Protecting wintering sites for shorebirds in Chile

The implementation of the fifth phase has achieved three new national protected areas, designated as nature sanctuaries cover 8,350 hectares of habitats. The achievement of these new protections is particularly important, considering that it occurs in a highly complex context and was achieved despite of a strong political crisis, social outbreak, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another highlight of this phase was the evaluation of ecosystem services carried out in the three focal areas. WHSRN/Manomet Flyways Conservation Specialist Isadora Angarita led  a local participatory process to analyze the existing ecosystem services and build a set of actions to safeguard the services.

Diego Luna Quevedo, Senior Specialist, Policy and Governance for Manomet and WHSRN, has led Manomet’s actions in the Conservation Plan for Migratory Shorebirds in Chiloé for the past ten years. He notes that “by conserving shorebirds and their habitats at these sites, we are directly contributing to the well-being and resilience of communities.” In addition to generating the necessary conditions for birds to successfully complete their life cycles, Luna- Quevedo adds, “local livelihoods, water, better conditions for people’s health, and local economies are also protected. This is vital for the Chiloé and Maullín communities, which depend directly on natural resources for their subsistence.”

To better manage these new protected areas and ensure that appropriate safeguards for their ecosystem services, WHSRN and Manomet, Fundación Conservación Marina, and the Ministry of the Environment of Chile have signed a letter of commitment, opening a new dimension of collaboration. Juan José Donoso, Head of the Natural Resources and Biodiversity Division of the Ministry of the Environment of Chile, pointed out that “the collaborative work articulated with Manomet in Chiloé and Maullín has moved from the local to the national scale. That is why we are now advancing in the development of a National Action Plan for shorebird conservation, which will serve as a roadmap for Chile in the coming years.”

With the support of the Packard Foundation, through the articulation of agreements, and by building alliances and bottom-up work with local stakeholders, we have built solid foundations to maintain shorebird populations within the Pacific Flyway. We hope to reverse shorebird declines through effective protection and management of critical habitats in ways that benefit current and future human generations. This long-term goal is derived from the conservation goals and strategic objectives identified in the Pacific Americas Shorebird Conservation Strategy.

This conservation process will begin a new stage in the coming months. This next stage will include participatory development of management plans for the three national protected areas, installation of basic visitor infrastructure, priority habitat management activities as defined in management plans, and research and monitoring programs for the conservation targets at each sanctuary.

The successful conservation process led by Manomet on the island of Chiloé allows the conservation of shorebirds at the site, national, and flyway scale. Critical habitats are being managed and protected. Planning is taking place at a national level. And partners are working across the Americas representing diverse cultures, nationalities, and languages to deliver full lifecycle conservation for imperiled shorebird species in the Pacific Flyway.