Colombia has a new bird conservation strategy

According to the portfolio, local and ethnic communities, representatives of productive sectors, youth and women leaders, and the scientific community contributed to the definition of ENCA 2030,

The process, which lasted about two years, was led by the National Audubon Society, the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Biological Resources Research, the National Network of Bird Watchers, and the Department for the Environment and Sustainable Development.

The new document is an update of the ENCA that was built in the year 2000 and its strategic update because after 20 years, the achievements, successes and challenges were evaluated and renewed goals were set for the next 20 years, adjusting them to the new national reality.

The great achievement of ENCA 2030 was the crafting of a proposal that enhances conservation opportunities for birds and their habitats.

Colombia’s Minister of the Environment, Susana Muhammad, stated that “Being the world’s number one bird country gives us a great responsibility to protect this enormous wealth.”

“For this reason, this national strategy for the protection of birds allows us to follow the path to promote local development along with communities, through bird tourism,” he added.

He added that this initiative, in addition, joins the government’s purposes of containing deforestation and promoting the restoration of various ecosystems in the country, especially in the Amazon region.

ENCA 2030 seeks birds to go beyond ecological approaches and facilitate Colombia’s journey towards a more sustainable economy. Similarly, unlike the 2000 strategy, the current strategy has clear indicators so that progress can be monitored on each of the identified lines of action.

There are 1966 species of birds in Colombia. Of these, at least 84 are endemic or typical of the national territory, according to recent estimates, and of these, 131 are threatened.

With this potential in mind and the value that birds provide in maintaining biodiversity and the health of ecosystems, Colombia has an enormous responsibility to preserve them.

For this reason, ENCA 2030 has 11 Conservation Objects focusing on the diversity of resident and migratory birds, and the diversity of birds associated with different habitats, including natural and anthropogenic environments.

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