Natural Climate Solutions

Maintaining and restoring key ecosystems will help combat climate change and biodiversity loss.

Many of the places that serve as critical bird habitat also have the potential to absorb greenhouse gases and naturally store carbon. These forests, grasslands, working lands, coastal ecosystems, and other landscapes can also help protect drinking water sources, make food systems more resilient, and reduce climate risks like flooding, drought, and extreme heat. That is why ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ is working to conserve and maintain more lands and water bodies across the Americas to combat the climate and biodiversity crises.

Investing in the integrity and resilience of farms, fields, wetlands, mangroves, and other key ecosystems will help achieve this goal. Landowner and community engagement play a vital role in management and stewardship. 

̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ is working with partners to bring nature-based solutions and bird-friendly practices to these landscapes to achieve conservation and sustainable-development impacts at a significant scale. This work includes the Conservation Ranching initiative, which offers incentives for good grassland stewardship through a certification label on beef products in the U.S., and the Americas Flyways Initiative, which is building strategic partnerships to mobilize private and public funding for natural climate solutions and bird-friendly infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean. Staff are also engaged in local and regional projects like the conservation of mangroves and salt marshes, some of the most carbon-rich ecosystems. 

 

Did you know?
  • ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡â€™s 2021 report identified 538 million acres of priority forest, 76 million acres of priority grasslands, and 24.7 million acres of priority coastal wetland habitats in the U.S. 
  • In Colombia, the Sustainable Cattle Ranching Playbook developed by ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ and partners is now used by cattle ranchers associations to promote bird conservation across landscapes. 
  • More than 100 ranches in the U.S. now carry the ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ Certified bird-friendly seal, a package label that recognizes lands managed for birds and biodiversity.

What We're Doing

1
Advocating for science-based policies at the national, state, sub-national, and local levels. 
Staff work to promote the advancement of natural climate solutions through public policies that provide incentives for conservation.
2
Carrying out and supporting on-the-ground conservation action.
Our staff are working on projects that protect nature and restore natural ecosystems.
3
Working with partners to make working lands more bird friendly.
Through programs like Conservation Ranching, regenerative agriculture, and Bird-Friendly Maple, participants adopt sustainable approaches and manage their lands to improve bird habitat. 

Natural Climate Solutions Throughout the Hemisphere

̽»¨¾«Ñ¡â€™s 2021 Natural Climate Solutions Report studied ecosystems across the U.S. that are critical to both carbon storage and to birds, both now and under future climate change, and found that these regions often overlapped.  

The Latest

Four Ways Congress Can Help Birds And People This Year
January 17, 2024 — Returning lawmakers have an opportunity to help birds, the climate, and our own communities.
A small yellow and black bird perches on a vine amid out of focus green leaves.
Using Science to Craft Conservation Policy that Emphasizes Biodiversity in a Changing Climate
April 18, 2023 — As the Biden Administration implements the America the Beautiful initiative, a new study identifies areas most likely to provide refuge for plants and wildlife as temperatures warm.
Why Climate Matters for Birds, on Earth Day and Every Day
April 10, 2023 — ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ is protecting birds and the places they need in a climate-altered world.
Mangroves, a Line of Defense Against Climate Change
July 27, 2022 — Julio Montes de Oca, director of Coastal Resilience for the Americas, shares how ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ is advancing in Latin America and the Caribbean one of the priority hemispheric strategies.
See How Climate Change Will Affect Birds Near You
April 29, 2022 — Learn about ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡'s most recent science report: Survival by Degrees: 389 Bird Species on the Brink
Climate Change Threatens Seabirds on Both Land and Sea
September 24, 2020 — Protecting birds and people from sea-level rise and warming oceans is a critical part of climate action.
Higher Water Levels Make Nesting More Difficult for South Florida Spoonbills
June 30, 2020 — Roseate Spoonbills faced a tough nesting season.
New York's Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefit Act
February 21, 2020 — The Governor's proposal includes measures to protect threatened and endangered species.
Best of 2019: ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ North Carolina in Action
December 18, 2019 — From nesting Least Terns to new native plants laws, the ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ network rallied to protect North Carolina’s birds and the places they need in 2019.
Explore Our Climate Change Cover
October 10, 2019 — Using a zoom tool, you can peruse the photos of ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ members that make up this image of a Great Gray Owl.