Tonight I’ll be attending a very important event for bird conservation in Canada in Washington D.C. The event marks the release of a seminal new book, Important Bird Areas (IBAs) of the Americas: Priority sites for biodiversity conservation. The book is a roadmap for conservation that identifies 2,345 top-priority conservation sites in Canada and the 56 other countries and territories within the Western Hemisphere. It provides a blueprint for decisions- makers to make informed decisions on habitat protection and restoration, and I believe it will help enormously in the conservation of both threatened and common species as well as a wealth of wider biodiversity.

The event is hosted by Luis Moreno, President of the Inter-American Development Bank, and featured speakers include Henry M. Paulson, Jr., former US Treasury Secretary; Andres Bosso, CEO Aves Argentinas; Frank Gill, President, National Audubon Society; and Margaret Atwood, author and Joint Honorary President of BirdLife International’s Rare Bird Club.

The Americas is one of the most important regions for bird conservation, given that it holds almost 40% of the world’s threatened species (11% of the region’s birds are threatened). IBAs are becoming a formidable tool to help governments, the private sector, investment banks and donor organizations to direct conservation funding towards clearly defined priorities. There are nearly 600 IBAs in Canada, including well-known migratory bird staging areas such as Point Pelee National Park in Ontario, and British Columbia’s Boundary Bay, a provincially-designated wildlife conservation area.

This gala reception brings leaders and supporters of BirdLife International’s Important Bird Areas (IBAs) program – and of global conservation generally – to celebrate a decade of accomplishment for the BirdLife Americas Partnership, as well as to galvanize support for the future of IBAs and their gifts to birds, biodiversity and people.

I’m very excited about the release of this book and grateful for the work that staff at Nature Canada, Bird Studies Canada and all our BirdLife Partners in the Americas put in over the last few years to get this directory published. We now have a terrific new tool for biodiversity conservation in the Americas!

You can download the book here.