Abstract

Bird populations in the American continent and the Caribbean region are declining. Reversing this trend and effectively conserving birds is a responsibility that should be shared among all nations in the region. Support for conservation efforts often depends on several factors, many of which relate more to people than to birds. For example, relying on the approval of politicians, managers and local communities is a necessary strategy to implement conservation-related public policies. In the few past years, an academic field has emerged in the intersection between bird conservation and the social sciences. In this paper, we explore the origins of this field, and identify strategies that can be used by the scientific community and conservation professionals to incorporate the conservation social sciences into their work and obtain more effective results.