The 2012 Shift
A New Strategic Direction
The 2012 NAWMP Revision (hereafter 2012 Revision) presented a new strategic direction that challenged the waterfowl conservation community to expand support from people, especially hunters, birders and other conservation-minded citizens, to achieve interrelated goals for populations, habitat and people. The 2012 Revision clearly articulated three fundamental goals for waterfowl populations, habitat and people. Two years later, goals for populations and habitat were revised, and objectives for increasing the number of people supporting waterfowl conservation were developed (NAWMP 2014).
Understanding People
Integrating Social Sciences
The 2018 Update reaffirmed these fundamental goals and summarized progress on incorporating social sciences to advance understanding of people's preferences and perspectives about waterfowl and wetland conservation (NAWMP 2018). Importantly, the 2018 Update set the groundwork required to incorporate an understanding of people's values for and relationship with nature into the North American waterfowl conservation enterprise. It also provided excellent early examples of achievements by NAWMP partners that integrated people into waterfowl conservation efforts.
Rooted in Tradition
The Role of Hunters and Indigenous Communities
Waterfowl hunters have been among the most important and strongest supporters of the NAWMP since its inception, and they remain so today. In fact, hunters were prominent and steadfast supporters of conservation of North American waterfowl since the early 1900s. The roots of waterfowl hunting in North America run deep. Hunting was a fundamental element of Indigenous livelihoods, cultures and traditions long before the arrival of Europeans. For instance, in Mexico, waterfowl hunting was a source of food and raw material for the nomadic groups of the north as well as for the cultures established in Mesoamerica. The harvest of free-living waterfowl remains important in Mexico due to the potential this activity represents for nature-based economic development and diversification in rural and Indigenous communities. Further, Indigenous communities across the continent have long been strong advocates for land, water and wildlife conservation, and are valued partners in waterfowl co-management.
Growing the Tent
Expanding the NAWMP Support Base
It is increasingly clear that hunters and many other people also appreciate the social, cultural and ecological benefits provided by waterfowl habitats conserved under the NAWMP. The ongoing and critical support of waterfowl hunters, along with the growing interest of other conservationists, offers an opportunity to further strengthen the NAWMP support base. Measuring, communicating and engaging new audiences with the narrative of multiple benefits provided by NAWMP conservation activities presents a compelling strategy to increase and diversify supporters, partners and resources to increase the scale and rate at which we conserve waterfowl habitat. The expanded supporter base resulting from successful execution of this strategy will include people and their communities that are dependent on the multiple benefits of wetlands, including clean and abundant water supplies, flood mitigation, conservation of biodiversity, resources available for subsistence and medicinal uses, customs and traditions, and many other outcomes.
