The International Conservation Fund of Canada (ICFC) and Pronatura Noroeste AC announced an international partnership aimed at the conservation of marine ecosystems and migratory shorebirds in northwest Mexico.
Northwest Mexico, which includes the Baja California Peninsula and the Sea of Cortez, is a favorite vacation, winter and retirement choice for Canadians. According to the Canada´s National Travel Survey, close to 1.7 million Canadians traveled to Mexico during 2018, making this country the second most visited international destination for Canadians after the United States. Among the most popular Mexican cities for Canadians are Cabo San Lucas, Loreto, Puerto Vallarta, the Riviera Nayarit and Mazatlán, all of them in northwest Mexico, which also host an important population of full-time or winter resident Canadian expats.
Tourists and expats are not the only Canadians that visit northwest Mexico. This region receives over 700,000 shorebirds from 44 species that breed in Canada and winter in Mexico. Migratory shorebirds depend on both their breeding and wintering habitats to survive, making a strong case for international collaboration between the two countries.
Pronatura Noroeste is an award-winning Mexican nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of wildlife and priority ecosystems in northwest Mexico. Since its establishment in 1991, Pronatura Noroeste has collaborated in the conservation of over 254,000 hectares of priority ecologically sensitive habitat, including the San Ignacio Lagoon, the Colorado River Delta, Magdalena Bay, Bahía de los Ángeles and Marismas Nacionales. Pronatura Noroeste is also providing conservation management services to an additional 217,000 ha of priority wildlife habitat, including the majority of the wetlands used by wintering migratory shorebirds from Canada.
“Many Canadian residents and visitors enjoy the natural beauty of northwest Mexico, from its spectacular landscapes to its coral reefs and marine wildlife, and a growing number of them have expressed an interest in supporting coastal conservation programs such as ours,” stated Gustavo Danemann, Executive Director of Pronatura Noroeste. According to Danemann, “thanks to Pronatura’s new programmatic collaboration with the International Conservation Fund of Canada, Canadian donors can now make tax deductible gifts in 2 support of mission-critical conservation initiatives that our collective organizations are working to undertake across northwest Mexico.”
Molly Bartlett, the Executive Director of ICFC, adds “The International Conservation Fund of Canada is excited to be supporting conservation in this important region of Mexico – an area where Canadian “snowbirds” and migratory birds like to winter!” ICFC oversees similar work in over 30 countries.
The International Conservation Fund of Canada and Pronatura Noroeste will inaugurate this partnership with two new programs, operated by the former at no cost, focused on migratory shorebirds and marine conservation. While the shorebird program will support the conservation of 14 priority wetlands in the coasts of the Mexican states of Baja California, Sonora and Sinaloa, the marine conservation program will contribute to the conservation of coastal land, coral reefs, sharks and marine mammals, in particular the Gray Whale, which breeds in the coastal lagoons of Baja California and spend the summers in Canadian and Arctic waters.
About Pronatura Noroeste: Pronatura Noroeste is a Mexican, civil and non-profit organization founded in 1991. Its mission is “the conservation of the flora, fauna and priority ecosystems of northwest Mexico, to promote the development of society in harmony with nature”.
Its regional mandate spans the ecoregions of the Baja California Peninsula, Sonora, Sinaloa and Nayarit, the western sections of Chihuahua and Durango along the Western Sierra Madre, the coasts of Jalisco and Colima, the Gulf of California and its islands, and Mexico’s Exclusive Economic Zone in the Pacific Ocean corresponding to the above mentioned states.
Pronatura Noroeste operates through regional programs focused on marine conservation, sustainable fishing, water and wetlands, terrestrial ecosystems, bird conservation, private land conservation, and education. It also collaborates in the operation of 18 natural protected areas, including national parks and biosphere reserves.
In 2016 Pronatura Noroeste received the National Ecological Merit Award, the most important recognition granted by the Mexican Government in the conservation field.
About the International Conservation Fund of Canada: With a mission to advance the long-term preservation of nature and biodiversity in the tropics and priority areas worldwide, the International Conservation Fund of Canada is a registered Canadian charity (#852478189RR0001) that since 2007 has carried out conservation work in Latin America, Africa and Asia. It partners with local conservation organizations who conduct joint project activities in the field.
The International Conservation Fund of Canada was the top ranked conservation charity in Canada in the Financial Post’s 2017 charity rating, and is rated four out of five stars by Chairty Intelligence Canada. Because core donors support all of ICFC’s administrative costs, 100% of all donations go directly to support conservation action on the ground.
