Shorebirds Conservation
Since 2009, FCM has been involved in the conservation of migratory shorebirds in southern Chile. Initially, we participated in the development of the first conservation plan for migratory shorebirds in Chiloé, and later in the implementation of conservation actions, community engagement, and legal protection of key sites to safeguard populations of the Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica) in the Los Lagos Region, southern Chile. This program has received support from various international and national organizations, including The Nature Conservancy, Manomet Inc., The International Conservation Fund of Canada, The Lucile and Packard Foundation, Rare Conservation, the Fish and Wildlife Service of the United States, the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (RHRAP), Santo Tomás University at Puerto Montt, the Municipalities of Maullín, Curaco de Vélez, Quinchao, and the Ministry of the Environment of Chile. Over 14 years of implementing the conservation plan, we have achieved the creation of three protected areas totaling about 8,330 hectares that provide critical habitat for feeding and resting for more than 50% of the population of Hudsonian Godwits that migrate from Alaska to southern Chile along the Pacific Flyway. Recognition and incorporation of much of the intertidal flats of the wetlands formed by the Maullín River into the RHRAP has also been achieved, providing essential habitat for feeding migratory and resident shorebirds. During this time, community involvement around these sites has grown, and through various actions, their interest and participation in this conservation process have increased. We continue to support the consolidation of these areas by supporting local processes, monitoring shorebird populations, generating knowledge for management, and strengthening local capacities for long-term empowerment.
Shorebirds Conservation in Chiloé
Since 2010, FCM has focused on the Bahía Curaco de Vélez marine wetland and, since 2019, on the Bahía Villa Quinchao wetland. Both wetlands are part of the RHRAP site Eastern Chiloé Wetlands Network and provide critical habitat for the feeding and resting of shorebirds, especially the Hudsonian Godwit. In Bahía Curaco de Vélez, FCM currently manages the protected area, designated as a Nature Sanctuary. In the Villa Quinchao protected area, FCM acts as a technical support organization, assisting in the creation proposal, the development of the management plan, supporting the monitoring of the shorebird community, and the installation of basic infrastructure to aid conservation and local tourism.
Shorebird Conservation in Maullín
Since 2005, FCM has been involved with this complex of wetlands, initially developing the first conservation proposal to CONAMA with a plan for the priority site of Maullín. In 2015, work at the site was resumed to propose it as a site of regional importance to the RHRAP, which was achieved in July 2016. From then on, sustained efforts have supported the Maullín municipality in establishing the first environmental ordinance, incorporating the local protection of five crucial wetlands for bird conservation. Afterward, efforts were made to propose almost the entirety of the Maullín River and its main tributaries in the lower area (San Pedro Nolasco and Quenuir rivers) as a Nature Sanctuary, due to their high conservation value for biodiversity, ecosystem services, and particularly for birds. In 2019, the request for creation was approved, and in April 2022, its status as a protected area was officially decreed by the State of Chile. Since then, FCM continues to support the conservation of the protected area by developing the management plan, constructing infrastructure to support local tourism and conservation, conducting local engagement activities to involve community members in the conservation of the Sanctuary and its birds, enhancing the capabilities of local birdwatching guides, supporting the monitoring of shorebirds, the Chilean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis), the Southern River Otter (Lontra provocax), and water quality in the lower Maullín River area, and generating knowledge to aid management decisions as part of the outcomes of the monitoring and research program.
