# Presentation: 206888

## Strategic Engagement in Seabird Conservation

***An Opportunities Assessment ***
***and Action Guide ***
***for the Waterbird Conservation Council***
**Prepared by Nicole Balloffet, **
**Wendel Landes and Nicole Le Boeuf**
**Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology Program**
**The University of Maryland, College Park**
**Quito, Ecuador - January 18, 2007**

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**Notes:**
Welcome and thank you to everyone for coming and, especially those on the phone from throughout the Americas. We’re very glad that you could join us and are looking forward to your comments on our findings and recommendations as we complete our work. 

My name is Nicole Le Boeuf, and my two teammates – Nicole Balloffet and Wendel Landes are also here. 

We’re here today to present the results of a semester-long assessment of how the Waterbird Conservation Council can strategically engage in seabird conservation in the Americas. 

This project was conducted by a team of three graduate students, as a part of required coursework in the University of Maryland’s Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology’s (CONS) Master of Science degree program. 

We conducted this analysis as a part of our coursework in the CONS Problem Solving Course. Problem solving is an opportunity for graduate students to work hand-in-hand with conservation professionals to solve a real-world problem or to provide them with a useful product to assist them in their endeavors. 

Before we begin, we would like to thank our client and partner in this, Jennifer Wheeler, of U.S. FWS, – a former CONS alumnus, as well as the Council, our fellow CONS students, and the CONS program for the opportunity to undertake such an exciting project. 

## Presentation Outline

- _State of Seabirds and their Conservation_
- Introduction
- Seabirds
- Organizational Response
- American Bird Conservancy
- Birdlife International

- Photo by: Mike Danzenbaker

- _UMD Findings and Recommendations_
- Findings – Seabirds and Council
- Recommendations
- Flagship Conservation
- Key Points for Discussion

**Notes:**
Before we begin, we’d like to provide you with a brief outline of how our presentation will proceed. 

Each of the three of us will be presenting portions of the presentation.  

I will begin and present information through Methods, while Wendel and Nicole will present our findings and recommendations. 

Then, I will be back to present the concept of flagship conservation (a way to promote species conservation through single species or group representatives) and to raise some key considerations for reflecting upon our analysis. 

## Introduction

- Our charge:
- “...the Council desires input on how it should become involved as an entity in seabird conservation. In what strategies and in collaboration with what partners is the Council most likely to provide added value? What projects are most appropriate and feasible for the Council’s current and possibly future membership?”

- Photo by: Eric Preston

**Notes:**
What were we asked to do? In a prospectus provided to us by you, we were told that.....see quote. 

We were asked to develop a present our findings via this presentation and via a more in-depth report, which is now in its final stages. 

We felt it was important to explicitly remind ourselves of this before we proceeded. We also believe it is important to reiterate that our project was framed within the concept of “strategic engagement” and stemmed from two decisions the Council recently made: 1) to focus efforts on seabirds; and 2) to expand its efforts to South America. 

So, what is strategic engagement? Strategic engagement is a concept widely used by business and development sectors as a way to capitalize on the strengths and bolster the weaknesses of individual groups working on similar or complementary activities. 

It is often synonymous with the act of individual organizations working together collaboratively to achieve common goals, while preserving each organization’s individualism and character. Being strategic is important where there are limited resources that must be used wisely and for the greatest positive impact. 

This concept and its relationship to the Council framed the scope of this project and prompted two primary directions of investigation – one into the state of seabirds and their conservation in the Americas and one into the make up and character of the Council itself.

As we began our research, we discovered that this concept was especially appropriate in examining seabird conservation, especially in South America. So, even though these two decisions may have been made independent of one another, but as our analysis shows, they are significantly intertwined. 

By requesting this analysis, under these terms, Council members seemed to have picked up on something very important – seabird issues in South America are ripe for increased collaboration and cooperation, and the Council may have an important role to play in that regard. 

## Seabirds

- Definitions and characteristics
- Natural history
- Seabird syndrome
- Families considered for analysis

-  Diomedeidae (albatrosses)
-  Procellariidae (petrels, shearwaters, fulmars)
-  Hydrobatidae (storm-petrels)
-  Phaethontidae (tropicbirds)
-  Sulidae (boobies and gannets)
-  Fregatidae (frigatebirds)
-  Alcidae (auklets, murres, puffins)
-  Tropical members of Laridae (terns and noddies)

- Photo Courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

**Notes:**
So, what are seabirds? 

The term “seabirds” is generally used to describe any species of bird, which spends a substantial part of its life foraging and breeding in the marine environment. Seabirds sometimes travel several hundred miles from land, for years at a time, coming inshore only to raise their young. 

Generally, they nest on remote, protected cliffs or islands in dense groups called colonies or rookeries. 

Seabird Syndrome - For all of you biologists, seabirds are not just K-selected, they are SUPER K-selected.

Seabirds place high levels of investment in reproductive behavior, forming tight pair bonds, with many species laying only one egg at a time. They are long-lived and slow to recover from natural and manmade perturbations. This reproductive strategy requires them to rely heavily on high sub-adult and adult survival rates. 

Threats to seabird survival, which you will hear more about in a moment, are exacerbated by these seabird natural history traits. 

For the purposes of this analysis, the consulting team was asked to consider species within the eight seabird families listed here. 

## Global Seabird Status

- IUCN Red List analysis
- Diomedeidae, Procellariidae, and Hydrobatidae make-up 47% of global seabird species and 74% of seabirds on IUCN Red List
- NAWCP Assessments
- All “highly imperiled” species within these families (11/11)
- Nearly 25% of species of “high concern” within these families (10/44)** **

**Notes:**
In order to get our heads around the global status of seabirds, we carried out an analysis using the IUCN Red List data.  While not perfect, it served as the only source of hemisphere-wide assessments
The most significant finding concerned three families of seabirds.  Most threatened species globally (Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters, Storm petrels)
Second tier – Murres, puffins, Auks     Gulls and terns
In many ways, the NAWCP assessments told a similar story.

## Global Seabird Status By Family 

**Global Seabird Status By Family **
**Based Upon the IUCN Red List**

**Notes:**
This chart will help to highlight the collective status of each of the seabird families that we considered as part of this project.   albatross, petrels shearwaters and fulmars, and storm-petrels

(animation arrows)

## Global Threats

- On Land
- Introduced mammalian predators, outright habitat loss, soil erosion and compaction, harvest

-  At Sea
- Bycatch in commercial fisheries,    prey depletion, water pollution, and ingestion of debris such as plastics
-  Emerging Issues
- Climate change, sea level rise

- Photo by: Graham Roberston

**Notes:**
The threats facing seabirds can be broken down into two fundamental categories – on land and at sea
The suite of global threats listed below apply to seabirds as a group - though each species faces a distinct set of threats 
Among the land-based threats - Introduced species were mentioned in interviews and by council members as the most significant within the category – many seabirds nest on the ground and evolved in the absence of mammals predators.  As such, as happened recently in Hawaii when a small number of dogs found their way into a fenced-off wedge-tailed shearwater colony, killing hundreds of chicks in a very short period of time. 
As with most species of birds, seabirds have also felt the impacts of increased urbanization and agriculture.
Finally, the harvest of adult seabirds and seabird eggs continues in some parts of the Americas.
Among the at sea threats, bycatch stands out as the most significant factor affecting declining populations, Impacts related to longlines tend to felt by the larger scavenging birds such as albatrosses of the Southern Oceans where there are large concentrations of birds and hooks. Gillnets in coastal waters are a concern in the north and tend to capture pursuit-diving species
The chronic and acute effects of oil pollution on seabirds continues to contribute to seabird declines particularly for those foraging over the continental shelf areas.
5. Several council members mentioned the effects of climate change and sea-level rise as concerns.  The possible effects of these issues are not fully understood, but it is clear that breeding colonies near the current sea level are likely to be as risk in the future. 

## International Response

- Fisheries
- FAO Code of Conduct and International Plan of Action for Seabirds
- Regional fisheries efforts

- Island Conservation
- Intensive local efforts around the world
- Needs

- Photo by: Juan Pablo Galvan

**Notes:**
Island residing bird species have experienced a disproportional number of extinctions compared with continental birds.  Scientists estimate that hundreds to more than 1000 island-residing species have gone extinct within the last several thousand years.
Within the Americas, Alaska and Hawaii made the most signficant early contributions to eradicate introduced predators.  In the Alaska maritime National Wildlife Refuge,  500,000 acres are now free of an exotic fox species that was causing significant declines in seabird populations.
There are ongoing projects in the Galapagos Islands and the Pacific coast islands of Mexico and California. In the Galapagos, one project has set the goal of removing goats from an island the size of Rhode Island.  Both of these projects involved significant assistance from the NGO community.
More needs to be done on this front.   key players have identified three critical needs to put the proven tools of island conservation to further use.  These include: improving measurements of success, making the scientific tools know as widely as possible, and the development of new techniques.  

## Council Partners – In Conservation Action

- Jennifer Arnold – American Bird Conservancy – Seabird Program
- Esteban Frere – Birdlife International – South America Seabird Program

**Notes:**
Island residing bird species have experienced a disproportional number of extinctions compared with continental birds.  Scientists estimate that hundreds to more than 1000 island-residing species have gone extinct within the last several thousand years.
Within the Americas, Alaska and Hawaii made the most signficant early contributions to eradicate introduced predators.  In the Alaska maritime National Wildlife Refuge,  500,000 acres are now free of an exotic fox species that was causing significant declines in seabird populations.
There are ongoing projects in the Galapagos Islands and the Pacific coast islands of Mexico and California. In the Galapagos, one project has set the goal of removing goats from an island the size of Rhode Island.  Both of these projects involved significant assistance from the NGO community.
More needs to be done on this front.   key players have identified three critical needs to put the proven tools of island conservation to further use.  These include: improving measurements of success, making the scientific tools know as widely as possible, and the development of new techniques.  

## Presentation Outline

- _State of Seabirds and their Conservation_
- Introduction
- Seabirds
- Organizational Response
- American Bird Conservancy
- Birdlife International

- Photo by: Mike Danzenbaker

- _UMD Findings and Recommendations_
- Findings – Seabirds and Council
- Recommendations
- Flagship Conservation
- Key Points for Discussion

**Notes:**
Before we begin, we’d like to provide you with a brief outline of how our presentation will proceed. 

Each of the three of us will be presenting portions of the presentation.  

I will begin and present information through Methods, while Wendel and Nicole will present our findings and recommendations. 

Then, I will be back to present the concept of flagship conservation (a way to promote species conservation through single species or group representatives) and to raise some key considerations for reflecting upon our analysis. 

## Conservation Gaps

- Knowledge
- At-sea distribution
- Impact of fisheries interactions
- Capacity
- Resources
- Technical expertise
- Integration
- No Western Hemisphere-wide body coordinating seabird conservation
- Species

**Notes:**
As part of our research, we identified several broad categories of conservation gap with respect to seabirds.
Several interviewees raised the issue of basic knowledge concerning seabird distribution – where are they, when are they there, and what resources are they using.  The data at hand concerning seabird bycatch and it’s relative impact at the  population level is another important gap.
 In some cases, there is limited capacity to carry out conservation goals related to seabirds. This may relate to a basic lack of resources or funding or to limitations on technical expertise.  In the case of large-scale island conservation efforts, the major difficulty is a limitation on conservation funds.

Integration – considering the international character of many seabirds, interviewees perceived lack of integration as a major obstacle.  There are  currently few international agreements or mandates that force integration and no real hemisphere-wide coordinating body.
Finally, we identified what we call a species gap which I will speak to at a little greater length.

## Species Gap

- Seabirds are a gap within waterbirds
- Procellariids are a gap within seabirds
- The majority are not a focus of ACAP in the Southern Hemisphere
- Basic baseline population and threat data are lacking
- Regional and species-specific work ongoing, but no coordinated effort for procellariids as a group

**Notes:**
The species gap finding begins with the fact that... seabirds themselves are a gap within bird conservation – they are often unseen and sometimes travel over multiple jurisdictions
Procellariids nesting in the Americas benefit little from the int’l focus of ACAP
Basic biological information such as population size and distribution is often lacking.  Some of the species nest on difficult to reach islands, and in the case of the Hawaiian Petrel in difficult to reach habitat at elevations over 3000 meters.  There is also limited data describing their threats, particularly related to fisheries.
Again, while actions are underway in many locations, there is no coordinated international effort to improve the status of this group

## Procellariids

- Ecology
- Migration
- Biological and    political links between north and south and beyond
- Threats

- From Shaffer et al. 2006

**Notes:**
I am going to continue to speak on our findings related to Procellariids.  As an identified gap, we chose to limit most of our status and threat analysis to these species
As an introduction, Procellariids are colonial, burrow nesting species of tropical and subtropical waters – particularly concentrated tropical pacific and the Southern Oceans
Unlike other species of seabirds, petrels and shearwaters are regular trans-equatorial migrants. As you can see in the image to the left from a study on Sooty Shearwaters by Shaffer et al., these birds, while not nesting in the Americas, criss-cross the Pacific and make routine stops off the coast of California and Mexico.  One of the birds traveled 39,000 miles in 292 days.  
This pattern holds for many of the procellariid species nesting in the Americas and provides an important link between north and south america.

## Nesting Sites of Procellariids in the Americas

**Nesting Sites of Procellariids in the Americas**

**Legend**

- Nesting Procellariids Present

- Nesting Procellariids Absent

- IUCN Red List Species

- IUCN Species of Least Concern

## Waterbird Conservation Council

- Reviewed NAWCP, annual meeting notes, website
- Interviews:
- Strengths
- Limitations
- Council benefits
- Council structure
- Best Council niche

- Photo by: Waterbird Conservation Council

**Notes:**
The second component of our research was to learn more about the history, objectives, interests, composition and structure of the Waterbird Conservation Council.

We reviewed the North American Waterbird Conservation Plan, Annual meeting notes and other materials gathered from the Council’s website or given to us directly by Jennifer Wheeler.

We placed primary emphasis on personal interviews with 28 individuals either on the council, affiliated with the council or active in seabird conservation.

These interviews included questions about the Council’s perceived:
Strengths & weaknesses
Membership benefits
Where the Council could best influence seabird conservation
And, whether the current structure and membership of the Council was sufficient to make an impact on seabird conservation.

## Waterbird Conservation Council

- Council structure
- 60% North America
- Little Policy/Fisheries
- Topical committees

- Strengths
- Passionate & dedicated people
- Diverse expertise & geographies
- Well-connected

- Council benefits
- Information node
- Networking
- Opportunities to make an impact

- Limitations
- Mainly voluntary
- Diverse expertise & geographies
- Little funding

**Notes:**
Here are some of the highlights from the Interview findings:
Strengths:	
Those we interviewed overwhelming said that one of the Council’s greatest strengths is that it is composed of Passionate & Dedicated People
The Council’s diverse expertise and varied perspectives and regions were also mentioned as strengths 
Many interviewees also noted that the Council is well-connected to influential organizations
Limitations:
One of the main limitations mentioned is that the Council is a largely voluntary body
While also mentioned as a strength, the Council’s Diverse expertise & Geographies contributed to concerns about the FOCUS of the council
A lack of Funding was cited as a limiting factor for the Council
Council Benefits 
Those we interviewed noted that they enjoyed belonging to the Council because of the opportunity to share information and gain perspective beyond their country or region
 The Chance to Network with great people
Opportunity to make an impact outside of an individual’s primary organization and region
Council Structure:
There was some concern about being able to address seabird conservation issues with the current structure and membership. 
A majority of members are based in North America
Few members with policy or fisheries expertise
The Council carries out actions as a body and through topical committees and there was some concern about committees which lack chairs. 

## Best Council Niche

- Opportunities and areas of collaboration
- Raising awareness
- Information sharing
- Influencing policy
- Leveraging funding
- Identifying research needs
- Capacity building

- Photo by: Waterbird Conservation Council

**Notes:**
I want to spend some time on the question about how the Council could best influence seabird conservation. This question generated the most varied response:

Many of those interviewed felt that the Council was uniquely positioned to Form Collaborations between people and organizations working in Seabird Conservation.

Others noted that as an international body, the Council could Raise the Awareness of seabird issues within organizations, governments, industry, and even within the conservation and birding community.

The Council already functions as an Information Node, which interviewees thought should continue, but it could also help ensure that seabird groups are not duplicating efforts.

Some hoped that the Council would take a larger role in Influencing Seabird Policy in the future, but that the Council could focus on providing information to NGOs and other groups with stronger advocacy and lobbying capacities.

While many interviewees noted that the Council was currently weak with regard to funding, many also felt that in the future, the Council could play an important role to Leverage Funding for large-scale initiatives.

Some also thought the Council could identify priority Research Needs and ideally leverage resources for them

A few noted that the Council could provide Capacity Building support both within the Council as well as within member’s regions as needed.

## Next Steps Should...

- Capitalize on existing members talents/interests
- Contain broad geographic coverage & connectivity
- Be tangible and focused
- Make use of existing connections; build new ones
- Build upon existing work, priorities, recommendations
- Engage members at individual & Council levels
- Inspire the Council to rally behind an initiative

**Notes:**
We used the information we collected in the interviews to conduct a SWOT analysis - essentially our perception of the Council’s internal strengths & weaknesses as well as the external opportunities and potential threats to success. 
We also constructed a problem tree, or a conceptual map of potential issues that could affect the success of the Council.
These exercises helped us develop goals for the recommendations that were grounded, as one interviewee said, “not only in what the Council should do, but also what it can do” 

We wanted our recommendations to:
 Engage existing Council members’ talents and interests
 Contain broad geographic coverage & connectivity and provide a feeling of inclusiveness
 Give the Council something tangible and focused
 Make use of existing connections and forge new ones between people and organizations
 Increase communication and collaboration between seabird groups
 Build upon existing work/priorities/recommendations –NABCI, NAWCP
Engage members at an individual level, yet use the Council’s collective strength
Inspire and give the Council a project/initiative to rally behind

## Recommendations

- Critical Issues to Promote
- Specific Projects
- Internal Affairs
- Flagship Conservation Concept

**Notes:**

We have organized our recommendations into four main areas:

 General Issues which we think the Council should become aware of and Raise awareness of

 Tangible projects that we think the Council and individuals can engage in right now

Internal Issues for the Council to address in order to implement the recommendations

And what we’re calling a Flagship Conservation Concept, which brings everything together.

## Critical Issues to Promote

- Protection of important habitat
- At-sea science
- Bycatch issues
- Oiling and pollution
- Climate change
- Identification of additional emerging threats

**Notes:**
As the Council begins to get more involved in seabird conservation as a body, we have identified these six critical issues, which we think the council should learn more about, talk about within the Council and promote within their sphere of influence.

As you can see, the list of issues we have identified as critical for the Council to promote mirrors the laundry list of threats facing seabirds.  We believe that the Council will be most effective if it identifies a few of these issues that it wants to promote as a BODY. I’m going to highlight a few and describe some ways the Council could consider taking action.

For example, the council could take on the role of promoting  legal protection of critical breeding habitat for seabirds.  The council could work to produce a document with descriptions of the (top 10? Or more) seabird breeding colonies in need of legal protections within the Americas.

The Council can approach promoting this issue in a variety of ways.  As I mentioned before, the Council needs to take advantage of the possible connections at professional meetings, conferences, and with important policy-makers.  It would make sense to have a list of talking points representing the Council’s issues in order to pass the word on. 

Individual Council members should also work to spread the word about the issues facing seabirds within their own organizations and up their respective chains of command.

Similarly, the issue of protections for seabird foraging areas is one the Council could choose to promote.  As nations make decisions about establishing Marine Protected Areas, the Council could help to ensure that seabirds are considered in that process by making connections with the right people. To facilitate this, the Council could also promote increasing at sea-science research.

In addition to each of these cases, the critical steps are identifying the critical issues that the COUNCIL will promote, creating a document bearing the Council’s name that can be circulated, and connecting with the right people to spread the word.

## Projects to Consider

- Seabird nesting site threat assessment
- Cost-effective seabird conservation
- ACAP
- Disseminate Technical Information

**Photo by: Falklands Conservation**

**Notes:**
In addition to promoting critical issues and to tap into the Council’s current expertise, we have identified a couple of specific projects that the Council could take on as a way to get more involved in tangible projects on seabird conservation.

Seabird nesting site threat assessment:
Island conservation issues were noted as one of the top issues affecting seabirds. Doing an assessment on seabird nesting sites is one way of not only generating information that can be used by organizations to promote nesting site protection, but also would raise the profile of these issues and the Council as a whole. While some work is already being done by various organizations, the Council could help ensure that organizations are not duplicating efforts, promote assessments in key sites, identify partners to head up the efforts, and help to secure funding for the project.

As noted, Information regarding what seabird species nest on islands, population size, threats, what conservation work is being done, and what the feasibility is of carrying projects, such as habitat restoration or predator eradication is needed. This information could be gathered into a publicly available report or data base.

Cost-effective seabird conservation:
High research costs, eradication campaigns, and other issues were often cited as limiting factors for engaging in seabird conservation. However, we heard from several people that it is much cheaper to prevent invasive species from reaching islands - for example, than it is to engage in eradication efforts. (example: by working with fishermen to ensure that they aren’t bringing invasive species to islands of the coast of Mexico) 

Rationale: We think there are potentially other cost-effective ideas out there for seabird conservation. The Council is composed of experts from a number of regions, engaged in conservation at various levels. We believe that if the the council came together to discuss this concept, they would generate numerous creative ideas and could produce a unique and useful resource - essentially, a guide to cost-effective seabird conservation.

## Internal Affairs 

- Funding
- Capacity building
- Membership and structure
- Outreach and awareness
- The inspiration factor

**Photo by: Karl Kaufmann**

**Notes:**

If the council is going to take on seabird conservation as an important focus and successfully carry out some of the projects I’ve just mentioned, then we think several internal issues will need to be addressed.
We heard from nearly everyone we interviewed that FUNDING for the council and potential projects is a concern. In addition, this appeared to generate quite a bit of discussion at the last annual meetings. There did not appear to be a consensus, however, on how the council should resolve funding issues. As the Council determines its priorities, the question of how to fund the implementation of the priorities comes into play.
We recommend that the council systematically approach the critical issue of funding at three levels:
 At the Large-scale level, we believe the Council should make sure that it takes advantage of large-scale funding opportunities such as (Neotropical Migratory Bird Species Initiative), and also ensure that seabirds are part of the agenda for other similar large-scale initiatives). Birdlife International has already taken the lead to determine what hemispheric funding opportunities are available.
The Council could also ensure that funds are available to carry out smaller-scale Council projects, such as a “Cost-effective seabird conservation guide” through the above large-scale grants or organizational funding
 At the Council level we recommend that the Council have a dialogue about priorities for funding, the pros and cons of acquiring a non-profit arm as well as staying as is, how to recover operational costs. We suggest that the Council then develop a fundraising plan to organize and guide the Council’s funding needs and opportunities.

In order to address Capacity Building, we suggest that the Council work with members to identify Council expertise, Council member’s needs and opportunities for Council members to provide support to regional work as needed. 
We suggest that the Council incorporate more members from South America, members with fisheries experience and additional high-level decision makers if the council wants to more fully engage in seabird conservation in the Americas.
We believe the it is essential for the Council to raise the profile of seabird issues within the Americas at Council meetings and at other  conferences. And it is important to Take credit for projects/initiatives the council has provided assistance to. The logo is great!)
Inspiration Factor: The success of the council is directly related to the interest and enthusiasm of the individuals on the council. We believe that Potential projects and initiatives need to engage and be relevant to individuals on the council and help them get inspired to take action around a tangible project that leads to measurable results. My colleague Nicole will now describe a project that we hope will inspire individuals on the Council.

## Flagship Conservation

- Flagship concept
- Conservation gap in procellariids
- Albatrosses and fisheries interactions
- ACAP coverage

- Distribution throughout the Americas
- Trans-equatorial migrants
- Substantial numbers breed in the Americas
- THE seabird of the Americas
- Would focus Council effort, expertise and experience

**Drawing by: Alexander Balloffet**

**Notes:**
The flagship concept is being increasingly used in conservation, especially where limited resources and capacity prevent wildlife professionals from conducting all of the world they may wish to do. 

Flagship species are often charismatic species that serve as a symbol and rallying point to stimulate conservation awareness and action but are often used synonymously as de facto umbrella species. 

Although albatrosses are generally considered THE flagship species for seabirds, as already noted, we’ve discovered that there are true conservation gaps within the Family Procellariidae. They are not being addressed by the only other major seabird conservation effort – ACAP. 

As a result, we see them as overlooked and in need of concerted effort and attention. 

To reiterate the points Wendel made earlier, substantial numbers of Procellariids either nest or forage within the Americas - ideally suited for the Council’s reach. 

Their known threats at breeding sites also lend themselves nicely to the Council’s experience and expertise, providing the Council with an opportunity for entering into the world of seabird conservation, in collaboration with ACAP, BLI and others, while focusing its efforts on a particular group of birds.  

## Flagship Conservation- Common Threads

**BirdLife International**

**Notes:**
To better understand these concepts, let’s look at the representative distribution of four species that can be found in the waters of the Americas. PFSH, black-capped petrel, Galapagos petrel, and Cook’s petrel. These birds are world travelers, and three of the four were chosen for our Strategic Species Assessments. 

PFSH – to us, this species is the quintessential seabird for the Americas....
BCP – was one of several species that represented the Atlantic Ocean and, in this case, ties together North and South, with breeding sites in the Caribbean
Galapagos petrel – Again a Pacific bird with ties in North, Central, and South America, breeding on perhaps the world’s most famous sites of endemism. A global treasure, which continues to need concerted conservation efforts to ensure there is suitable habitat for its species. 
Cook’s petrel – while not chosen for our species assessments, this bird, although it breeds in New Zealand, is very much an American bird as well. It winters in waters spanning the Americas, from the Aleutians to Chile. We believe that this species represents the extreme of the international needs of procellariids and links the Council and its work to those across the Pacific who are also heavily involved in seabird conservation. 

As previously indicated, these species span the Americas, providing a biological link for the Council’s geographic and political goals. 

In fact, we believe that Procellariids are THE seabird for the Americas, whether they breed or not. 

Again, they have similar issues to contend with – 

Common threats
Similar habitat needs
Lack of baseline data

Their distributions NECESSITATE cooperation throughout the Americas and beyond. 

## Flagship Conservation - Opportunities

- Promote an important issue in seabird conservation
- Strengthen ties and build capacity within South America and the Caribbean
- Raise Council’s profile within seabird community, increase collaborations and potential financial support
- Initiate a concerted effort and set priorities in the Americas

**Notes:**
Then, there are the opportunities that come with using procellariids as a flagship group......

1) Promotion of an important issue in seabird conservation, including efforts to raise the profile of procellariids with the public and within the seabird world

2) Strengthen ties and build capacity within South America and the Caribbean

3) Build the Council’s profile within the seabird community and the likelihood of future collaborations and support 

4) Initiate a concerted and focused conservation effort that has real potential for success

## Flagship Conservation - Strategic Species Assessments

**Notes:**
To provide the Council with a concrete way in which to implement our flagship recommendations, we developed what we called “Strategic Species Assessments”. 

Within the Family Procellariidae, we selected nine species with which to illustrate the potential for Council member engagement and to provide specific guidance on how this may be done. 

The species were selected based on a combination of factors, including conservation need, geographic distribution, and potential for the conservation of other seabird species. 

Unlike strictly using biological criteria, these species were chosen also by the extent to which we believed they would pique Council member interest and enthusiasm. 

For each, we prepared two-page outlines of the geographic distribution, conservation status, efforts being undertaken, and specific opportunities for Council involvement in the conservation. 

They also included something we call “species synergies” where.....

Perhaps most importantly, we provide a list of individual people and the organizations they are connected to as strategic contacts and potential collaborators for the Council. 

It is hoped that individual Council members will be familiar with one or more of these species and will use the information within the assessments to become more involved in these species’ conservation. Members could take these assessments with them to meeting and discuss with colleagues. 

These assessments are to be considered working documents, to be ground-truthed by individual Council members with more familiarity and expertise in these regions and with these species. 

## Strategic Connections

**Strategic Connections**

| WCC | ACAP | BLI | CEC/NABCI | PSG | Tri-Lateral | WHMSI |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |

**AC3**
**June 2007**
**ValdiviaChile**

**Tri-National Meeting**
**May 2007**
**Quebec City Canada**

**34****th**** Annual  Meeting**
**Feb **
**2007**
**Asilomar California**

**Migratory Bird Table**
**May**
** ****2007**
**Quebec City Canada**

**Notes:**
One of the recurrent themes in our interviews was the need for increased collaboration among individuals and groups working in seabird conservation.

As one interviewee said, “There is an appetite for people to come together.” We believe the council is in a unique position to capitalize on this by forming strategic connections.

This can be done by: 

Capitalizing on the Council’s strengths to partner with other organizations, utilizing combined talents to pursue shared goals

Mobilizing individual Council members to contact individuals within other groups and attend their meetings for the purposes of promoting the Council and its objectives

Working with other organizations to set priorities for seabird conservation in the Americas, including the sharing of ideas, expertise, resources, and through capacity building

To illustrate this concept, we’ve listed seven influential organizations and initiatives at the top of this slide.

On the left are six (anonymous) individuals who are either members of or affiliated with the WCC.
This individual is also affiliated with ACAP. As is this one.
This one is affiliated with Birdlife International. As is this individual.
These two are affiliated with the Committee Environmental Cooperation/North American Bird Conservation Initiative.
These three are affiliated with the Pacific Seabird Group.
These two with the Tri-lateral committee
And these two with the Western Hemisphere Migratory Species Initiative.

As you can see everyone is affiliated with multiple groups, including the Waterbird Conservation Council. What we aren’t sure about is whether these individuals are making connections between themselves. Or whether they are raising awareness of seabird issues and the Council outside of the auspices of the Council.

We think they could begin to forge strategic connections at several upcoming meetings.

Finally, I’m sure these names look  familiar.  Some are Council members, others are not but are closely or loosely affiliated with the Council. Perhaps those who are only affiliated should become members or more closely engaged with the Council. We are sure that numerous additional connections exist between the other Council members or could be further developed.

## Key Points for Consideration

- Conservation gaps and needs of seabirds in the Americas
- Interests/expertise of individual members and capability/capacity of entire Council
- Assets and abilities of other organizations with which the Council could collaborate
- Focused efforts on identified list of priorities
- Opportunities associated with promotion of flagship conservation

**Notes:**
Before we conclude and before the Council decides which of our recommendations to pursue, we’d like it to consider a few key points. 

Only the Council can ultimately decide how it wishes to engage in seabird conservation. Hopefully, this analysis will get them well on their way!

## Acknowledgements

**Notes:**
Of course, everyone has an acknowledgements page. However....

Our analysis would be so much less complete with out the invaluable insights from all of the individuals we spoke to in our interviews. 

We’d like to thank all of them for their honesty and openness about the direction of the Council and of seabird conservation as a whole. 

We’d also like to thank them for all of their passion and dedication to their field of work.

## Discussion

- Clarifying Questions
- General Impressions
- Ideas for Action
- Opportunities
- Challenges
- Leading the Way Forward

**Notes:**
Before we conclude and before the Council decides which of our recommendations to pursue, we’d like it to consider a few key points. 

Only the Council can ultimately decide how it wishes to engage in seabird conservation. Hopefully, this analysis will get them well on their way!

## Thank you and good luck!

- ¡Gracias y buena suerte!

- n

- Photo Courtesy of Juan Fernandez Island Conservancy

**Notes:**
Now, we’d like to take any questions you may have.