.
NABCI Committee serves as a forum for discussing and dealing with the
complex and often difficult challenges of integrated bird conservation
at national and international levels. The work of the Committee (and
associated subcommittees) is driven by priorities identified in its
Work Plan.
6.
How is NABCI funded?
Very limited
funding is dedicated to NABCI itself. Integrated bird conservation is
an expensive endeavor funded by the many partners directly or indirectly
involved in delivering the vision of NABCI—state, federal, and
tribal governments, nonprofit organizations, companies, foundations,
and others. Each of these entities is entirely autonomous in its funding
decisions, and none are bound by directives from the U.S. NABCI Committee
or anyone else involved in NABCI.
At the national
level, a limited number of NABCI efforts have been funded through contributions
from various partners. These include:
- The NABCI
Coordinator's position. This ongoing position is funded by the Colorado
Division of Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest
Service International Programs, and the U.S. Geological Survey.
- Communications
efforts and products supported by government agencies and non-governmental
organizations.
- Contributions
of staff time by many partner agencies and organizations.
7.
Is NABCI going to compete with other efforts for bird conservation funding?
No. NABCI
is working to expand resources for bird conservation. Several of the
U.S. NABCI Committee's Work Plan items
deal explicitly with increasing financial resources for bird conservation.
8.
Will NABCI directly deliver funds to on-the-ground bird conservation?
No, NABCI
will not directly deliver funds to on-the-ground bird conservation in
the United States. Through the forum and synergy created by NABCI, however,
partners are working together to augment funding in various ways and
are making great strides in that direction.
9.
How is NABCI going to be delivered on the ground?
NABCI as
an "organization" does not deliver conservation on the ground.
On-the-ground conservation is done by the agencies, organizations, and
partnerships that are best suited to deliver it. For example, organizations
and individuals are working together through Joint
Ventures, and other similar partnerships, to protect and restore
habitats for birds. In addition, Bird Conservation
Region staff are being hired in some regions to help state and federal
agencies and private organizations advance the technical aspects of
integrated bird conservation planning and delivery.
10.
How does NABCI relate to the bird conservation initiatives, such as the
North American Waterfowl Management Plan and Partners In Flight?
Representatives
from the various bird conservation initiatives
sit on the US NABCI Committee. The Committee,
thus, functions as a national forum bringing together representatives
from the initiatives, as well as other organizations, to exchange ideas,
debate issues, and help move integrated bird conservation forward. The
Committee's role is to facilitate integrated bird conservation at all
levels.
At the regional,
state, and local levels, participants of the bird conservation initiatives
are advancing the NABCI vision by coordinating
and integrating conservation planning, design, and delivery. In addition,
most Joint Ventures, created originally under the North American Waterfowl
Management Plan, have accepted the challenge of undertaking integrated
bird conservation and are working day-to-day to make it a reality on
the ground.
11.
How does NABCI relate to the North American Wetlands Conservation Council
(NAWCC)?
The US
NABCI Committee and the NAWCC
share some of the same members, but are two very different entities.
The North American Wetlands Conservation Act of 1989 (as amended, 1994,1998)
formally established the NAWCC to review and recommend wetlands conservation
projects for funding approval to the Migratory
Bird Conservation Commission. The US NABCI Committee is a self-directed
body that has crafted a vision for integrated bird conservation and
is working to advance and promote that vision both through partnership
efforts and through the programmatic activities of individual member
organizations.
12.
How do NABCI efforts in the United States relate to efforts in Canada
and Mexico?
Successful
conservation of migratory birds requires effort in all of the countries
in which each species spends part of its yearly cycle. The flight paths
of migratory birds link nations together and serve as a reminder of
the need to look beyond the confines of our geopolitical
boundaries. NABCI, thus far, only includes participation by the
United States, Canada, and Mexico. A Trinational NABCI Committee exists
to foster international coordination for conserving those birds of common
interest to our nations.
In spring
of 2005, the environmental secretaries and minister from the United
States, Mexico, and Canada signed a Declaration of Intent for the conservation
of North America's bird populations and their habitats. This important
document now serves as a public expression of support for trinational
cooperation to deliver comprehensive bird conservation in North America.
Due to the
different political, cultural, and financial settings, NABCI and integrated
bird conservation have evolved differently in the three countries. Through
the coordination body of the Trinational Committee, each country can
offer its strengths and experiences as guidance and assistance to the
other two countries, as well as coordinate on specific issues that require
a North American perspective. These issues include linked projects,
sharing of relevant biological and conservation information, and trinational
level communications efforts.
13.
What about Central and South America?
The U.S.,
Canada, and Mexico have agreed to work jointly toward a vision of integrated
bird conservation. Thus, NABCI primarily serves those species of birds
that spend substantial portions of their lifecycles within the boundaries
of these three countries.
However,
many North American species spend two-thirds of the year migrating through
and wintering in other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
For this reason alone, the conservation of North America's migratory
birds must embrace an expanded vision that encompasses coordination
and technical and financial support of activities throughout the entire
Western Hemisphere. (Click here
for a list of Nearctic-Neotropical migrants.)
Although
NABCI does not currently include membership by other Latin American
countries, it may expand in the future. For example, if additional countries
wish to become signatories of the NABCI Declaration of Intent (DOI),
their migratory and resident bird species and conservation concerns
could be incorporated into the DOI. In the meantime, several of the
bird conservation initiatives and many partner organizations at work
in North America are engaged south of Mexico and in the Caribbean.
14.
What has NABCI accomplished so far?
At the national
level, the U.S. NABCI Committee develops detailed annual work
plans to advance specific components of integrated bird conservation,
such as conservation design, monitoring, and working internationally.
It not only works internally through organizations on the Committee,
but also coordinates with the larger bird conservation community to
discuss and develop proposals, products, and projects to advance integrated
bird conservation. The synergy and new working relationships fostered
by NABCI have contributed significantly to important bird conservation
progress such as:
- Development
of the continental geographic framework of the Bird
Conservation Regions;
- Increased
numbers and areas covered by Joint Venture partnerships and the expanded
role of many of these partnerships in all bird conservation;
- Development
of the technical capacity and collaborative planning needed for integrated
bird conservation in areas within and outside Joint Ventures;
- Increased
awareness of the conservation needs of all birds;
- Increased
coordination and efficiency among the great variety of partners whose
common interest is bird conservation.
In the end,
the partners, not NABCI, get the credit for any on-the-ground accomplishments.
15.
Where is NABCI going in the future?
See the U.S.
NABCI Work Plan!
16.
Doesn't the idea of "integrated bird conservation" have limits—you
can't manage for all birds on every piece of land?
The intent
to manage for all birds certainly does not mean managing for all birds
in all places. Each habitat type supports a suite of wild bird species,
and the vision of NABCI entails improving the ecological health of that
habitat type in order to benefit those birds. Maximizing avian diversity
on an individual management unit can be detrimental to the region if
it sacrifices unique habitat for species of concern to meet habitat
needs for generalists already common in the region. An important lesson
of bird conservation planning is to simultaneously consider the needs
of birds at local, regional, and continental scales.
17.
What are Joint Ventures?
Joint
Ventures are independent, autonomous, self-directed, regionally-based
entities which implement and deliver bird conservation. Joint Ventures
were formed in the mid-1980's as the implementation arm of the North
American Waterfowl Management Plan and the delivery system for on-the-ground
waterfowl conservation. Recently, Joint Ventures have expanded their
missions to include implementation of the various bird conservation
initiative plans. Fundamental to the organization of Joint Ventures
is a management board that directs conservation activities including:
- Developing
and implementing strategic biological planning, including evaluation
and monitoring of objectives;
- Facilitating,
developing, and, coordinating broad, diverse conservation partnerships;
- Engaging
in bird conservation project fundraising activities from public and
private sources; and
- Communicating
key bird conservation messages to partners and stakeholders as well
as local, state, and national leaders.
18.
What are Bird Conservation Regions?
Bird
Conservation Regions (BCRs) are ecologically distinct regions in
North America with similar bird communities, habitats and resource management
issues. BCRs were developed in 1998 to accomplish the following:
- Facilitate
science-based communications and coordination among the bird conservation
initiatives;
- Systematically
and ecologically apportion Canada, the United States, and Mexico into
conservation units;
- Facilitate
regional approaches to ecological and biological aspects of bird conservation;
- Promote
new and expanded science partnerships;
- Integrate
overlapping or conflicting conservation priority classifications;
and
- Serve
as the primary unit within which biological foundation issues are
resolved and sustainable landscapes are designed.
19.
How are Bird Conservation Regions related to Joint Ventures?
Joint
Ventures, although developed under the auspices of the North American
Waterfowl Management Plan, are accepting the challenge of carrying out
multiple bird conservation plans using an integrated approach. Staff
have been hired in several BCRs to work closely
with Joint Ventures, state agencies, and other partners to develop the
technical capacity and collaborative planning needed to carry out integrated
bird conservation.
NABCI has
prompted a need and desire to develop bird conservation delivery systems
that build on both Joint Venture partnerships and the biological foundation
of BCRs. At its February 2000, meeting, the U.S. NABCI Committee agreed
to promote conservation delivery via existing and new Joint Ventures
as "one layer of carpet" nationwide, thus reducing or eliminating
redundant partnership structures and separate biological planning processes.
Many Joint Ventures are expanding and integrating with BCRs in a variety
of ways, all of which are effective to deliver bird conservation. Read
issues of The All-Bird Bulletin for more information.
20.
What about those areas of the United States that are not covered by Joint
Ventures?
Due to efforts
of partners throughout the country, the amount of area not covered by
Joint Ventures (the so-called "white space") is shrinking
dramatically. This has resulted from shifts in the boundaries of existing
Joint Venures to coincide with BCR boundaries and the creation of new
Joint Venture partnerships. In addition, serious discussions are underway,
in much of what is not currently formally within a Joint Venture, to
create new partnerships in the near future.
21.
What do staff in Bird Conservation Regions do?
Staff
have been hired in a number of BCRs to work with Joint Ventures, state
agencies, and other partners in their efforts to coordinate the work
of organizations and individuals involved in bird habitat conservation
in their regions, including representatives of each of the bird
conservation initiatives. They are working closely with partners
to develop the technical capacity and collaborative planning needed
to deliver integrated bird conservation.
|
