At the heart of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) is a labour of devotion to all birds and their habitats—striving to ensure their survival and to protect their habitat throughout their life cycles.
Recognizing that healthy biodiversity, ecosystem productivity and thriving bird populations are so closely interrelated, NABCI mobilizes and unites leaders in wildlife management, bird science and biological diversity conservation to advance bird conservation across Canada and throughout North America.
Our Beginnings
In 1999, the Canadian government, through its Minister of the Environment, recognized the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) by signing a Commission for Environmental Cooperation Resolution. This Resolution committed Canada, the United States and Mexico to create individual National Steering Committees to guide the Initiative in each country.
Our Vision
Populations and habitats of North America’s birds are protected, restored and enhanced through coordinated efforts at international, national, regional and local levels, guided by sound science and effective management.
Also, we have a hemispheric Vision for Bird Conservation for the Next Century
Our Partnership
NABCI-Canada facilitates the implementation of integrated all-bird conservation through its coalition of federal, territorial and provincial governments, conservation NGOs, private sector organizations, representatives from Habitat Joint Ventures, and partners from Canada’s four major bird initiatives (shorebirds, landbirds, waterbirds and waterfowl).
Advancing Bird Conservation—Our Four Roles
In its early years, NABCI-Canada focused its efforts primarily on conservation planning and communicating the emerging messages. More recently, it re-examined its roles within the bird conservation community. In May 2017, Council members identified four roles to take on to advance bird conservation in Canada with greater momentum:
Coordinate, NABCI-Canada will:
- Collaborate with habitat conservation partnerships (such as the Habitat and Species Joint Ventures) for effective all-bird conservation.
- Ensure dynamic partnerships actively implementing bird conservation at multiple scales across Canada.
Communicate, NABCI-Canada will:
- Coordinate the periodic production of the State of the Birds reports (Canada and North America)
- Using various communications platforms showcase success stories, best practices and interesting pilot projects that demonstrate progress especially for bird groups at high risk (grassland birds, shorebirds, seabirds and aerial insectivores).
Track Bird Conservation, NABCI-Canada will:
- Advocate for a national habitat monitoring system to support adaptive management of bird conservation.
- Coordinate the development of a comprehensive tracking system of bird conservation action in Canada that supports progress reporting and adaptive management.
Influence Policy, NABCI-Canada will:
- Assist cooperation on migratory bird conservation across the Western Hemisphere through existing, or by creating new, international agreements, partnerships or networks.
- Successfully influence invasive species policies and best practices for wetlands, grasslands and islands/seabirds.
Our Work Plan and our Committees
In September 2018, the NABCI-Canada Council endorsed a medium-term work plan based on our four roles and their associated priorities. Consult the NABCI-Canada 2019-2022 Work Plan towards all-bird conservation in Canada. The work plan is meant to be an implementation framework for the NABCI-Canada committees in the upcoming years. Committees are based on the four NABCI-Canada roles in addition to an Executive and an International committee.
Learn more about how NABCI-Canada is working across North America, and beyond, to achieve full life cycle bird conservation.