SPBO Accomplishes a Decade of Bird Conservation Efforts San Pancho Bird Observatory
May 30, 2023

On March 30, SPBO received recognition for our efforts in the implementation of climate change adaptation measures for the tourism industry in Mexico. This recognition was granted in the Mexican Senate during a meeting with representatives of the United Nations Development Program, the German Embassy in Mexico and the German Cooperation Agency (GIZ).

We were recognized for the MILA project (Integral Management of Water Lilies) in the San Pancho estuary.

The project was co-designed with a group of experts in Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Measures (EbA) as part of the ADAPTUR team, as a result of more than a decade of work in restoring the San Pancho estuary.

In 2022, during 28 weeks between the months of February and August, the MILA project coordinated more than 2,000 hours of volunteer and paid work; managing to manually remove more than 80 metric tons of lilIies to dry on the beach, thus avoiding the massive mortality of fish and aquatic life and maintaining the biotic functioning of the estuary.

The first activity of the 2023 MILA Project happened at the beginning of February. We organized a community event for International Wetlands Day, which had the support of the local government, businesses and civil society organizations to offer the community a series of talks, bird watching and environmental education activities aimed at improving the knowledge about biodiversity in the San Pancho estuary. Since the beginning of February we have continued to carry out the preventive cleaning of water lilies, to date we have extracted more than 4 tons of seeds and mature lilies.

We are currently working on obtaining a temporary concession for an area adjacent to the old wastewater treatment plant that would allow us to optimize the intensive management of the lilies to convert them into compost that we will use to grow native plants along the San Pancho stream. with the goal of restoring water flow and revitalizing the coastal wetland and riparian ecosystem.

We thank the entire team involved in the ADAPTUR initiative for adaptation to climate change in the tourism industry in Mexico, promoted by the German Cooperation Agency (GIZ). We extend our congratulations to the people from civil society organizations, companies, academic institutions and government entities that make this joint effort possible. Together we are managing to transform the tourism industry in Mexico to make it a regenerative economic activity for the ecosystems and communities on which it depends.

Learn more about project MILA

SPBO`s Membership Program

In order to be able to maintain the organization at the service of bird conservation in the long term and in a sustained manner, it is necessary to have the participation of people, both local and from other latitudes, who contribute to the development of programs and activities that allow compliance with the organization's mission to advance the conservation of wild birds and their habitats. Read more on SPBO membership program 2023

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