SWIA is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization founded in 1979, initially begun as a local effort to protect the Tijuana River estuary from development. Through grant funding, SWIA now supports significant coastal wetland research, conservation and restoration programs. More recently, SWIA has initiated climate change resilience, adaptation and education to its mission.
Since 1979, SWIA has managed over $40 million of wetlands projects and programs in and around the Tijuana Estuary and elsewhere within the southern California coastline. Much of the Tijuana River Watershed is within Baja California and SWIA participates in binational conservation and management collaborations with Mexican conservation partners.
SWIA works in collaborative partnerships with federal, state, and local agencies and is a Cooperating Association with California State Parks and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
SWIA specializes in the field of estuarine ecology and has earned a reputation in Southern California as a strong, knowledgeable and fiscally responsible organization with funders and partners alike.
SWIA has an entirely volunteer Board of Directors dedicated to supporting and further SWIA’s mission.
