Partnering to protect bird habitat
Bird Studies Canada, Nature Canada and the Gosling Foundation are excited to announce a new partnership to advance conservation of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA).
The new IBA Local Action Fund launched on February 3rd provides local organizations with grants to engage more people in protecting local IBAs and coordinate local actions to help protect, restore or enhance biodiversity and ecosystem integrity within threatened IBAs.
IBAs are sites that support specific groups of birds and range in size from very tiny patches of habitat to large tracts of land or water. They are identified using criteria that are internationally 
agreed upon, standardized, quantitative, and scientifically defensible. This makes IBAs an important tool for identifying conservation priorities, and fostering greater success in the conservation of bird populations. As Canadian co-partners in BirdLife International, Nature Canada and Bird Studies Canada have delivered the IBA program in Canada for 20 years. Further progress on protecting IBAs depends on action at the local level and thanks to generous funding from the Gosling Foundation, we are thrilled to jointly announce the IBA Local Action Fund.
The IBA Local Action Fund projects could look and be quite different across Canada, but will all feature local groups implementing conservation action within priority IBAs. The range of projects qualifying for funding could include:
- Science-based advocacy and targeted engagement organizing in support of long-term protection status for IBAs;
- Local on-the-ground activities to reduce threats, raise awareness, and restore biodiversity;
- Establishing and supporting Caretaker Groups to monitor their IBAs and advocate for the conservation of IBAs;
- Raising local voices with municipalities to recognize and conserve IBAs through land use planning, zoning and other regulatory and policy tools; and,
- Partnering with indigenous communities to build support in, and gain protection for IBAs on their traditional lands.
To find out more about the IBA Local Action Fund and how to apply, please visit here.
