Bird conservation and its impact on sugarcane sustainability in the Cauca River Valley, Colombia

Leonardo Rivera-Pedroza¹, Diana Eusse-González², Giovanni Cárdenas², Fredy Fernando Garces Obando³ and Gloria M Lentijo⁴

¹Biology Department, Universidad del Valle – Meléndez, Calle 13 No. 100-00, Cali, Colombia;

²Asociación Calidris, Carrera 24 No. 4-20, Cali, Colombia

³Colombian Sugarcane Research Center – Cenicaña, Cali-Florida route km 26, Cauca Valley, Colombia

⁴National Audubon Society, 225 Varick St, New York, NY 10014, USA

Birds are a fundamental component of agroecosystems due to the goods and services they provide, including pollination, seed dispersal, and pest control. Despite these benefits, birds have been overlooked in biodiversity conservation planning for sugarcane crops in Colombia. In a partnership with Cenicaña and two bird research and conservation organizations, National Audubon Society and Asociación Calidris, a portfolio of agronomic practices and recommendations was developed to promote bird conservation and maintain the sustainability of sugarcane crops. The objective of this portfolio is to conserve biodiversity and the services it provides, creating a balance between food production and nature conservation. These practices and recommendations are derived from various sources: expert consultations, results and lessons learned from bird conservation initiatives and sugarcane management, and literature reviews. This portfolio consists of eight recommendations that farmers can incorporate into their lands through farm planning processes and were published in the manual «Un canto dulce: las aves en la caña de azúcar». The recommendations celebrate the region’s natural wealth and raise farmers’ awareness about biodiversity conservation, which is vital for achieving environmental sustainability and more climate-resilient sugarcane landscapes.