Photo: Harpy Eagle, Keith Freeburn/Audubon Photography Awards
When: Thursday, November 7, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Where: Virtual
Tickets: FREE
Although it is only about three-quarters the size of Virginia, Panama has recorded more than 1,000 bird species. Each year millions of migratory shorebirds fuel their journeys across this narrow isthmus that connects the continents, making this small country tremendously important to migratory avifauna. Panama Bay alone hosts a third of the global population of Western Sandpipers, a fifth of the world’s Semipalmated Plovers, and dozens of other North American migratory bird species.
Join us for a presentation by Julio Montes de Oca and Adriana Moreno on Audubon Americas’ work supporting bird conservation in Panama. Audubon America has been working in Panama since 2006. Its most recent focus has been a collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank and Panama Audubon Society on the “Blue Natural Heritage Project,” a project supporting carbon capture, biodiversity, human well-being, and coastal resilience. The project aims to elevate the importance of Panama’s coastal mangrove ecosystems and related wetlands, the carbon they sequester, and the biodiversity and livelihoods they support.
We offer this virtual presentation in association with a March 12-25, 2025 international trip to Panama organized by Holbrook with NVBA. Jill Hayes of Holbrook will also join us and be available to answer questions.
Julio Montes de Oca is the Director of Coastal Resilience for National Audubon Society/Audubon Americas. A dual Costa Rican and Mexican citizen, he holds a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology (USA) and a Master´s degree in Human Ecology from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium). Julio has worked for non-governmental organizations, cooperation agencies, and international treaties, with more than 15 years of experience in policy and development and implementation of water resources, wetlands, and ecosystem-based adaptation projects in Latin America. Before his experience in the environment and development sectors, Julio worked in the fuel ethanol industry in Costa Rica.
Adriana Z. Moreno Acosta, Project Manager, is the local administrator for the “Valuing, Protecting and Enhancing Coastal Natural Capital in Panama” project. Venezuelan, she is a Marine Biologist with a variety of valuable experience as an environmental consultant assisting in the repopulation of bodies of water, middle and high school biology teacher and writer and editor for a renowned website tackling economics, politics, women's rights and environmental issues in Venezuela. In Panama, she has coordinated projects for private environmental consulting firms, which included environmental impact assessment and studies, urban and territorial planning, and environmental education.