Every year, millions of shorebirds depend on a network of sites along the Pacific Coast of Latin America. Despite their importance, many of these sites are threatened by coastal development. In 2017, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology developed a fellowship program that aims to improve the protection of shorebirds and coastal habitats along the Pacific Coast in Latin America. The Coastal Solutions Fellows Program targets early-career leaders who are highly motivated to tackle complex challenges that threaten the integrity of coastal habitats. Our goal is to cultivate, train, and catalyze a collaborative network of scientists, designers, conservationists, biologists, architects, engineers, and planners to improve coastal resiliency from Mexico to Chile. The CSF program is working to address these challenges by: (1) fostering collaborations among disciplines and sectors; and (2) building the knowledge base and capacity of Latin American professionals. Over the initial 6 years of the program, we expect to establish a network of 30 fellows, 150 mentors and collaborators, and 200 partner organizations. The program has successfully launched 3 cohorts, with 18 fellows in eight countries, with 95 partner organization supporting their initiatives. Through their Coastal Solutions projects, our fellows are already changing the conservation landscape in Latin America, establishing new natural protected areas, crafting policy instruments for wetland conservation, designing climate adaptation strategies, and reaching agreements with coastal stakeholders for the implementation of sustainable management practices.

In this presentation we will share the basic design of the program, our key outcomes, and you will meet two fellows who will share their experiences, results and perspectives.