At COP28, Nature-Based Solutions are Needed to Combat Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the leading bird conservation organization in the Americas, the National Audubon Society will join world leaders at the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) to call for a focus on nature-based climate solutions that address the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. Audubon’s COP28 delegation will include CEO Elizabeth Gray, Vice President Of Climate Sarah Rose, Colombia Country Director for Audubon Americas Camilo Cardozo, and Chief Strategy Integration Officer Allison Vogt. 

“This year’s conference will play a critical role in coordinating climate policy that affects us at every level. We must fight for outcomes that can ensure birds—and our own communities—thrive,” said Elizabeth Gray, CEO of the National Audubon Society. 

Global policymakers at COP15 in Montreal pledged to protect biodiversity and conserve 30 percent of land, water, and seas by 2030, and COP28 presents the opportunity to do more to halt and reverse nature loss. As Audubon scientists found in a 2021 study, critical bird habitats often overlap with key ecosystems that also serve as natural carbon sinks and habitats for many species. Strategically restoring and maintaining priority landscapes like wetlands, forests, and grasslands will provide safe havens for birds and other wildlife while also helping to mitigate the effects of climate change. 

“Birds are dying at an alarming rate from habitat loss and our warming planet, but the solutions are clear: we can reverse this alarming trend for birds and mitigate the effects of climate change on people and the planet by focusing on nature-based climate solutions,” said Elizabeth Gray. “When we conserve bird habitat, we do more than protect biodiversity; we invest in the critical carbon-reducing benefits these ecosystems provide to combat climate change.”

To raise awareness about the effectiveness of nature-based solutions, Audubon will host a panel at the Nature Positive Pavilion to which the press is invited:

Thriving Together: Resilience of Birds, Wetlands, and Communities Across the Americas
Saturday, December 2 at 3:00 p.m. GST 
This panel will focus on wetlands, which can play an outsized role in supporting people and wildlife in the face of climate change by shoring up food security, protecting against sea level rise and storm surges, and providing critical animal habitat. Led by Dr. Elizabeth Gray, CEO of the National Audubon Society, this panel will showcase three sustainable wetland projects in Panama, Colombia, and the United States, including the best management practices across varying types of wetlands and how this work can be scaled for the greatest impact.

Audubon staff are using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation to advance nature-based solutions across the Western Hemisphere. This includes working with partners to restore 100 acres of wetlands in an industrialized but biodiverse area in Chicago, co-leading the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust’s efforts to enhance water quantity and quality for Great Salt Lake, engaging on the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, Louisiana’s most ambitious coastal restoration project to date, and restoring marine-coastal ecosystems in Latin America and the Caribbean, where mangroves play a key role. 

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About Audubon 
The National Audubon Society is a nonprofit conservation organization that protects birds and the places they need today and tomorrow. We work throughout the Americas towards a future where birds thrive because Audubon is a powerful, diverse, and ever-growing force for conservation. Audubon has more than 700 staff working across the hemisphere and more than 1.5 million active supporters. North America has lost three billion birds since 1970, and more than 500 bird species are at risk of extinction across Latin America and the Caribbean. Birds act as early warning systems about the health of our environment, and they tell us that birds – and our planet – are in crisis. Together as one Audubon, we are working to alter the course of climate change and habitat loss, leading to healthier bird populations and reversing current trends in biodiversity loss. We do this by implementing on-the-ground conservation, partnering with local communities, influencing public and corporate policy, and building community. Learn more at www.audubon.org and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @audubonsociety.

Media contact:
Robyn Shepherd, robyn.shepherd@audubon.org