Ithaca, NY—The new Coastal Solutions Fellows Program at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology introduces the Class of 2019, its first cohort of fellows. From Mexico to Chile, these six early-career professionals will be devoted to developing collaborative solutions to coastal challenges along the Pacific Coast.

"Coastal ecosystems along the Pacific coast of the Americas are threatened by problems related to climate change, water management, aquaculture, and wetland degradation," explains program leader Osvel Hinojosa-Huerta. "That, in turn, affects not only migratory shorebirds that use these areas as important refueling stops but also coastal communities that rely on these ecosystems for protection from storms and flooding and even for their livelihood."

The Cornell Lab and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation partnered to create the Coastal Solutions Fellows Program. The goal is to build a community of leaders from across a wide range of relevant disciplines and countries to find answers to widespread coastal environmental problems.

"The decline of shorebird populations worldwide represents the number one bird conservation crisis we are facing today," said John W. Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell Lab. "These birds depend on the health of aquatic systems—shorelines of oceans, estuaries, rivers, lakes and marshes—just as we do. We are really excited to receive the first class of the Coastal Solutions Fellows Program, bringing together engineers, architects, conservationists, and scientists who will develop cross-sectoral solutions to address the multiple threats that coastal habitats are facing."

"I am really honored to be a Coastal Solutions Fellow,” said Leslie Ponce de León, a Mexican landscape architect. "I am looking forward to developing a vision of a resilient community and a sustainable coast, by implementing green infrastructure techniques with the community."

"I strongly believe that interdisciplinary work is the key for developing holistic solutions for coastal conservation,” said Johann Delgado, a civil engineer who will work on solutions to mitigate climate change on the coast of Colombia. "This program is a great opportunity to achieve these collaborations and implement effective strategies to protect our coasts."

L-R: Leslie Ponce de Leon, Johann Delgado, Natalia Martinez, Jonathan Vargas, Sharon Montecino, and Richard Johnston.

Each fellow’s project will be conducted with a local host institution, targeting a specific threat at a priority wetland site along the Pacific Coast, with the participation of a multi-disciplinary team. The six Coastal Solutions Fellows of 2019 and their projects (depicted left to right above):

• Leslie Ponce de Leon—Master plan and green infrastructure in the San Quintin Bay, Baja California, Mexico.
• Johann Delgado—Evaluation of the coastal resilience in the Bay of Buenaventura, Colombia, in the face of extreme wave events and sea level rise under climate change.
• Natalia Martinez—Integrating eco-physiological and socio-economic aspects to reduce the impact of aquaculture on shorebirds.
• Jonathan Vargas—Mitigation of disturbance on migratory shorebirds at Todos Santos Bay, Mexico.
• Sharon Montecino—Our hands, your wings: shorebirds in Chile and reduction of their threats in a priority site of the Pacific Migratory Flyway in America.
• Richard Johnston—Estuaries of the future: opportunities for habitat improvement for shorebirds and communities in the North Coast of Nariño, Colombia.

The work of the fellows ranges from conservation to architecture to green infrastructure, and from ecological research to coastal engineering and community involvement. Each of them incorporates at least four important partners: local governments, community organizations, academia, and the private sector. The interactions and synergies of these sectors across the region will create a network of experts on coastal solutions that can grow and be replicated throughout Latin America, to benefit both migratory shorebirds and human coastal communities.

Media Contact:
Pat Leonard, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, (607) 254-2137, pel27@cornell.edu