News

6th July 2010: A nightingale from Norfolk sang in Guinea-Bissau

British scientists have solved a major mystery of the natural world by tracking for the first time a migratory songbird on its winter journey through Africa. The bird, a male nightingale code-named OAD, left Britain on 25 July last year after nesting in Norfolk, and travelled through France and Spain and down the coast of West Africa to Guinea-Bissau, the former Portuguese colony which is one of Africa's smallest and least-known states, where it spent the winter. It returned to Britain in April.

The tracking of its incredible 3,000-mile odyssey was made possible by using a tiny "data logger" locator device fitted to the bird which has lifted the curtain on one of wildlife's great enigmas: where exactly do our migrant birds go in the winter? The discovery is likely to prove vital in finding out why many of these species, such as spotted flycatchers, wood warblers and whinchats, have begun to decline sharply in Britain and Europe, as it may be on their African wintering grounds that they are running into trouble. As reported in The Independent last week, nightingale numbers in Britain have fallen by 91 per cent in the past 40 years.

The findings have been made possible by the miniaturisation of tracking devices, which are now so small they can be fitted to birds weighing only a few grammes, without hindering them on their vast migrations. Nightingale OAD was captured on 2 May last year near Methwold Hythe in Norfolk, and fitted with a tiny geolocator by researchers from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). Geolocators were developed by the British Antarctic Survey for tracking albatrosses. They use a light sensor and a memory chip to record the light level against a clock and a calendar, from which latitude and longitude on a particular date can be deduced. However, the geolocators are not big enough to transmit the information directly.

The one fitted to OAD, which was developed by the Swiss Ornithological Institute, weighed just one gramme and was the size of a shirt's button. As a result, birds fitted with the devices had to be recaptured on their return to Britain so the locator could be recovered and the data downloaded for analysis. After its breeding season, the bird, which was probably born in 2007, left Britain's shores somewhere near the border of Kent and Sussex, crossed the Channel, and headed due south down through Central France, crossing the Pyrenees in mid-August.

It turned down the eastern side of Spain and crossed the Mediterranean from the region of Almeria to Morocco, where it had a three-week stopover from late August to mid-September for rest and feeding. These stopover sites are increasingly seen as crucially important, and if they are suffering from environmental degradation, that may be a reason for declines in bird numbers.

Having rested and refuelled, OAD carried on flying down the Atlantic coast of Africa, through the Western Sahara and Mauritania, into Senegal and finally to Guinea-Bissau, where it arrived in mid-December, and spent about six weeks. It departed on its spring migration back to Britain in February this year, about which time the geolocator failed. But researchers believe it arrived in Norfolk in mid-April, and it was caught again on 9 May.

The researchers say that the word "breakthrough" is not too strong a description of what the geolocator's data showed. Scientists have traditionally relied on the recovery of birds which had been ringed in order to reconstruct their journeys. Although this works well enough within Britain and Europe, the number of recoveries of European-ringed migrants south of the Sahara has been minimal. In many cases, nothing whatsoever has been known about where European migrants fly to, once they cross the Mediterranean in the late summer, and head out into the vast African continent.

Source: The Independent

24th June 2010: NatureKenya oppose the destruction of Dakatcha Woodland IBA

NatureKenya is working alongside local community members to oppose the destruction of a vitally important woodland for biodiversity and people at the Kenya's coast. In total 50,000 ha have been identified for conversion to grow Jatropha - a plant used for biodiesel production which is largely untested and potentially destructive. The area identified poses a threat to Dakatcha Woodland Important Bird Area (IBA) which lies within the proposed development.

Dakatcha is an extensive tract of relatively intact coastal woodland, north of the Sabaki River and between 25 and 50 km inland from the Kenyan coast. It is an IBA and Key Biodiversity Area for many Globally Threatened species such as Endangered Clarke's Weaver Ploceus golandi.

Dakatcha is also the ancestral land for the indigenous minority Watha community. The Watha gain invaluable ecosystem services from the forest such as clean stream water for drinking, and a sustainable supply of firewood for cooking and lighting.

NatureKenya works with many community groups called Site Support Groups in and around priority conservation sites across the country. At Dakatcha, Nature Kenya - in collaboration with various partners - has initiated alternative livelihood activities including promotion of bee keeping, ecotourism and development of sustainable forestry management to conserve the Dakatcha Woodlands IBA.

Sadly, the County Council of Malindi and Kenya Jatropha Energy Ltd. have announced the setting aside of 50,000 ha of land within Dakatcha and the surrounding areas for conversion to Jatropha Plantations. "Jatropha curcas is an untested and potentially destructive plant", said NatureKenya's Director - Paul Matiku. "Large scale clearing of land for plantations in the Dakacha area will erode the fragile soil and take up scarce water".

NatureKenya is working alongside the Dakatcha Woodland Conservation Group SSG and Dakatcha Woodland Community Forest Association to fight the plans which endanger the future of both local people's livelihoods, and Globally Threatened biodiversity.

Speaking about the felling of indigenous trees before the completion of an Environmental Impact Assessment report, Paul Matiku warned: "any further cutting of forest, woodland or thicket in Dakatcha will damage the ability of the landscape to be a water catchment and protect the soil from erosion; and threaten with extinction plants and animals which Kenya has a global responsibility to conserve".

The local conservation group and the general community have held demonstrations in Mulunguni area, and communities in Chamari and Mulunguni villages have filed a court case against Kenya Jatropha Energy Ltd. to stop alienation of their land.

This week NatureKenya, the East African Wildlife Society, Youth for Conservation and community representatives held a press conference to oppose the project where local people spoke out. Joshua Kahindi, a representative of the Dakatcha community, decried the: "alienation of land from local communities to be given to the Kenya Jatropha Energy Ltd". "The community was not adequately consulted", said another member of the local community - Jacob Kokani. "We are against the project as it will displace us from our ancestral land", he concluded.

Source: BirdLife

24th June 2010: Vultures in Africa

Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres - one of Africa's largest birds of prey - is believed to be under threat from the followers of muti magic in South Africa, who mistakenly believe smoking dried vulture brains will confer supernatural powers upon gamblers enabling them to predict match results from the forthcoming football World Cup.

Betting on the outcome of World Cup games will be big business and conservationists believe superstition and sorcery will be powerful attractions for gamblers desperate to increase their chances of a big win, placing even more pressure on the Cape vulture, which is already classified as facing global extinction.

Mark Anderson is the Executive Director of BirdLife South Africa. He said: "Many vultures species across the world are in trouble. Our very own species in southern Africa is declining sharply for a number of reasons, including reduced food availability, deliberate poisoning and electrocution from electricity pylons. The harvesting of the bird's heads by followers of muti magic is an additional threat these birds can't endure."

The RSPB's Dr Chris Magin works with BirdLife South Africa. He said: "One in every six of the world's birds of prey are facing extinction and during the past two decades vultures have virtually vanished from West Africa, South Asia and other parts of the world."

Steve McKean, from KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife, has been studying the decline of vultures related to the harvesting of birds for muti magic. He said: "Our research suggests that killing of vultures for so-called 'traditional' use could render the Cape Vulture extinct in some parts of South Africa within half a century. In the worst case, the Cape Vulture could be suffering population collapse within 12 years."

Conservationists remain concerned that most vultures are killed for muti magic are killed using the poison Aldicarb, which is also lethal to humans.

André Botha, manager of the Birds of Prey Working Group at the Endangered Wildlife Trust in South Africa, said: "Vultures fulfill an important ecological role as scavengers and their absence in Africa indicates an unhealthy environment. This threat is also known to occur widely in East and West Africa and poses a threat to all species of vulture on the African continent."

"Vultures are currently considered among the most threatened bird groups in Africa, with four out of eleven species Globally Threatened according to BirdLife International on behalf of the IUCN Red List", said Dr Julius Arinaitwe - Head of BirdLife's Africa Secretariat. "It is our duty to save them", he concluded.

Source: BirdLife

30th May 2010: African Penguin status

Each year BirdLife International revises the Red List for the bird species of the world. Today they announced that the African Penguin has gone from Vulnerable to Endangered. This assessment is based on rigorous criteria, for the penguin, the population has crashed by more than 50% in the past 30 years, signalling a strong warning to conservationists.

BirdLife International report that recent data have revealed that the African Penguin is undergoing a very rapid population decline, probably as a result of commercial fisheries and shifts in prey populations. Worryingly, the assessment notes that this trend shows no sign of reversing, and immediate conservation action is required to prevent further declines.

In 1956, the first full census of the species was conducted, and 150,000 pairs were counted. These were the birds that had survived more than a century of sustained persecution, principally from egg collecting and guano scraping. In 2009, after another decrease (the global population fell another 10% from the 2008 count), there were only 26 000 pairs. Those numbers represent a loss of more than 80% of the pairs in just over 50 years, equivalent to around 90 birds a week, every week since 1956!

“The colonies around our coast have shrunk to dangerously small numbers.” said Dr Ross Wanless, Seabird Division Manager for BirdLife South Africa. “Now the colonies are very vulnerable to small-scale events, such as bad weather, seal predation **or** seagulls taking eggs. In a large, healthy population these events were trivial. Now, they have potentially serious consequences. We’re almost at the point of managing individual birds.” he continued.

Dr Rob Crawford, chief scientist for Marine & Coastal Management, the government department responsible for monitoring and protecting seabirds, has worked on the African Penguins for more than 30 years. He said “While it’s difficult to prove exactly what has caused the decreases, all the indications are that the penguins are struggling to find enough sardines and anchovies. A huge amount is done to protect penguins from other threats, but the decreases have continued unabated.”

Earlier this year, research lead by Dr Lorien Pichegru, from the Percy FitzPatrick Institute at the University of Cape Town, reported on preliminary results from a study on the impacts of closing fishing areas around key penguin breeding islands. Their study suggests that preventing fishing directly around the penguin islands may well provide benefits to the penguins. Marine and Coastal Management has commissioned a team to consider how closures could be implemented to benefit the penguins while minimising the impacts on the fishing industry and fisher’s livelihoods.

Source: Africa Geographic

26th May 2010: Bird wiped out by introduction of killer fish

A lake bird only found in Madagascar, but not seen in more than 25 years, has been declared extinct - with its passing blamed on the introduction of a carnivorous fish.

The Alaotra Grebe Tachybaptus rufolavatus lived in a tiny area to the east of the Indian Ocean island. The species declined through the last century after the introduction of a Snakehead Murrel, a non-native fish. The demise of the grebe was accelerated by nylon fishing nets in which birds were caught and drowned.

Its death knell is featured in the latest Red List of endangered birds by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It brings the number of bird species to have become extinct since 1600 to 132, with one in 8 species now at risk.

Source: The Times, UK

26th May 2010: Azores Bullfinch downlisted

The Red List update shows that we now know, more than ever, that conservation works. Azores Bullfinch Pyrrhula murina has been downlisted from Critically Endangered to Endangered as a result of conservation work to restore natural vegetation on its island home. SPEA (BirdLife in Portugal) and RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) have worked together with others to turn around the fortunes of this species in what is a model for other projects.

"This is a clear example of conservation action succeeding in turning the tide for a highly threatened species", said Andy Symes, BirdLife's Global Species Programme Officer. "Where there is commitment and financing we can save species. We have the knowledge and will, but there needs to be better funding globally to address the loss of species."

Source: BirdLife International

16th May 2010: Biodiversity in Africa's Protected Areas declining Fast

The status of Biodiversity is progressively declining in African Protected Areas according to BirdLife International. This was unveiled during a side event hosted by BirdLife during the on-going CBD SBTTA 14 meeting attended by Government delegates from all over the world at UNEP Gigiri in Kenya.

In total, BirdLife is working in 22 countries in Africa in over 1,200 IBAs. While all countries have increased efforts to conserve biodiversity, much more is still to be done. The side event in Nairobi, Kenya, shared results from a monitoring project of Protected Areas at 117 sites, across seven African countries, implemented by BirdLife and RSPB and funded by the European Commission. The monitoring results clearly show that the state of biodiversity in Protected Areas is declining. Sites identified as being in a poor state increased from 43% in 2001, to 57% in 2008.

At the same time there has been a general increase of threats facing Protected Areas. "The results of our monitoring indicate that the pressures on biodiversity have been increasing falling far short of the target to reduce biodiversity loss", said Dr. Muhtari Aminu Kano - BirdLife International's Global Policy and Advocacy Advisor.

Delegates at the meeting heard how BirdLife used a simple 'State, Pressure, Response' Model for the monitoring of the over 1,200 African Important Bird Areas (IBAs), of which about 46% are Protected Areas. 

The data from the monitoring have been used to develop indicators to show trends over time within IBAs. These results form important components of the suite of indicators suitable to track biodiversity progress towards the 2010 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) target, and wider sustainable development around the globe. 

"The results also show that if proper management responses are put in place it is possible to improve the state of biodiversity and reduce pressures", said Achilles Byaruhanga - Executive Director of Nature Uganda. "This was well demonstrated through the sites monitored in Botswana - Central Kalahari Game reserve, Okavango Delta and Mannyelanong - where comprehensive and effective use of existing management plans have been instituted".

Source: BirdLife

20th April 2010: South Atlantic becomes more seabird-friendly

BirdLife International and WWF South Africa recently achieved a major conservation success by improving the methods used by commercial fishermen in the south-east Atlantic Ocean to avoid killing seabirds. Seabirds, particularly albatrosses, are becoming threatened and at a faster rate than all other groups of birds. By far the biggest threat faced is death on longline fishing hooks.

"A single vessel may use a line extending for 10 km, from which can hang as many as 20,000 hooks", said Dr Ross Wanless - Southern Africa Coordinator for BirdLife's Global Seabird Programme. "Globally we estimate that around 300,000 seabirds grab baited-hooks and drown each year".

The south-east Atlantic Ocean is a particularly important area where large numbers of seabirds and commercial fisheries overlap; fisheries which are managed by The South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (SEAFO). SEAFO covers a vital area for seabirds. Endangered Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos and Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophrys are just two of the thirteen Globally Threatened seabird species found within SEAFO's region.

Working alongside WWF South Africa, BirdLife's Global Seabird Programme recently reviewed SEAFO's seabird conservation measures, and presented a number of improvements to result in fewer birds being killed. "Using BirdLife's Seabird Mitigation Fact-sheets, we suggested ways in which SEAFO's conservation measures could meet current best practice", said Ross.

SEAFO subsequently accepted the BirdLife / WWF recommendations, and have now incorporated them into their new seabird conservation measures. "We were delighted", noted Ross. "Thousands of seabirds could be saved each year as a result of this decision. SEAFO now sets the gold standard for other regional fisheries management organisations around the world to follow".

Source: BirdLife

19th April 2010: New species of shrike described

The discovery, backed by DNA analysis, means scientists now know that there is one more species of black shrike in Africa’s Albertine Rift Valley than was previously thought. The bird Laniarius willardi, is a newly described species of boubou shrike (Malaconotidae) whose single distinctive trait is its blue-gray eyes.

“This bird has been around for probably at least a couple million years, it's old, but it’s new to science at least in the DNA age,' said Voelker, assistant professor of wildlife and fisheries and curator of birds with Texas AgriLife Research at College Station. 'Clearly, it was noticed before, because as we started to look at comparative material from other natural history collections, we saw that several specimens collected in 1910 were noted to have had gray eyes,' he said. 'But it apparently never occurred to those collectors that their find was potentially something different than other black shrikes that might have been collected in the same basic region.'

“The DNA work that shows this to be a new species is recent, though the actual birds sampled were collected in 1997 by Gnoske and Marks on a research expedition for the Field Museum of Natural History,' Voelker said.

“Another significant aspect of this particular species, at least from what we can tell from the data we”ve gathered, is that it occurs in a narrow elevational band between 1,200 and 2,000 meters,' he said. 'Those birds collected in 1910 were taken from sites that are now likely completely deforested to make way for tea plantations which grow successfully to about 2,000 meters elevation. Above that level, Laniarius willardi gets replaced by another shrike species that looks exactly like it except for the eye-colour difference.'

The paper describing the new species will appear in the July issue of the international ornithological journal The Auk.

Source: Africa Geographic

18th February 2010: Celebrating Natron's Flamingos with action

The 2010 World Wetlands Day celebrations in Tanzania focussed on a meeting to support the conservation of Lesser Flamingo Phoenicopterus minor (Near Threatened) through the completion of a National Single Species Action Plan.

"This is an important step in ensuring the protection of this important species not only for Tanzania but also for the world", said Lota Melamari - CEO of Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (WCST, BirdLife Partner). "This action plan provides Tanzania with an opportunity to ensure that threats facing Lesser Flamingo are thoroughly addressed", he added.

Tanzania is home to the most important breeding site in the world for Lesser Flamingo - Lake Natron. Of the world's global population of Lesser Flamingo, 75% breed at Lake Natron.

These flamingos drew global attention when a proposal to build a soda ash processing plant at Lake Natron came to light in 2006. The global community, led by BirdLife International, WCST, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB, BirdLife in the UK), and the Lake Natron Consultative Group opposed the plans citing serious threats to the critical flamingo breeding site.

During the meeting, actions were agreed aimed at ensuring that the species is protected at Lake Natron and eleven other lakes within Tanzania.

Source: BirdLife

18th February 2010: Africa Climate Exchange

This website, developed by BirdLife International, serves as a one stop shop on information on climate change, mitigation and adaptation in Africa. Using birds and BirdLife's Important Bird Area network as entry points, it demonstrates how biodiversity in Africa will respond to climate change and what can be done.

The site contains information and news about climate change and its potential impact on Africa birds and includes a suite of maps, showing how the ranges of the majority of bird species breeding in sub-Saharan Africa could be impacted by climate change.

These ranges have been prepared for 1608 species, the entire breeding avifauna of sub-Saharan Africa, minus 71 species recorded from fewer than five grid cells, for which modeling was impractical.

Source: Africa Climate Exchange

18th February 2010: Radar station in Madeira threatens Zino's Petrel

After many years of uncertainty and inaction, the Portuguese Government has finally started building a military radar on top of Pico do Areeiro, one of Madeira’s most popular tourist destinations and the only home of Zino’s Petrel Pterodroma madeira, a rare endemic seabird.

The Pico do Areeiro lies within a Natura 2000 site designated as a Special Protection Area, and therefore has the highest level of protection under European Union law. “It is the only known breeding site in the world of Zino's Petrel, a globally Endangered species whose total population of 65-80 pairs makes it the rarest seabird in Europe and one of the rarest birds in the world”, said Dr Ian Burfield – European Research and Database Manager at BirdLife International.

Since as long ago as 2000, SPEA (BirdLife in Portugal) and BirdLife International have opposed the construction of this radar station at Pico do Areeiro, which is an area of extreme importance for rare high-altitude flora, as well as Zino’s Petrel.

Concerned that its construction and operation could have a detrimental impact on Zino's Petrel, as well as the unique landscape, SPEA and BirdLife have repeatedly requested the plans to be shelved and EU nature legislation respected.

“Unfortunately, none of the valid arguments presented proved sufficient to convince the Madeiran and Portuguese authorities, who have now gone ahead, arguing that building the radar is a matter of national security”, added Dr Burfield.

Source: BirdLife

31st January 2010: Unique Cameroon mountain area gets crucial protection

A new park created by the Cameroonian government that encompasses the highest mountain in West and Central Africa will help protect some of the rarest ecosystems in the Congo Basin.

The government of Cameroon recently signed a decree creating the 58,178 hectare Mount Cameroon National Park which includes the 4,095-metre high Mount Cameroon – also one of the largest active volcanoes on the African continent.

“A park of such importance will help animal populations to rebuild,” said Atanga Ekobo, Manager of WWF Coastal Forest Project, which covers the region. “It will also encourage the sustainable use of natural resources by introducing and promoting alternative sources of income to the local communities”.

Mount Cameroon is an important refuge and home to many species found nowhere else, including high numbers of plants. A very isolated population of forest elephant also lives there.

For many years, poor land-use planning, land clearance, increasing agriculture, and the bushmeat trade damaged the area’s forest resources and high biological diversity.

But if well managed, the new park will both conserve the remaining natural richness of this fragile ecosystem and improve the livelihoods of local people, according to WWF.

Source: WWF

31st January 2010: Twelve years of site support in Burkina Faso

In 1997, Georges Oueda of Naturama (BirdLife in Burkina Faso) came to the northern wetland of Oursi to find volunteers to perform water bird counts. Acting on a request from the government, who had been asked by Wetlands International to organise participation in the African Waterbird Census, he asked the mayor of Oursi town to identify young people keen to be trained as ornithologists.

A group of about six young men took up the challenge. Among them were Housseini Salou, Maiga 'Mero' Hamidou and Aly Issa, now president, deputy and member respectively of the board of Site Support Group (SSG) Oursi.

Through the IBA Local Conservation Group approach BirdLife Partners around the world are working in partnership with communities and other stakeholders at IBAs towards shared objectives of conservation and sustainable resource management. In Africa, 'Site Support Groups' are organised, independent groups of volunteers who work with community stakeholders at IBAs to protect biodiversity and enhance benefits from the wise use of the natural resources.

The SSG at Oursi now numbers 28 people from several villages around the lake. They include not only bird enthusiasts but also representatives of the different livelihood communities: fishermen, pastoralists, schoolteachers, and community groups working the vegetable gardens and tree nursery established by the SSG.

3rd December 2009:

Langebaan Lagoon saved from port expansion project

Two and a half years of intensive, high profile lobbying by BirdLife South Africa (BirdLife Partner) and its partners has saved the internationally important wetlands of Langebaan Lagoon and the Saldanha Bay area from a port development project. Langebaan Lagoon is an Important Bird Area (IBA) and Ramsar site, and regularly supports more than 34,500 waders. BirdLife South Africa worked with representatives of BirdLife West Coast and the Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve – with financial support from the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) - to appeal to the Ramsar Secretariat, and lobby the media to raise the profile of the threat. "BirdLife South Africa’s successful lobbying for the proper management and protection of Langebaan Lagoon represents one small victory for the environment", said Carolyn Ah Shene-Verdoorn – BirdLife South Africa's Policy & Advocacy Division Manager. "However, the battle is far from over as the threats remain on the increase for our Important Bird Areas around the country".

Ferruginous Ducks migrating south

For the first time a huge flock of some 3,500 Ferruginous Ducks Aythya nyroca has been recorded in the Durankulak IBA, along the Black Sea Coast in Bulgaria. It is likely the Ducks are now migrating south, heading to their wintering sites along the Nile or in Sudan.

Dwarf Olive Ibis nest found

Great news from Associação dos Biólogos Santomenses (ABS), the BirdLife Species Guardian for Dwarf Olive Ibis Bostrychia bocagei in São Tomé. Researcher, Hugulay Maia, leading a team of ABS members located an ibis nest with two eggs at a height of 8 m in primary forest. Although it was not possible to photograph the female, it was observed at the nest on the following day. ABS will continue to monitor the nest in the coming weeks and hopes to provide more detailed data on its breeding and nesting habits. The BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme is providing help and funding to this and more than 50 other threatened species.

Ethiopia to join AEWA and CMS

Ethiopia will become the 63rd Party to the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), and the 113th Party to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CSM) early next year. Ethiopia has a total of 69 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) and is a range state for many AEWA species including Corncrake Crex crex, Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca, Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor and White-winged Flufftail Sarothrura ayresii.

Source: BirdLife

30th November 2009: Wildlife poisoning in Africa

BirdLife has learnt that a widely available poison is being used to kill thousands of birds illegally every month in an area of Kenya, and by game poachers in Botswana to kill vultures. The poisoning of wildlife seems to have increased across Africa recently, and BirdLife International is calling for increased concerted efforts to address this threat.

Situated in western Kenya near Lake Victoria and the Ugandan border, the Bunyala Rice Scheme is a heavily irrigated area which provides ideal growing conditions for rice. This water-logging also creates suitable feeding habitat for both non-breeding migratory and resident birds, which are being targeted by local people who view the meat as a delicacy.

The poison used is called Carbofuran – or Furadan – and is designed to control insect pests in a wide variety of field crops such as potatoes, corn and soybeans. However, Carbofuran is also toxic to vertebrates, and has one of the highest acute toxicities to humans of any insecticide widely used on field crops. As little as a quarter teaspoon can be fatal, and there have been reports of a child dying recently in Kenya after ingesting the poison.

BirdLife has learnt that in Bunyala the widely available poison is placed inside snail shells to present an attractive bait. Decoy birds are used, and poachers disturb the surroundings to encourage wild birds to settle into the baited areas. Once captured, target birds are killed and sold for human consumption.

Throughout Eastern and Southern Africa there are increasing reports of the use of Carbofuran to illegally poison wildlife. In Botswana, poachers have recently been observed lacing their Giraffe carcases with the poison to attract vultures and kill them. “It appears as though the poachers are deliberately aiming to eliminate every vulture in the area, since the birds are quickly alerting the authorities to the occurrence of their poaching activities”, said Pete Hancock - BirdLife Botswana’s (BirdLife Partner) Conservation Officer.

In two recent incidents, over 80 individual vultures – including White-backed Gyps africanus and Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus have been deliberately poisoned in Botswana. “We are very concerned by the escalating and indiscriminate use of poisons for killing vultures, as this has decimated their numbers throughout Africa, and is the single greatest threat facing all vulture and raptor species here in Botswana”, added Pete.

Source: BirdLife

27th November 2009: ICCAT leaves albatross conservation dead in the water

After a 3-year seabird risk assessment that found tuna and swordfish longline fishing has significant impacts on Atlantic seabird populations, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) failed to act at a recent meeting in Recife, Brazil.

“Albatrosses and petrel populations in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea are undergoing some of the most severe decreases anywhere in the world”, said Dr Cleo Small - Senior Policy Officer for the BirdLife Global Seabird Programme, based at the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK).

More than 40 fishing nations are members of ICCAT, and they gathered recently in Recife, Brazil for the annual meeting of the commission. Collectively they control longline fishing effort in the Atlantic Ocean that is conducted on a massive scale.

“In Recife we recommended that fishers use a few simple, cheap but effective measures to reduce the rate at which seabirds get caught and drown”, added Dr Small. “However, ICCAT refused to endorse our recommendation which is a big blow for Globally Threatened seabirds”.

Each year hundreds of millions of longline hooks are set in the Atlantic. The impact of longline fishing on albatrosses and other seabirds has been a source of concern for scientists and conservationists for decades. Globally, 18 of 22 albatross species are threatened with extinction, and longline fishing is known to be the leading cause of decreases for many species.

Source: BirdLife

25th November 2009: Climate change and forests workshop in West Africa

BirdLife’s regional office for West Africa, in collaboration with the Ghana Wildlife Society (BirdLife Partner), has organised a four-day workshop on climate change mitigation and forest biodiversity conservation for protected area managers from five West African countries (Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana). The workshop aimed to raise awareness of emerging conservation opportunities to mitigate climate change impacts, such as carbon finance (trading), Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), and Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG).

The workshop was organised under the framework of a project funded by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, which aims to sustain and secure capacity for biodiversity conservation in the Upper Guinea Forest of West Africa. Extending from Guinea to Togo, this is one of the world’s biodiversity hot spots, with more than 15 endemic bird species.

But centuries of human activities has led to the loss of more than 70% of the overall forest cover. The remaining forest is highly fragmented, restricting habitats to isolated patches, and threatening the ecosystem’s unique flora and fauna. Without effective intervention, climate change impacts on the remaining forest will be catastrophic.

Source: BirdLife

25th November 2009: Save the Flamingo

Kamfers Dam, a large wetland near Kimberley, South Africa, is one of only four places in the whole of Africa where the spectacular Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor breeds. Unfortunately it is in serious trouble. Untreated sewage from a broken sewage works is flooding into it, and a large housing development has been proposed near it. The flamingos and other wildlife that depend on the dam, as well as the numerous people who live in surrounding suburbs, are now in danger. Save the Flamingo, a non-profit organisation, has positive solutions for the problems facing Kamfers Dam, but we need supporters all around the world to help us persuade the local authorities to take the threats facing this precious waterbody seriously. Without urgent action the dam will become a polluted cesspool devoid of birdlife, and a hazard to the people of Kimberley.

Source: Save the Flamingo

3rd November 2009: African nations make a stand at UN climate talks

African countries have said they are prepared to provoke a major UN crisis if the US and other rich countries do not start to urgently commit themselves to deeper and faster greenhouse gas emission cuts.

In a dramatic day in Barcelona, UN officials were forced to step in after 55 African countries, in an unprecedented show of unity, called for a suspension of all further negotiations on the Kyoto protocol until substantial progress was made by rich countries on emission cuts.

Earlier, the UN chair had been forced to abandon two working groups after the Africa group refused to take part.

The African countries were supported by all other developing country blocks at the talks. In a series of statements, the G77 plus China group of 130 nations, the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis), the Least Developed Countries (LDC) group, as well as Bolivia and several Latin America countries, all broadly backed the African action.

The move by developing countries reflects their deep and growing frustration over the slow progress that industrialised countries are making towards agreeing cuts. With less than three days full negotiating time left between now and the opening of the final talks at Copenhagen, the split between rich and poor countries threatens to blow the talks fatally off course.

Source: Guardian

3rd November 2009: Extinction crisis continues apace

The latest update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species shows that 17,291 species out of the 47,677 assessed species are threatened with extinction.

BirdLife International is the Red List Authority for birds and released the 2009 update for birds earlier in the year, listing 192 species of bird as Critically Endangered, the highest threat category, a total of two more than in the 2008 update. But the update did highlight some successes, including the downlisting of Lear's Macaw Anodorhynchus leari, from Critically Endangered to Endangered, as a direct result of targeted conservation action.

"In global terms, things continue to get worse – but there are some real conservation success stories this year to give us hope and point the way forward", said Dr Leon Bennun, BirdLife's Director of Science and Policy. Of the world's 9,998 birds, 137 are Extinct or Extinct in the Wild, with 192 Critically Endangered, 362 Endangered and 669 Vulnerable.

The results of the full Red List update reveal 21% of mammals, 30% of amphibians, 12% of birds, and 28% of reptiles, 37% of freshwater fishes, 70% of plants, 35% of invertebrates assessed so far are under threat. "The scientific evidence of a serious extinction crisis is mounting", says Jane Smart, Director of IUCN's Biodiversity Conservation Group. "January sees the launch of the International Year of Biodiversity. The latest analysis of the IUCN Red List shows the 2010 target to reduce biodiversity loss will not be met. It's time for governments to start getting serious about saving species and make sure it’s high on their agendas for next year, as we're rapidly running out of time."

Source: BirdLife

28th October 2009: Princess Eleonora's falcons leave for Africa

Two recent studies have revealed new information on the migration routes of Eleonora’s Falcon Falco eleonorae, tracking the birds 9,500 km from their European breeding colonies to their main non-breeding grounds in Madagascar.

Eleonora’s Falcon is a patchily distributed breeding visitor to rocky coasts and islands in the Mediterranean. It is unusual among birds of prey in having a reproductive cycle adapted to match the southward migration of passerine birds, which it eats. This means it breeds much later than many other species, with the young hatching in late August. The species was named after Giudicessa Eleonora de Arborea (1350-1404), a Sardinian princess who fought for Sardinia's independence from the Kingdom of Aragon, and who drafted the first laws in Europe protecting birds of prey.

Until recently, it was believed the species migrated east through the Mediterranean, then south via the Red Sea and the east coast of Africa to Madagascar, where 70% of the global population is estimated to converge in the winter. However, the new studies used satellite transmitters to show that these birds reach their destination by flying right across the centre of the African continent. Other secrets uncovered include the finding that they migrate by both day and night, crossing huge barriers such as the Sahara Desert. Some of the birds took two months to complete their mammoth journeys, including a stopover in West Africa.

Their return route to European breeding grounds in spring also crossed the heart of the African continent, but involved a longer crossing (1,500 km) of the Indian Ocean than in the autumn. Adult birds returned directly to the Mediterranean, whereas immature falcons spent their first summer in the tropical Africa.

These studies provide valuable new insights into the migration routes of this raptor, and also underline its vulnerability to threats it may face en route, such as hunting, collisions, habitat loss and desertification. BirdLife International is working to try and save migratory birds on their amazing journeys. Earlier this year, we launched the Born to Travel Campaign to protect migratory birds along the African-Eurasian flyway.

“Every time a migratory bird manages to cross a continent, it tells us an extraordinary story of courage and successfully overcoming the many obstacles along the way”, said Ania Sharwood Smith, European coordinator of the Born to Travel Campaign. “To follow migratory birds satellite tracking is a fantastic technology that greatly improves our understanding of where the main dangers may lie”.

Source: BirdLife

26th October 2009: Natron community vows to protect the lake and its flamingos

Villagers around Tanzania’s Lake Natron have vowed to protect the lake and its treasure of Lesser Flamingos Phoeniconaias minor from industrial development, pointing out that their own future depends on the sustainable use of the lake.

BirdLife’s Tanzanian Partner - the Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (WCST) - has put forward an alternative to the environmentally destructive soda ash extraction plant proposed for the lake, calling instead for its unmatched tourism potential to be developed, and for the people of Lake Natron to be enabled to benefit from the income generated.

Three-quarters of the world’s Lesser Flamingo population lives in East Africa, and Lake Natron is by far their most important breeding site. In 2007, the Indian-based multinational company, Lake Natron Resources Ltd., proposed to build a major soda ash extraction plant to exploit the very alkaline water of the lake. Breeding flamingos are very sensitive to disturbance, and quickly abandon their breeding effort. The proposed soda ash plant could, therefore, jeopardise Lesser Flamingo breeding in East Africa. The Lake Natron flamingos are one of the highlights of East Africa’s wildlife tourism industry, which contributes 12-16% of East Africa’s Gross Domestic Product.

Tata appears to have withdrawn its interest following a successful appeal by BirdLife and the Lake Natron Consultative Group, a coalition of 50 community and environmental groups in East Africa. But earlier this year BirdLife learned that the Tanzanian government had published invitations to tender for soda extraction equipment, and plans an extension of the rail network to link Lake Natron to the port of Tanga. The Government subsequently denied being responsible for the invitations.

Speaking at a meeting organised by WCST at Ngare Sero village, a Maasai elder, Mr Lasoi Ole Nareshoi, said: “God gave us this resource for use by ourselves, our children and children’s children. We will protect it from any industrial exploitation that may chase away the flamingos and damage the environment. “No one can take the Lake Natron away from us”, he added

Speaking at the same meeting, the Chairman of Ngare Sero Village, Mr Christopher Ndurway, recalled how in January 2008 a community delegation from Lake Natron rejected the soda ash plant at a public hearing organised by the National Environment Management Council in Dar es Salaam. “We said ‘No’ in Dar es Salaam in 2008 and that stand remains. We stand to gain more by conserving this lake and its resources and using it sustainably for many years to come. A soda ash factory is of no use to us”, Mr Ndurway said.

Source: BirdLife

12th October 2009: Lake Nakuru becomes Africa's first IBA-branded National Park

Lake Nakuru National Park, famous for its population of up to 1.5 million non-breeding Lesser Flamingo Phoenicopterus minor, has become the first National Park in Africa to be branded as an Important Bird Area (IBA). The branding is a triumph for BirdLife Partner NatureKenya, which began identifying IBAs within the country in 1995.

Some 450 bird species have been recorded in and around Lake Nakuru, including Endangered Madagascar Pond Heron Ardeola idae, Near Threatened Grey-crested Helmet Shrike Prionops poliolophus and Martial Eagle Polemaetus bellicosus. The site is also key for regionally important numbers of congregatory waterbirds such as Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus, African Spoonbill Platalea alba, Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus and Grey-headed Gull Larus cirrocephalus.

“The IBA branding makes Lake Nakuru National Park part of the global network of places recognised for their outstanding value to bird conservation”, said Kenya Wildlife Service Director Dr Julius Kipng’etich. He added that Nakuru’s new status was a huge boost to the KWS’s efforts to market the lake as: “The world’s greatest ornithological spectacle”.

Kenya’s Minister for Forestry and Wildlife, Dr Noah Wekesa, said that IBA status would raise awareness and thus reduce stress on the lake’s birds. According to the Environment News Service, he added that other IBAs, such as those around Lake Victoria and in the Cherang'ani Hills, will be used to extend and market Kenya’s ecotourism circuits. At the same ceremony, the Minister launched the Fourth Edition of the ‘Checklist of the Birds of Kenya’, which now lists 1,100 species, and is available from NatureKenya.
 
Income from the 300,000 visitors to Lake Nakuru each year supports conservation work at other, less glamorous but no less important, Protected Areas. However, the flamingos and other spectacular birds and large mammals at Lake Nakuru are suffering the short-term effects of the severe drought affecting the country.

Source: BirdLife

9th October 2009: Solving the mysteries of migratory bird declines

The RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), have joined forces and are working with BirdLife Partners in Ghana (Ghana Wildlife Society), Burkina Faso (Naturama), the Netherlands (Vogelbescherming Nederland) and Denmark (Dansk Ornitologisk Forening) to mount the largest research project of its type to understand more about migratory birds that spend the non-breeding season south of the Sahara desert.

Some of the greatest declines of birds in the UK are among migratory songbirds such as Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus, European Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur, Common Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos and Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata. These species breeding in Europe and migrate to sub-Saharan Africa.

Recent figures suggest that more than 40 per cent of all migratory species passing between Europe and Africa have declined in the last three decades. Alarmingly, one in 10 of these are classified by BirdLife as Globally Threatened or Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.

The project will involve researchers monitoring birds along a corridor stretching from Ghana’s Atlantic coast to northern Burkina Faso, spanning a range of habitats from coastal rainforest to the edge of the Sahara desert.

Source: BirdLife

7th October 2009: Loophole looms for illegal loggers ravaging Madagascar

An exceptional authorisation from the Malagasy transitional government for the export of raw and semi-processed precious woods risks opening a loophole for the legal export of illegally cut timber and encouraging further assaults on Madagascar's endangered forests and wildlife, conservation groups active on the island have said.

"It legalises the sale of illegally cut and collected wood onto the market (...) and constitutes a legal incentive for further corruption in the forestry sector. " said a communique published locally by WWF, Conservation International (CI) and the World Conservation Society (WCS).

The communique follows a Reuters report quoting Prime minister Monja Roindefo denying that the transitional government was legalising the plundering of forests, but refusing to rule out issuing future licences.

Niall O’Connor, Regional Representative for WWF Madagascar and West Indian Ocean Programm Office in Antananarivo says "We condemn the impact of the plundering of Madagascar’s forests, particularly the protected areas, on biodiversity and the loss of livelihood options for the local population."

A study entitled "Evaluation of rosewood and ebony stocks in two communities in the North East and in the middle-west of the country“, commissioned by WWF Madagascar in August 2009 revealed shocking details about the professional exploitation of precious woods such as the above mentioned in Madagascar.

In Andranopasy, a community in western Madagascar, only 6 of 15 species of rosewood survive. No rosewood trees with a trunk diameter of more than 30cm have been found. Three species of rosewood are very unlikely to regenerate. Another species, Diospyros perrieri, is no longer regenerating.

"This can be explained by the abusive commercial exploitation of the forest by foreign economic players. Even more, the local population cannot benefit from the precious woods in their forest for their very survival. Wood workers are paid the equivilent of 2 Euros a day while rosewood sells at 8.5 Euros per kilogramm." says the study.

Another statement, signed by 15 Madagascar and international conservation groups including WWF, said that “Precious woods are being extracted from forests by roving and sometimes violent gangs of lumbermen and sold to a few powerful businessmen for export. . . . Those exploiting the trees are also trapping endangered lemurs for food, and the forests themselves are being degraded as trees are felled, processed and dragged to adjacent rivers or roads for transport to the coast.

“No forest that contains precious woods is safe, and the country’s most prestigious nature reserves and favoured tourist destinations, such as the Marojejy and Masoala World Heritage Sites and the Mananara Biosphere Reserve, have been the focus of intensive exploitation. Currently thousands of rosewood and ebony logs, none of them legally exploited, are stored in Madagascar’s east coast ports, Vohémar, Antalaha, and Toamasina. The most recent decree will allow their export and surely encourage a further wave of environmental pillaging.”

Source: WWF

23rd September 2009: Madagascar NGOs unite against plunder of natural resources

Asity Madagascar (BirdLife in Madagascar) has joined a group of Malagasy civil society organisations, Voahary Gasy, calling for an end to the plundering of natural resources in the national parks of north-east Madagascar.

Following the change of government in March this year, all but essential humanitarian aid has been withdrawn by the international community, leaving Madagascar's national park and forestry services with little or no funding. Loggers have moved into the protected areas, stripping the forests of valuable hardwoods such as rosewood, ebony and mahogany. They work for influential business people who are in possession of illegal but "official" documentation permitting them to export these hardwoods.

Local communities who depend on forest resources and on tourism have been threatened and attacked when opposing these illegal and highly destructive activities. A new trade in bushmeat has developed. Lemurs in particular are being killed in large numbers, and some hunters are supplying restaurants 'to order'.

A number of endemic birds are largely or entirely confined to pristine primary forest in north-east Madagascar, among them the Endangered Madagascar Serpent Eagle Eutriorchis astur and Vulnerable Helmet Vanga Euryceros prevostii and Bernier's Vanga Oriolia bernieri. With the complete breakdown of the enforcement of protected area regulation, and armed gangs operating with impunity in the forests, it has not been possible to assess the impact on these and other threatened species.

The Malagasy NGOs which have come together to form Voahary Gasy are calling for an immediate halt to exports of hardwoods, particularly rosewood, the enforcement of protected area regulation, the creation of a task force to combat environmental crime, and a campaign to raise awareness within Madagascar of the nature and extent of the destruction of the island's remaining forests.

Source: BirdLife

22nd September 2009: Local group makes its mark at Egypt's Lake Qarun

Egypt’s first IBA-Local Conservation Group / Site Support Group (SSG) has persuaded one of the country’s largest construction groups to end the dumping of waste at Lake Qarun, which holds regionally important numbers of waterbirds in winter. The construction company has also pledged to restore an area of saltmarsh destroyed by tourism development along the lake shore, as a bird sanctuary.

The Lake Qarun Protected Area LCG/SSG was established by Nature Conservation Egypt (NCE; BirdLife Affiliate) in 2008, with a grant from the Aage V. Jensen Charity Foundation.

The lake occupies the deepest part of the Fayoum Depression, more than 40 metres below sea level. Once a large body of fresh water supporting Nilotic flora and fauna, the lake now receives almost all its water as drainage from irrigated land. As a result, and because the only ‘outflow’ is via evaporation, levels of salinity have been steadily increasing. The lake is now slightly more salty than seawater.

Because of these environmental changes, a local subspecies of Sardinian Warbler Sylvia melanocephala norrisae has become extinct, while Slender-billed Gull Larus genei, which began breeding in the 1990s, has now reached around 8,500 pairs. Numbers of breeding Spur-winged Lapwing Vanellus spinosus also meet IBA criteria, as does the wintering population of Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis.

Source: BirdLife

16th September 2009: BirdLife Africa Wildlife Clubs Project

The BirdLife Africa Wildlife Clubs Project has taken a step closer to its goal of connecting over 400,000 children across the continent with young and adult conservationists around the world.

The project, subtitled ‘Linking African children to the global conservation community - for the benefit of nature and people’, combines biodiversity conservation with education and sustainable development initiatives, and uses bird conservation to help bridge the digital divide in Africa.

Along with the people responsible for the project - the ‘focal points’ - from 15 of the 17 participating BirdLife Partners, representatives from 13 other environmental organisations and educational institutions participated in a workshop in Accra, Ghana, with the theme ‘information and experience sharing’.

Source: BirdLife

6th September 2009: Dyer Island Conservation Trust

The Dyer Island Conservation Trust, in partnership with Cape Nature, has embarked on a programme to introduce artificial African Penguin nests on Dyer Island in order to provide extra shelter for breeding birds. Click on the link above to find out more about their work.

4th September 2009: International call to learn to love vultures - or lose them

BirdLife Partners in Africa and elsewhere have joined with raptor conservation and research organisations around the world to call for an “image makeover” for vultures. They will be celebrating International Vulture Awareness Day on 5 September 2009.

This comes against a backdrop of recent reports of problems facing vultures in Africa and the ongoing ones in Asia. Across the Indian subcontinent, populations of three formerly very common species of vulture have declined by more than 97% as a result of consuming cattle carcasses contaminated with the veterinary drug diclofenac.

There have been mass vulture deaths in East Africa associated with misuse of chemicals, huge population declines in West Africa due to habitat loss, and the disappearance of vultures from large areas of their formers ranges in South Africa because of the continued use of vulture parts in traditional medicine and sorcery.

Other threats include power line collisions and electrocutions, disturbance at breeding sites, drowning in farm reservoirs, direct persecution and declining food availability.

Vultures fulfill an extremely important ecological role. They keep the environment free of carcasses and waste, restrict the spread of diseases such as anthrax and botulism, and help control numbers of pests such as rats and feral dogs by reducing the food available to them. They are of cultural value to communities in Africa and Asia, and have important eco-tourism value.

"Indeed vultures provide a perfect example of the link between birds and people. Loss of vultures would mean loss of important natural services to people, for example the cleaning of the environment of animal carcasses and waste at no charge”, said Dr Hazell Shokellu Thompson, BirdLife's Regional Director for Africa.

Source: BirdLife

2nd September 2009: Intercontinental migration of a Eurasian Hobby

The Eurasian Hobby is a small falcon. It breeds across Europe and Asia and is a long-distance migrant. European birds winter in Africa. More than 5,700 Hobbies have been ringed in 10 European countries, but so far there have been only two ring recoveries south of the Sahara desert. Satellite tracking using the Argos system is now an accepted technique for long distance migration studies of birds. It is generally accepted that any device we burden a bird with should weigh no more than 3% of the bird’s weight if we are not to affect its behaviour.

Source: Raptor Research

27th August 2009: Sierra Leone re-affirms intention to declare Gola forest a National Park

BirdLife recently received a letter from H.E. President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone confirming his intention to declare the Gola forest a National Park. “I would like to re-assure you of my government’s commitment to implementing the Sierra Leone Biodiversity Action Programme in collaboration with your organisation, not only to mitigate the effects of global warming, but also to preserve our rich fauna and flora, and cultural heritage for generations to come”, wrote H.E. President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone. “I am hopeful that the Gola Forest National Park Bill will be introduced in Parliament in the coming weeks”. The Gola Forest National Park will form part of a new Trans-boundary Peace Park recently announced jointly by the Presidents of Sierra Leone and Liberia. The Trans-boundary Peace Park will protect one of the largest remaining blocks of intact forest in the Upper Guinea Area of West Africa.

Source: BirdLife

26th August 2009: Lake Natron faces renewed threat from soda-ash mining

BirdLife has learnt that a Tanzanian Government Agency is seeking to buy mining equipment for large-scale soda ash extraction from Lake Natron – the most important breeding site for Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor (Near Threatened) in the world. “This is worrying indeed”, said Lota Melamari - the CEO of Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (WCST-BirdLife in Tanzania).

“An advert for the supply of mining equipment, and a recent announcement of the expansion of the railway and building of a new port at Tanga to handle soda ash all point to deliberate efforts to keep alive the intention of mining Lake Natron's soda ash", added Lota Melamari.

The Tanzania Investment Centre, a Tanzanian Government Agency, is inviting interested parties to quote for the “Supply of machinery and equipment, as well as trucks in a greenfield soda ash / caustic soda processing plant”. The advert was placed on behalf of KDCL Minerals (T) Ltd - a private company which states that the $US 125 million project at Lake Natron in Northern Tanzania will produce approximately 200,000 tonnes of soda ash annually.

Three-quarters of the world’s population of Lesser Flamingo live in East Africa – and all depend on Tanzania’s Lake Natron as a breeding site. The development and associated infrastructure could permanently prevent the birds from nesting at Lake Natron, spelling doom for the region’s spectacular flamingo flocks. In opposition to development proposals of 2007, BirdLife launched its ‘Think Pink’ campaign. At the same time the Lake Natron Consultative Group - a coalition of 49 mainly African institutions - was formed to urge the Tanzanian Government to abandon the project. “Through campaigns like Think Pink, the world, local communities, Tanzanian NGOs and ordinary citizens have said a big ‘No’ to the project - this will not change”, warned Ken Mwathe of BirdLife Africa Partnership Secretariat and Coordinator of Lake Natron Consultative Group.

Earlier plans for mining Lake Natron involved Tata Chemicals Ltd. and the governmental National Development Corporation. BirdLife welcomed the withdrawal last year of an initial, inadequate and inappropriate Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), and is awaiting a new ESIA to be produced and reviewed by a competent team of experts. “The Tanzanian Government has promised, and consistently maintained, that no new ESIA would be conducted before having in place an Integrated Management Plan for the Lake Natron Ramsar Site, and this process is still ongoing”, concluded Lota.

Source: BirdLife

22nd August: In search of the Madagascar Pochard - the world's rarest duck

We’re in search of the world’s rarest duck. Actually we aren’t really, because thanks to the dedicated work of the The Peregrine Fund, we know where it is. But we also know that there are only a handful left. In fact until it was rediscovered by the TPF’s Lily Arison René de Roland in 2006, the duck was thought to have gone extinct.

On a couple of small lakes some 300 km north of Antananarivo are fewer than 20 Madagascar Pochard. Although once part of an extensive wetland system throughout the central plateau these are now the last remaining unmarred high elevation volcanic lakes of their kind.

Having such a small population means that even if the number of ducks remains stable, it is incredibly vulnerable to any random event, like a storm, that might wipe them out. Getting this species back to relatively safe numbers is a major priority and it was decided that an in situ captive breeding programme to build up numbers for release onto other lakes was the best way to go. This would be coupled with protection and study of the species in its remaining habitat. A partnership was formed between ourselves, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), The Peregrine Fund (TPF) and Ministry of L’Environement et Forêts (E & F).

Source: durrell wildlife conservation trust

2nd July 2009: One million Southern African bird records!

Just two years ago, an exciting project was initiated to map the distribution of birds in Southern Africa using the efforts of keen civil society volunteers. Early on the morning of Monday 29 June, the millionth record was submitted to the project!

Southern Africa's birdwatchers are making a massive contribution to one of the country's most important biodiversity research projects. Ornithologists and conservationists are tapping into the skills and enthusiasm of Southern Africa's birdwatchers to collect information about the distribution and relative abundance of its 850 or so bird species.

Source: BirdLife

2nd July 2009: Our penguins get a champion

African Penguins have been sliding towards extinction since industrial fishing started around the Cape. The last four years have seen a population crash. BirdLife South Africa has found someone to champion their cause.

Conservationists fear that if nothing is done soon, the iconic African Penguin is in danger of becoming extinct. Oil spills, predation by seals, disease and a few other problems have contributed to the situation. But by far the major culprit is food scarcity, say scientists.

In the 1920s, despite more than a century of sustained persecution, principally from egg collecting and guano scraping, around 1 million pairs of African Penguins Spheniscus demersus bred at Dassen Island, off the West Coast of South Africa. Now the global population is a mere 28,000 pairs. As for Dassen, last year fewer than 6,000 pairs nested. That’s half a per cent of the former numbers. Averaged out over 100 years, this collapse represents a loss of 20 thousand birds per year from just one colony, equivalent to 1,600 birds a week, or more than two birds per hour. This phenomenon is not unique to Dassen Island but is an example of the massive reduction in African Penguin numbers around our coast.

In the past four years, the stocks of sardine and anchovy on the West Coast have collapsed. Stocks along the south coast are doing somewhat better. While fishery managers debate whether it is due to climate change or overfishing, the penguins and other seabirds that depend on the fish are disappearing. Fishing companies find it inconvenient to close operations in Lamberts Bay and move to Mossel Bay, where the healthier sardine stocks are located; the penguins don’t have that option. Dr Rob Crawford, penguin specialist at Marine and Coastal Management, explained: “There are no islands along the South Coast where the penguins can move to. They simply cannot follow the fish the way the boats can”.

In April, at the 2nd International African Penguin Conference, the latest depressing results were presented, and speaker after speaker reported shrinking populations from their respective islands. Dr Ross Wanless, Seabird Division manager for BirdLife South Africa, was there. “I was deeply shocked at the state of the penguin population. The results that were presented at the conference were almost unbelievable, but I couldn’t argue with the numbers”.

Fortunately, BirdLife South Africa has not been idle. Executive Director Mark Anderson put out a call for help a few months ago. “BirdLife International developed their ‘Preventing Extinctions’ programme a few years back, whereby someone could become a ‘Species Champion’, to fund conservation work for an endangered or critically endangered bird species. When I announced that BirdLife South Africa was looking for someone to become the Species Champion for the African Penguin, I got an immediate response, from Dr Roelof van der Merwe, a Trustee of the Charl van der Merwe Trust”.

The Charl van der Merwe Trust asked Dr Wanless to identify interventions that would help turn the species’ fortunes around. Through BirdLife South Africa, the trustees will provide a significant amount of funding to fund collaborative projects, focusing initially on fish stocks and food availability. “If good progress is made after two years, the Trust has dedicated itself to providing additional resources.” explained Dr Wanless.

“This couldn’t have come at a better time” said Prof Peter Ryan of the Percy FitzPatrick Institute at the University of Cape Town, one of the collaborators. “We are at a critical juncture, with the African Penguin population in apparent free-fall. A Species Champion will provide the resources we need to try and rescue the situation”.

Contact: Dr Ross Wanless; +27 21 419 7347 (office); +27 73 675 3267 (mobile); e-mail: gsp@birdlife.org.za.

2nd July 2009: Hope for Seychelles' last Critically Endangered species

The first Seychelles Paradise-flycatcher Terpsiphone corvina chicks to fledge successfully outside La Digue Island, Seychelles for over 60 years is flying on Denis Island, a coral island in the inner Seychelles group. The newly-fledged birds are flying well, very noisy, and being fed by their parents –"typical normal and healthy flycatcher chicks", according to Nirmal Shah, Director of BirdLife Partner Nature Seychelles, the Species Guardian for the paradise-flycatcher.

The paradise-flycatcher is the only Seychelles species still listed as Critically Endangered. Formerly Critically Endangered Species including Seychelles Magpie-robin Copsychus sechellarum, Seychelles White-eye Zosterops modestus and Seychelles Scops-owl Otus insularis have all been downlisted as a result of conservation action. The population of the paradise-flycatcher has been steadily increasing in recent years. In 1996 there were 69-83 pairs; this had risen to 104-139 pairs by the last comprehensive survey in 2000.

Seychelles Paradise-flycatchers, probably "overspill" birds from the population on La Digue, are regularly seen on neighbouring islands, but have been unable to establish viable populations. The reintroduction to Denis Island is part of a three-year project, funded by the UK Government's Darwin Initative, and carried out by Nature Seychelles together with the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) and the collaboration of other organisations and the Seychelles Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.

Source: BirdLife

2nd July 2009: Sustainable forest management increases local income one hundred-fold

A Tanzanian group supported by The Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) has helped two local communities to become fully-certified sustainable forest managers. “This is a first for Africa”, said CLP project leader Steve Ball. “It ensures that the forests are managed sustainably and that local communities can earn over 100 times more from their woodlands than they have done previously”.

The CLP is a partnership between BirdLife International, Fauna & Flora International, Conservation International, the Wildlife Conservation Society and BP. The Mpingo Conservation Project (MCP) was first supported by the CLP in 1996 to provide much needed basic information on the distribution, ecology and exploitation of the East African Blackwood tree Dalbergia melanoxylon, also known as Mpingo.

The African Blackwood tree has long been over-harvested across the continent to obtain its dark, lustrous heartwood. The wood is greatly prized for its strong structural qualities by local wood carvers and international manufacturers of woodwind instruments. Although African Blackwood is still relatively abundant in South-East Tanzania, illegal logging is widespread and very poor, forest-dependent communities generally receive little benefit from logging on the land around their villages.

After successful early projects, the MCP team received additional CLP awards in 2004 to begin developing a programme of community-managed sustainable forestry - working towards the long-term goal of conserving large areas of forest and woodland in southern Tanzania.

Source: BirdLife

12th June 2009: Conserving bustards in South Africa

BirdLife South Africa has formed a working group to aid the conservation of bustards within the country. "South Africa’s bustards are in trouble, with six of the country's ten species listed in the South African Red Data Book", said Mark Anderson - Executive Director of BirdLife South Africa. For example, experts identified that populations of Ludwig's and Denham's Bustard [Near Threatened] are threatened by a single mortality factor - collisions with the cables of power-lines. Studies by Mark Anderson and the University of Cape Town's Dr Andrew Jenkins, found that on average about one Ludwig’s Bustard collides per kilometre of power line per year at these sites. "The thought that we could be potentially losing them at a rate of over 10,000 birds killed annually by this factor alone is terrifying", said David Allan, ornithologist at the Durban Natural Science Museum.

Source: BirdLife

5th June 2009: Wader populations decline faster than ever

According to a new publication by Wetlands International, more than half the populations of waders in Europe, West Asia and Africa are declining at an accelerating rate.

Waders are a group of relatively small waterbirds including species like lapwings, plovers, godwits, curlews and sandpipers. Many of them undertake long distance migrations from their Arctic breeding grounds to wintering areas as far away as Southern Africa. Some concentrate in huge numbers at just a few sites, making these wetlands critical for their survival.

The new ‘Wader Atlas’ is the first comprehensive overview of key site networks for waders in Europe, West Asia and Africa, and the publication highlights a need for better protection of the key wetlands along their flyways, especially in Africa and the Middle East.

The wetlands of the African west coast are under enormous pressures. The sparse water resources in the Sahelian zone are tapped by dams which have turned formerly shallow wetlands into permanently dry lands. Irrigation schemes for growing human population disrupt the water flow in wetlands such as the shrinking Lake Chad. The atlas also outlines that wetlands themselves are often converted to agricultural use - such as in the Tana River Delta in Kenya, which is threatened by conversion to sugar cane plantations.

Source: BirdLife

25th May 2009: ‘Mountains of the Moon’ get nod for international wetlands protection

Part of the Rwenzori Mountains – home to some of the last glaciers in Africa and likely Ptolemy’s ‘Lunis Montae’ – has received international recognition as a protected wetland site under the international Ramsar convention, a major conservation decision that will help protect the region’s vast ecological riches.

The Rwenzori Ramsar Site covers a 99,500 hectares area of the mountain region located in western Uganda and bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the DRC, the mountains are part of Virunga National Park, which is also designated as Ramsar and recognized as a World Heritage Site.

The Rwenzori Mountains are one of the only three places in Africa with unique high altitude wetlands, including glaciers at the equator – the other two being Mount Kilimandjaro in Tanzania, and Mount Kenya in Kenya. Located in the western arm of the African Rift Valley, the Rwenzori Mountains act as a natural water tower for the Nile River basin. In 300 AD, the Alexandrine geographer Claudius Ptolemy suggested that the Nile had its source from snow peaks on the Equator, the ‘Lunis Montae’ or ‘Mountains of the Moon’.

Source: Surfbirds

25th May 2009: Spectacled Petrel Odyssey

The first ever satellite study of the globally vulnerable Spectacled Petrel has revealed new information about the rare bird’s ecology, with important conservation implications.

“For the first time, the species was tracked from its winter feeding grounds all the way to its only breeding site across thousands of miles of ocean,” said Dr. George Wallace, American Bird Conservancy’s Vice President for International Programs. “The data revealed a substantial overlap of Spectacled Petrel feeding grounds with the preferred fishing areas of the Brazilian longlining fleet, indicating that the birds are at high risk from drowning on longline hooks.”

Seabirds often follow fishing vessels looking for a free meal, and can drown when they try to take the bait attached to longline fishing hooks. The Spectacled Petrel has a breeding population of just 9,000 pairs. It was only recognized as a unique species, separate from the White-chinned Petrel, a decade ago, and up until now, very little was known about its non-breeding distribution. However, thanks to a donation of satellite transmitters by North Star North Star Science and Technology, LLC, in partnership with American Bird Conservancy, researchers were able to obtain groundbreaking data on the petrel’s non-breeding activities in Brazil.

Leandro Bugoni and his colleagues from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and Projeto Albatroz, Brazil, captured five birds off the coast of Brazil using handnets. They attached transmitters to them that provided exact locations every 30 minutes, enabling the researchers to track the birds’ movements, day and night, for about a month.

“The petrels travelled vast distances, each covering up to 45,000 square miles of open ocean. One bird travelled an astounding 8,800 miles in just 49 days,” said Bugoni. Its final journey was from the coast of Brazil all the way to the aptly named Inaccessible Island, the species’ sole breeding grounds in the South Atlantic, mid-way between South America and Africa, at times flying as far as 370 miles in a single day.

To the researchers’ great surprise, rather than foraging in the cold, shallow waters of the productive currents close to shore, the birds mostly fed farther out to sea, in waters nearly two miles deep, and along the continental shelf break.

The Brazilian pelagic longline fleet now sets about 9 million hooks annually. “We know there are high rates of bycatch of both Spectacled and White-chinned Petrels, and also two albatross species, the Atlantic Yellow-nosed and the Black-browed, both of which are considered globally endangered,” said Tatiana Neves, a researcher with the Brazilian conservation group Projeto Albatroz, who has been studying seabird bycatch in the region for over a decade.

Through the satellite tracking project, the Spectacled Petrels were observed travelling similar distances and at similar speeds both day and night, indicating that, unlike the White-chinned Petrels, they may forage around the clock. This is significant for the conservation of the species, because, if verified, it means that mitigation measures must be used at all times of day to prevent bird deaths in the fishery.

Source: Fatbirder

25th May 2009: Trans-boundary Rainforest Park will be a symbol of peace and stability

The Presidents of Sierra Leone and Liberia today met in the Gola Forest, Sierra Leone, to announce the establishment of a new Trans-boundary Peace Park, to protect one of the largest remaining blocks of intact forest in the Upper Guinea Area of West Africa.

At today’s meeting H.E. President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone said:"The long-term benefits of the conservation of the Gola Forests far outweigh the short-term benefits of extraction and destruction. As I have said since I was elected in 2007, the Gola Forests will become a National Park in Sierra Leone and mining will not be permitted".

H.E. President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia said: “This launch of the Sierra Leone-Liberia Trans-boundary Peace Park Project will serve as a symbol of our renewed commitment to peace, stability and biodiversity conservation in this region."

The Peace Park unites the Gola Forest Reserve in Sierra Leone (75,000 ha) and the Lofa and Foya Forest Reserves in Liberia (80,000 ha and 100,000 ha respectively), with additional forest to provide corridors for the movement of wildlife between them.

The local communities in Sierra Leone, through their traditional chiefs and Members of Parliament, have both expressed their support for the conservation of the Gola Forest and its designation as a national park.

Dr Hazell Shokellu Thompson, BirdLife’s Regional Director for Africa, who has worked for more than 20 years on the protection of Gola Forest said: “The establishment of the Trans-boundary Peace Park is a tribute to the success of the governments of both countries in putting their recent history of civil war behind them. I wish to congratulate both Presidents for this far-sighted initiative. In the run up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen later this year, they have shown their wholehearted commitment to taking the measures needed to reduce the threats of climate change and increase collaboration in the conservation of their Nation’s natural resources.”

25th May 2009: BirdLife International announces more Critically Endangered birds than ever before

BirdLife International's latest evaluation of the world's birds has revealed that more species than ever are threatened with extinction. A staggering 1,227 species (12%) are now classified as Globally Threatened but the good news is that when conservation action is put in place, species can be saved.

"In global terms, things continue to get worse – but there are some real conservation success stories this year to give us hope and point the way forward", said Dr Leon Bennun, BirdLife's Director of Science and Policy.

Sidamo Lark Heteromirafra sidamoensis from the Liben Plain of Ethiopia has also been uplisted to this category due to changes in land use, and is in danger of becoming mainland Africa’s first bird extinction.

Source: BirdLife

25th May 2009: Stopping seabirds going under

Even among disheartening conservation statistics, those for seabirds don’t look good. With devastating deaths and fishing bycatch indicated as a critical problem, 80% of marine bird species are in decline. Within seabirds, albatrosses and petrels are particularly at risk. They are slow-maturing and breed infrequently, raising only a single chick. “The loss of a few birds can have serious implications”, said Dr Ben Sullivan – BirdLife’s Global Seabird Programme Coordinator.

The main cause of these birds’ demise is longline fishing. Boats cast fishing lines behind them - some over 100 km long with thousands of baited hooks. Birds swarm to the baits, get hooked and are subsequently drowned. “We estimated more than 100,000 albatrosses die each year”, warned Dr Sullivan.

Completing more of the knowledge of albatrosses’ and petrels’ movements is what it’s hoped new projects will achieve. For example, On Marion Island (South Africa) scientists from the British Antarctic Survey - in conjunction with the Percy FitzPatrick Institute and Marine and Coastal Management (South Africa) - are currently fitting Grey Petrel Procellaria cinerea with satellite tags. "The results of this tracking study will help to collect the first at-sea distribution data for this Near Threatened seabird", added Helen Booker.

In total, three albatross and five petrel species in the southern Indian and Atlantic Oceans will be tracked over the next two years. The species include Spectacled Petrel Procellaria conspicillata (Vulnerable), Sooty Albatross Phoebetria fusca and Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross Thalassarche carteri (both Endangered).

Source: BirdLife

4th May 2009: 2009 Waterbird Census in Zambia

The Zambia Ornithological Society have completed their Africa Waterfowl Census activities across the country. This year proved to be particularly difficult with the heavy rains making many sites impossible to visit. Nearly 3,000 records were collected – including sightings of White-backed Duck Thalassornis leuconotus, Blacksmith Lapwing Vanellus armatus and Ruff Philomachus pugnax.

Source: BirdLife

17th April 2009: Tiny warbler at risk from longer African migration

They are some of the world's most remarkable and improbable journeys – vast odysseys across desert, mountain and sea by creatures often no bigger than a Mars bar. But the annual flights of Europe's migratory birds to and from sub-Saharan Africa are set to get even longer.

Climate change, shifting the breeding range of many European bird species northwards, is likely to lengthen the migrants' marathon journeys substantially, in some cases by hundreds of miles, a new scientific study predicts. The added distance is likely to make what are already hazardous and chancey long-distance flights even more risky, with possible fatal consequences for many birds.

One example is one of Britain's most charming summer visitors, the Whitethroat, a small bouncy warbler pouring into Britain by the thousands right now after journeying from its winter quarters in the Sahel, the arid zone south of the Sahara. The Whitethroat may face another 300 miles or more on the average length of its Africa to Europe trip by the end of this century. This added distance would be a considerable threat, said Stephen Willis of Durham University, leader of the research team which produced the study.

Three more of the warbler species face increased distances on their migratory journeys from sub-Saharan Africa as long as, or longer than, those faced by the Whitethroat, the study shows. These are birds of central and southern Europe which are not often found in Britain.

* The first is the Subalpine Warbler Sylvia cantillans a very pretty songbird with an orange breast set off by a white "moustache" which is found in southern Europe, especially around the Mediterranean coast. It faces an average increase in its journey of about 470 miles.

* The second is the Orphean Warbler Sylvia hortensis which looks rather like a larger version of the Blackcap familiar to English bird lovers, which has a very similar range to the Subalpine Warbler. It faces an increase in its journey of about 340 miles.

* The third is the Barred Warbler Sylvia nisoria a fairly inconspicuous bird of an ashy grey-brown colour, which migrates to breed in central and eastern Europe. It faces an average increase in its annual journeys of nearly 600 miles.

The researchers only studied 17 bird species in total and it is quite possible that many more migrants to Europe from Africa may face longer annual journeys.

Source: Independent Online

17th April 2009: The Red List 2009 is coming and Africa is in the spotlight

On May 14 BirdLife International will release the 2009 Red List update for birds. BirdLife is the official IUCN Red List Authority for birds and this year will see a number of species being uplisted – meaning their situation is getting worse.

The 2009 update highlights the plight of Sidamo Lark Heteromirafra sidamoensis. Found only in south-central Ethiopia, its global range was previously estimated at 760 km2 with a population size of almost 2,000 individuals. But studies in 2007-2008 by researchers from BirdLife, the University of Cambridge, Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society (BirdLife in Ethiopia) and University of East Anglia discovered that available habitat covered just 35 km2, and density estimates provided a global population estimate of only 90-256 adults, all found on the Liben plain. This new information – recently published as a paper in the journal Animal Conservation – means that Sidamo Lark is being uplisted to Critically Endangered – the highest level of threat – in the 2009 Red List update. If it were to go to extinct, it would have the dubious honour of being the first known bird extinction for mainland Africa.

The lark is adapted to Ethiopia's "rangeland" – the savanna of native grasses that traditionally covered large parts of east Africa, but is now rapidly disappearing. In areas where the Liben plain has been overgrown by bush, converted into farmland or destroyed by overgrazing, the team rarely found Sidamo Larks. If the rangeland goes, so will the lark.

Rangeland degradation is often overlooked by conservationists, but it is not just the birds that suffer from the change in land use. The native people, the Borana pastoralists, also rely on intact rangeland to support their nomadic lifestyle. The degradation of the Liben Plain results directly from the Borana losing the use of their traditional rangelands. This has disrupted the subtle and sustainable seasonal movements of livestock which previously allowed grassland to be maintained in good condition.

Source: BirdLife

6th April 2009 : Killer mice bring albatross population closer to extinction

The Critically Endangered Tristan Albatross Diomedea dabbenena, has suffered its worst breeding season ever, according to research by the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK). The number of chicks making it through to fledging has decreased rapidly and it is now five times lower than it should be because introduced predatory mice are eating the chicks alive on Gough island - the bird’s only home and a South Atlantic territory of the United Kingdom.

The mice are also affecting Gough Island’s other Critically Endangered endemic species, Gough Bunting Rowettia goughensis. A recent survey of the bunting’s population revealed that the population has halved within the last two decades. Now there are only an estimated 400-500 pairs left.

“We’ve known for a long time that the mice were killing albatross chicks in huge numbers. However, we now know that the albatrosses have suffered their worst year on record”, said Richard Cuthbert, an RSPB scientist who has been researching the mice problem on Gough Island since 2000. “We also know that the mice are predators on the eggs and chicks of the Gough bunting and mice predation is the main factor behind their recent decline.”

Despite the grave situation for both species on Gough Island, UK government funding to plan for and take forward the eradication of mice is still lacking. This is despite recognition from two prominent UK House of Common's Committees that the "biodiversity found in the UK Overseas Territories is equally valuable and at a greater risk of loss" (than the UK) and that current levels of funding are "grossly inadequate". Eradicating mice is the single action that would solve the primary conservation threat facing both species.

“Tristan Albatross is being hit by a double whammy. The chicks are predated by mice and the adults and juveniles are being killed by longline fishing vessels”, said John Croxall, Chair of BirdLife’s Global Seabird Programme. “Unsustainable numbers are being killed on land and at sea. Without major conservation efforts, the Tristan Albatross will become extinct”.

The RSPB has been involved in a feasibility study to test whether it’s possible to remove the mice. So far, the trials look promising, giving both species a more optimistic future. Funding of this year's work on Gough has come from the Overseas Territory Environment Programme (OTEP).

“Tackling alien invasives species in UK Overseas Territories is one of 10 Key Actions to prevent extinctions that BirdLife has highlighted in a new publication, Critically Endangered Birds: a global audit”, said Richard Grimmett, BirdLife’s Head of Conservation. “It is also attainable, the removal of rats from seabird islands has been conducted at many other sites across the world with great success.”

Alistair Gammell, the RSPB’s International Director continued “It is essential that the UK Government commits adequate funding for the protection of the many threatened species found on the UK’s Overseas Territories. We are challenging the Government to prove its commitment to conservation by properly funding conservation initiatives in these territories, and most urgently to commit to funding the removal of mice from Gough.”

Source: BirdLife International

6th April 2009: Giant carnivorous mice threaten world's greatest seabird colony

Whalers who visited remote Gough Island in the South Atlantic 150 years ago described a prelapsarian world where millions of birds lived without predators and where a man could barely walk because he would trip over their nests. Today the British-owned island, described as the most important seabird colony in the world, still hosts 22 breeding bird species and is a world heritage site.

But Gough is the stage for one of nature's greatest horror shows. One of those whaling boats, probably from Britain, carried a few house mice stowaways who jumped ship on Gough. Now there are 700,000 or more of them on the island, which is the size of Guernsey.

What is horrifying ornithgologists is that the humble house mouse which landed on Gough has somehow evolved to two or even three times the size of an ordinary British house mice, and instead of being a vegetarian, eating insects and seeds, has adapted itself to become a carnivore, eating albatross, petrel and shearwater chicks alive in their nests. They are now believed to be the largest mice found anywhere in the world.

Those who have witnessed the phenomenon say that the supersized mice attack at night either on their own or in groups, gnawing through the nests and into the baby birds' bodies. Their parents, who have never experienced predators, are unable defend their offspring from the rodents' furtive attacks.

Yesterday, Birdlife International, a global alliance of conservation groups, recognised that the mutant mice, who are without predators themselves, are now completely out of control and are threatening to make extinct several of the world's rarest bird species.

The organisation, which runs the Red List of endangered bird species, raised both the Tristan Albatross, of which only a few remain in the world, and the Gough Bunting, a small finch found nowhere else in the world, on to the list of the world's most critically endangered species, the highest category of threat. Five other bird species on the island are also said to be threatened.

"Things are getting worse on Gough. In the presence of house mice, the albatross and bunting have no chance of survival. The only hope for these threatened birds is the complete eradication of mice", said Dr Geoff Hilton, an RSPB scientist who has been researching conservation problems in UK overseas territories.

"The world's greatest seabird island is being eaten alive, as the mice are likely to be affecting the fortunes of many seabirds on the island. Without help, Gough Island will be likely to lose the majority of seabirds," said Hilton. Studies suggest that about 60% of all Gough's bird chicks die in their nests, probably because of predation by the mice. "It is a catastrophe. The albatross chicks weigh up to 10kgs. Ironically, they evolved on Gough because it had no mammal predators - that is why they are so vulnerable. The mice weigh just 35g; it is like a tabby cat attacking a hippopotamus", said Hilton.

Yesterday, the RSPB proposed hiring helicopters to drop thousands of tonnes of rodent poison on the island. "A government-funded feasibility study done with New Zealand, which has eradicated rats from many islands, shows it is possible. They mice would take the poison and just go to their nests and die. We think it could be done fairly easily and would cost about £2.6m", said a spokeswoman.

"The study shows there is a glimmer of light showing that we might be able to fix this problem. The UK government has supported us in discovering the problem, in conducting the feasibility study, and now in finalising our plan for the mouse eradication. The big question is whether the UK will take its international commitments seriously and do what the governments of New Zealand and Australia have done, and provide the big money needed to actually do the mouse eradication. If they don't, we won't be able to give two critically threatened species the lifeline they need".

Britain has long been criticised for not maintaining the ecology of its overseas territories which are mainly made up of groups of islands like Pitcairn, Tristan da Cunha, and the Falklands. Of the world's 190 most endangered birds, 32 are now officially British responsibility.

The discovery that the mice had supersized themselves and adapted their diets was made by Richard Cuthbert, a professional ornithologist who spent a year on the island in 2001 and only stumbled on the phenomenon as he was leaving the island. "It sounds incredulous, implausible that a mouse could attack a chick, but these chicks are really big spherical balls of fat covered in down, and because they are so fat and big they cannot defend themselves", he said later.

Source: The Guardian

27th March 2009: North African waterbird conservation gets a boost

A new 3-year project to ‘Strengthen waterbird and wetland conservation capacities in North Africa (WetCap)’ has just started. The project will build the capacity of wetland management activities at key sites in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt and Mauritania. It will also promote the wise use of wetlands which benefit local people by providing clean water and opportunities for fishing, agriculture, recreation and tourism.
 
Through a series of regional and national workshops specifically tailored to the needs and requirements of the region, WetCap will provide training for conservation professionals from the five countries to improve the conservation status and management of waterbirds at key wetland sites. The project will also allocate small grants to local waterbird and wetland conservation projects. 

WetCap is linked to the ongoing ‘Wings over Wetlands (WOW)’ project. “This unique project perfectly complements the WOW project by implementing its objectives in North Africa, a region which has not been in the focus of the WOW project so far”, said Bert Lenten – Executive Secretary of AEWA, a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) administered international treaty dedicated to the conservation of migratory waterbirds across Africa and Eurasia.

“Waterbird conservation work is often hampered by a lack of data on population sizes, the movements of the birds or the sites used by them”, said Dr Jonathan Barnard - Senior Programme Manager at BirdLife International. “WetCap will help familiarise conservation professionals with flyway-level information developed under the Wings over Wetlands project, and link this to local needs to ensure that the project benefits both people and nature ”.

Source: BirdLife

23rd March 2009: BirdLife campaigns to save migratory birds

More than 40% of migrant birds passing between Africa, the Middle East and Europe, have declined in the last three decades. Of these 10% are classified by BirdLife as Globally Threatened or Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. “Every year, migratory birds brave mountains, oceans, deserts and storms on their journeys to survive”, said Dr Marco Lambertini - CEO of BirdLife International.

“Their epic flights connect us all - crossing our borders, cultures and lives. However, we are destroying the habitat they need to rest and re-fuel, building hazardous structures such as powerlines which cross their path, and illegally shooting and trapping them", added Dr Lambertini.

In response to these worrying declines, BirdLife has launched the Born to Travel Campaign to protect migratory birds along the African-Eurasian flyway. "There is no better moment than the first day of the northern spring to celebrate the arrival of migratory birds from Africa, and for BirdLife to announce our Born to Travel campaign to improve the conservation of these amazing trans-continental travellers", added Dr Lambertini.

Source: BirdLife

23rd March 2009: Are Lake Natron's flamingos on the edge of extinction?

With the American dream in shambles and our country struggling with its own environmental and conservation issues why should anyone care about a bunch of flamingos nesting in some obscure lake in Tanzania? Why should it matter that a chemical company wants to build a soda extraction plant at or near their only nesting site forcing the birds into extinction? It should matter because the door will slam shut on the balance of nature.

Source: Nature Uganda

23rd March 2009: The sound of silence: The Cuckoo is vanishing

The cuckoo is vanishing. But its loss isn’t merely a wildlife tragedy – it’s the clearest possible sign that the natural world is changing for ever. In his moving new book, Michael McCarthy counts the cost

.

Source: The Independent

11th March 2009: The Saloum-Niumi Complex becomes the first Transboundary Ramsar Site in Africa

The Saloum-Niumi Complex has been officially declared as the first African Transboundary Ramsar Site by the Governments of The Gambia and Senegal. Shared between these two countries, the Saloum-Niumi complex forms a single ecological system comprising coastal wetlands and savannah forests, and includes one of the largest tracts of mangrove forest in West Africa.

The Wings Over Wetlands (WOW) Project has actually been fostering the cooperation between the site authorities on the ground in both Senegal and The Gambia, building the foundation for the transboundary protected area. Through the WOW Project, the Direction des Parcs Nationaux du Senegal, the Department of Parks and Wildlife Management of The Gambia, and The Wetlands International Africa Office in Dakar have developed and are now implementing an integrated transboundary management plan for the Saloum-Niumi Wetland Complex.

By definition, Transboundary Ramsar Sites are Ramsar sites which are part of an ecologically coherent wetland that extends across national borders, where the Ramsar site authorities on both sides of the border have formally agreed to collaborate in its management and have notified the Secretariat of that intent.

Source: Wings over Wetlands

5th March 2009: Rare Birds and Ripe Opportunities in Kenya 

Hope sometimes arrives in very small packages, like the 10 Taita Thrushes that were recently released in the tiny forest fragment known as Chawia Forest in the Taita Hills of Kenya.

That modest addition to the forest’s Taita Thrush Turdus helleri population - which had been estimated at around 10 - represented a potential milestone for a species that is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and whose total population is estimated at 1,350. It also marked the cumulative impact of years of conservation efforts in the Taita Hills.

The Taita Hills have lost 98 percent of forest cover during the last 200 years, mainly due to clearance for agricultural purposes. The remaining 400 hectares (almost 1,000 acres) of indigenous moist tropical forest is scattered in 11 fragments throughout the district. What remains is under continuing pressure from the densely populated communities nearby.

But those fragments also support numerous rare and endemic plants and animals. “The biodiversity is still there, so it’s not too late,” said Professor Luc Lens, head of the University of Ghent Terrestrial Ecology Unit, who has been studying the Taita Hills area since 1996.

Source: Conservation International

5th March 2009: Conserving biodiversity hotspots in Africa

BirdLife Partners from nine countries are meeting this week in Tunis to discuss progress of a major project to enhance monitoring of Africa’s biodiversity hotspots. Participants will discuss conservation challenges facing 160 of the most critical biodiversity sites across the continent.

The project is seeking to support eight biodiversity-rich African countries to meet the Convention on Biological Diversity’s target to ‘achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth’. BirdLife Partners are currently achieving this by developing accurate, cost-effective and robust methods to monitor biodiversity in Protected Areas (PA) and Important Bird Areas (IBAs).

“Birds are well-recognised indicators of biodiversity and a key contributor to livelihoods through food, medicine, energy and other ecosystem services”, said Dr Hazell Shokellu Thompson - Head of BirdLife Africa Secretariat. “Thus, this project which contributes to the conservation of birds and their habitats also makes a major contribution to sustainable development in Africa”, he added.

Source: BirdLife International

5th March 2009: Protecting Africa's IBAs – People and Partnerships

A new report documenting the condition of Kenya’s 60 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) has been launched. It shows an overall slight improvement in their conservation status, with the greatest progress being made at protected sites. However, this was offset by the continued deterioration of many unprotected locations. “This impressive report shows the importance of site protection for Kenya’s IBAs”, said Dr Leon Bennun, BirdLife’s Director of Science, Policy and Information.

IBAs are key sites for the conservation of birds and other biodiversity, and have been identified all over the world using BirdLife International’s objective and scientific criteria. Over 1,200 IBAs have been identified in Africa; many of which are threatened by habitat degradation and a lack of legal protection.

‘Kenya’s Important Bird Areas - Status and Trends 2007’ is the result of concerted effort by NatureKenya (BirdLife in Kenya), government environmental agencies and Site Support Groups (SSGs). It documents that thirty-five IBAs (58%) are under the protection and management of the Kenya Wildlife Service and the Kenya Forest Service, and shows that increased patrols have led to a substantial reduction in the number of illegal activities.

However, despite increased action at Kenyan IBAs, it is still too little to offset the ever increasing pressures. “The overriding threat to Kenya’s IBAs continues to be the increasing human demand for land, coupled with changes in land-use”, commented Dr Bennun.

Source: BirdLife International

26th January 2009: Google Earth reveals hidden oasis

Space may be the final frontier, but scientists who recently discovered a hidden forest in Mozambique show the uncharted can still be under our noses. BirdLife were part of a team of scientists who used Google Earth to identify a remote patch of pristine forest. An expedition to the site discovered new species of butterfly and snake, along with seven Globally Threatened birds.

The team were browsing Google Earth – freely available software providing global satellite photography – to search for potential wildlife hotspots. A nearby road provided the first glimpses of a wooded mountain topped by bare rock. However, only by using Google Earth could the scientists observe the extent of woodland on the other side of the peak. This was later discovered to be the locally known, but unmapped, Mount Mabu. Scientific collections and literature also failed to shed light on the area.

“This is potentially the biggest area of medium-altitude forest I’m aware of in southern Africa, yet it was not on the map”, related Jonathan Timberlake from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew), who led the expedition. “Most Mozambicans would not even have recognised the name Mount Mabu.”

Following scoping trips, a team of 28 experts from the UK, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Belgium, Ireland, and Switzerland ventured into it last autumn. They included scientists from BirdLife. The group was able to stay in an abandoned tea estate where the road ended, but had to hike the last few kilometres into the forest to set up camp. They had to contend with steep terrain and dense vegetation.

Inside, they found a wealth of wildlife, including three new species of butterfly and an undiscovered species of adder. The scientists believe there are at least two novel species of plant and perhaps more new insects to identify. They took home over 500 samples. “The phenomenal diversity is just mind-boggling”, exclaimed Jonathan Timberlake. Despite civil war from 1975 to 1992 ravaging parts of Mozambique, the landscape was found virtually untouched.

The site also proved to be important for birds, especially Endangered Thyolo Alethe Alethe choloensis, which is common throughout. “This may be the most important population of Thyolo Alethe known”, remarked Dr Lincoln Fishpool, BirdLife’s Global IBA Co-ordinator, who joined the expedition. “At other sites, forest is rapidly being lost or much of the habitat is sub-optimal”. There were six other Globally Threatened birds among the 126 species identified. Of these, Vulnerable Swynnerton's Robin Swynnertonia swynnertoni is particularly significant - bridging a large gap between known populations. Mozambique’s only endemic species, Near Threatened Namuli Apalis Apalis lynesi, was also seen. This was the first record of it away from nearby Mount Namuli.

Conserving Mount Mabu is now a priority. The forest’s value as a refuge to villagers during the war has thus far helped to protect it, along with poor access and ignorance of its existence. However local people are returning to the area and Mozambique’s economy is booming. There is a risk the forest will come under pressure to be cut for wood or burnt for crop space.

Source: BirdLife International

23rd January 2009: A new dawn for Malta

Situated on the central European-African flyway the Maltese Islands should be a haven for migrating birds. Unfortunately this is not the case. Internationally, Malta has a deserved reputation for bird persecution as trapping and illegal hunting are widespread. Since accession to the European Union (EU), conditions have improved on the islands, with spring hunting and trapping stopped last year. This year, if Accession Treaty negotiations are honoured, an even bigger step forward will be taken, with the banning of trapping.

The Birds Directive forbids trapping in EU member states. During Accession Treaty negotiations prior to joining the EU in 2004, Malta negotiated a five year phasing out period for the practise of trapping. This period expired at the end of 2008, and according to these agreements, 2009 will be the first year that trapping should be banned in Malta.

Source: BirdLife International

16th January 2009: Penguins are walking an increasingly rocky road

A new study, published in BirdLife International’s journal, Bird Conservation International, has revealed that the Northern Rockhopper Penguin Eudyptes moseleyi – which is principally found on UK territories in the South Atlantic – has declined by 90% over the last 50 years.

Historical records estimate that millions of penguins used to occur on Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island, but, declines (of more than 90%) have dramatically reduced their numbers in the last half century.

Historically, we know that penguins were exploited by people, and that wild dogs and pigs probably had an impact on their numbers. However, these factors cannot explain the staggering declines since the 1950s, when we have lost upwards of a million birds from Gough and Tristan. The declines at Gough since the 1950s are equivalent to losing 100 birds every day for the last 50 years", said Richard Cuthbert of the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) and lead author of the paper. "With more than half the world’s penguins facing varying degrees of extinction, it is imperative that we establish the exact reason why the Northern Rockhopper Penguin is sliding towards oblivion. Understanding what’s driving the decline of this bird will help us understand more about other threatened species in the Southern Ocean."

Possible factors for the decline of the Northern Rockhopper Penguin include climate change, shifts in marine ecosystems and overfishing. There is concern that the British Government will not put any great effort or resources into wildlife conservation for the United Kingdom’s overseas territories. Meetings held so far between ministers from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Department for International Development have failed to reach agreement.

"They are completely disinterested," said Sarah Sanders, the RSPB’s Overseas Territories Officer, said. "It's ridiculous and embarrassing. We are meant to be world leaders in biodiversity conservation and we can't even decide who is responsible for the overseas territories."

The Northern Rockhopper Penguin population on Gough is estimated at 32,000 to 65,000 pairs, with another 40,000 to 50,000 pairs on Tristan. These two strongholds account for more than 80% of the world population, the rest are found on two French-administered islands, St Paul and Amsterdam in the Indian Ocean, and are declining just as rapidly.

British overseas territories boast several species of bird found nowhere else in the world including four species classified as Critically Endangered, the highest threat category.

Source: BirdLife International

7th January 2009: Eurasian Hobby satellite tracked to Zimbabwe

German raptor specialists B.-U. Meyburg and K. D. Fiuczynski have, apparently
for the first time, used a 5 g solar satellite transmitter to track a female adult Eurasian Hobby Falco subbuteo breeding in Germany slightly north-west of
Berlin as far as Zimbabwe near Bulawayo.

These little transmitters have not been on sale so far. No other birds have apparently been tracked over such a long distance with the few experimental transmitters of this size produced by Microwave Telemetry, Inc.

The bird which had been trapped near the nest in August had reared young and
continued to behave normally after fitting the transmitter. Before arriving in Zimbabwe, the bird spent a long time in southern Angola.

Source: Raptor Research

7th January 2009: Sooty Falcon requires urgent action

A Sooty Falcon Falco concolor has been tracked from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to its wintering areas in Madagascar by the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD). This is the first satellite tracking of Sooty Falcon anywhere in the world. BirdLife believes this monitoring to provide useful information to help conserve this declining species. However, urgent action is now needed to protect breeding sites of this rare falcon on Abu Dhabi islands and elsewhere in the Gulf.

Sooty Falcons breed in scattered, highly localised colonies in the Middle East and time their breeding to coincide with the autumn migration of small birds. Most of the population winters in Madagascar where they hunt large insects.

The Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD) fitted the Sooty Falcon with a satellite transmitter at its nest on islands in the Sila Peninsula, Abu Dhabi. H.E Majid Al Mansouri, Secretary General of EAD, expressed his pride and reiterated the importance of such scientific studies.

"We chose to track the Sooty Falcon … because it is a key species for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi," said Abdulnasser Al Shamsi, EAD Director of Biodiversity Management Sector.

The bird – known as 'Ibn Battuta' - departed the UAE in October and was recorded flying over Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique before crossing into Madagascar, its final destination for the winter. "This first ever tracking of the species is a fantastic addition to world science," said Dr Salim Javed, EAD Deputy Manager of Bird Conservation. Altogether Ibn Battuta flew through seven countries and covered 6,700 km.

Sooty Falcon has recently been uplisted to Near Threatened owing to concerns that its population may be much smaller than previously thought, and in decline. A recent EAD breeding survey revealed a fall of 64% since 1994. They reported that the species had disappeared from several former nesting locations, and only six known breeding pairs remain. EAD scientists believe that the loss may be a result of disturbance from development and human presence during the nesting season.

“In the Arabian Gulf the situation appears to have reached a critical stage for nesting Sooty Falcons”, said Ibrahim Al-khader, BirdLife’s Director for the Middle East. “BirdLife is extremely concerned about this rare falcon. In biological terms the UAE Sooty Falcon population now critically close to extinction and requires immediate conservation action”.

Source: BirdLife International

29th December 2008: Christmas cracker at South African roost

Scientists monitoring at Mount Moreland - South Africa’s largest Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica roost - have captured their first overseas ringed bird from a festively snowy location. The young Barn Swallow had flown all the way from Finland – a total of 11,000 km! “This is an amazing Christmas gift”, said Hilary Vickers of the Lake Victoria Conservancy – sponsors of the Mount Moreland ringing programme.

“We were carefully fitting the swallows with rings so we can monitor their movements when we spotted a bird already carrying one”, said Mount Moreland bird-ringer Andrew Pickles. “A magnifying glass provided the words Helsinki - Finland!”

The Barn Swallow undertakes one of the world’s most remarkable migrations, with many individuals flying thousands of miles in spring to breed in Europe and then repeating the feat in the autumn, to spend the boreal winter in southern Africa.

The Finnish Barn Swallow is the first record of an overseas ringed bird being caught at Mount Moreland. However, it is likely that swallows travel from a number of European countries to the site.

Source: BirdLife International

22nd December 2008: World can watch breeding flamingos

The whole world now has an opportunity to watch the breeding antics of 20,000 Lesser Flamingos! A state-of-the-art webcam was recently installed on Kamfers Dam's famous flamingo breeding island, and the images are now broadcast to the world via Africam.

The equipment has numerous sophisticated functions, including pan, tilt and zoom, so close-up images of chicks hatching out of eggs, parents feeding their chicks, and many other aspects of the previously unseen breeding behaviour of Lesser Flamingos are now available to wildlife enthusiasts around the world. Infrared lights allow for 24 hour / day viewing, and a microphone allows one to hear the hustle and bustle of life in the flamingo colony. On the website, one can either see live-streaming images or static images which are refreshed every ten seconds.

"The equipment was sponsored by Nedbank Capital, Ekapa Mining and Nugen, with Herbert and Brenda Booth, Kamfers Dam's landowners, providing assistance and logistic support", said Campbell Scott, one of the directors of Africam. Brad Maxwell, joint-head of Mining & Resources at Nedbank Capital said, "Nedbank has a long history of promoting environmental responsibility, and therefore we are proud to have assisted in sponsoring the webcam." The project was coordinated by the Save the Flamingo Association, a group of concerned people, businesses and organizations who are committed to ensuring the conservation of Kamfers Dam and its flamingos and other waterbirds.

The artificial flamingo breeding island, the first such structure for Lesser Flamingos in the world, was funded and constructed by Ekapa Mining in September 2006. According to Jahn Hohne, Managing Director of Ekapa Mining, "…this exciting project enabled Ekapa to contribute to the conservation of Kimberley's magnificent dam and its flamingos."

The Lesser Flamingos bred successfully on the island last year, producing 9,000 chicks. A massive breeding event is currently underway and, as it is six weeks earlier than last year, more chicks are expected this time around. Breeding events are irregular at other sites and, for example, only successful every 12 years at Etosha Pan in Namibia. The annual breeding of Lesser Flamingos at Kamfers Dam will contribute to the conservation of these flamingos.

The Kamfers Dam Lesser Flamingo breeding island has received international acclaim, including both national and international awards. Ekapa Mining received the prestigious Nedbank Capital Green Mining Award in 2007 for their contributions to the project. Mark Anderson, who proposed and then coordinated the project, received an African - Eurasian Waterbird Agreement award in Madagascar in September 2008. Dr Brooks Childress, Chairman of the SSC / IUCN Flamingo Specialist Group, described the project as "…the most important contributions to flamingo conservation internationally in many years".

According to Mark Anderson, Executive Director of BirdLife South Africa, "Kamfers Dam is the only breeding locality for Lesser Flamingos in South Africa, and one of only four breeding localities in Africa". "This globally near-threatened species needs active conservation management, as the population is declining and there are very few breeding sites" he added.

Kamfers Dam's flamingos also have their problems. The Save the Flamingo Association was recently formed to address two important threats to the dam's flamingos, namely pollution from a sewerage works and a proposed massive housing development which will be located on a property adjacent to the dam.

As Lesser Flamingos only breed at vast, open pans and lakes, there has until now been no opportunity to view the breeding close-up and also to study the birds' biology. The webcam opens up so many opportunities to create an awareness about these interesting birds. Ornithologists will also use the camera to obtain much-needed scientific information about these flamingos' breeding biology.

Source: Mark D. Anderson, Executive Director, BirdLife South Africa

21st December: British team discovers lost Eden amid forgotten forest of Africa

It was one of the few places on the planet that remained unmapped and unexplored, but now Mount Mabu has started to yield its secrets to the world.

Until a few years ago this giant forest in the mountainous north of Mozambique was known only to local villagers; it did not feature on maps nor, it is believed, in scientific collections or literature. But after "finding" the forest on a Google Earth internet map, a British-led team of scientists has returned from what is thought to be the first full-scale expedition into the canopy. Below the trees, which rise 45m above the ground, they discovered land filled with astonishingly rich biodiversity.

The scientists found what they believe are three new species of butterfly, a previously undiscovered adder snake and new populations of rare birds. They also expect to find new plants among the hundreds of specimens they have brought back with them. Photographs from the trip - published here for the first time - show just part of the forest, tropical creepers, giant snakes such as the gaboon viper, and other wilodlife seen by the team, including small klipspringer and blue duiker antelope, noisy samango monkeys, elephant shrew, and the granite-like rocky peak of Mount Mabu. Back at Kew Gardens in west London, where he is based, expedition leader Jonathan Timberlake said the wonder of what they experienced was only sinking in now that they are home: "That's when the excitement comes out - when you come back home or start reading some of the background and realise you're breaking new ground."

Mount Mabu was "discovered" in 2005 when Timberlake's team were looking for a site for a conservation project. Soon afterwards, locally based conservationist Julian Bayliss visited the site and studied satellite photos which showed a forest of about 80 square kilometres. "It's then we realised this looked [to be] potentially the biggest area of medium-altitude forest I'm aware of in southern Africa," said Timberlake, who has spent most of his working life in the region. "Nobody knew about it. The literature I'm aware of doesn't mention the word 'Mabu' anywhere; we have looked through the plant collections of Kew and elsewhere and we don't see the name come up. It might be there under another name, but we're not aware of any collection of plant or animals or anything else taking place there."

After a few exploratory trips, in October and November this year 28 scientists and support staff from the UK, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania and Switzerland, with 70 porters, drove to an abandoned tea estate where the road ended and hiked the last few kilometres into the forest to set up camp for four weeks. One highlight was emerging from the canopy on the peak of Mount Mabu, 1,700m up, where "hundreds upon hundreds" of male butterflies had gathered in the sunlight to attract mates by flying as high as possible. "There were swifts flying in and peregrines in the air above: it was phenomenal," said Timberlake.

Source: The Guardian

19th December 2008: Natron's flamingos star in Disney film!

Walt Disney have chosen Lake Natron’s Lesser Flamingos Phoeniconaias minor to star in their first wildlife blockbuster in nearly half a century. ‘The Crimson Wing - Mystery of the Flamingos’ takes viewers to the isolated shores of Lake Natron, in northern Tanzania, for a birds-eye view of the mysterious and perilous lives of Lesser Flamingos. The film was premiered in Paris this week, and reminds the world of the threats facing one the world’s greatest wildlife spectacles.

Walt Disney produced wildlife documentaries called the ‘True-Life Adventure’ series between 1948 and 1960. These Oscar-winning films showed people the beauty of the natural world. The Crimson Wing marks the return of Disney to the genre. “We hope these films will contribute to a greater understanding and appreciation of the beauty and fragility of our natural world”, said Robert A. Iger, president and CEO, The Walt Disney Company.

Disney chose Lake Natron’s Lesser Flamingo population to relaunch their new company - Disneynature. For film maker Matthew Aeberhard, the extraordinary gathering of one and a half million flamingos on the shores of Lake Natron surpasses all the wonders of the natural world. “What’s fascinating to me is that so few people have been here”, said Aeberhard. “More people have walked on the moon than have been out on the mudflats where the flamingos have their breeding colonies”.

The Crimson Wing tells the story of the birth, life and death of a million Lesser Flamingos. Life at Natron is tough for the flamingos, with many predators threatening their daily survival. According to Aeberhard: “they have a number of predators such as Marabou Stork Leptoptilos crumeniferus, hyenas and jackals... The contrast here between life and death is very stark”.

Source: BirdLife International

17th December 2008: Seychelles success story

This week BirdLife International and Nature Seychelles (BirdLife in Seychelles) are celebrating the anniversary of one the world’s greatest conservation success stories. In 1968, Cousin Island was purchased by the International Council of Bird Preservation (ICBP now BirdLife International) to save the last remaining population of Seychelles Warbler Acrocephalus sechellensis from extinction. Forty years on, warbler numbers have risen by 300%, and the island has been transformed from a coconut plantation to a profitable Nature Reserve which greatly benefits local people and global biodiversity.

Cousin Island – a small island in Seychelles - is today home to a wealth of globally important wildlife. It is the most significant nesting site for Hawksbill Turtle Eretmochelys imbricata in the Western Indian Ocean, and supports over 300,000 nesting seabirds of seven species. Cousin also hosts five of the Seychelles’ eleven endemic land-birds including: Seychelles Magpie-robin Copsychus seychellarum (Endangered), Seychelles Sunbird Nectarinia dussumieri, Seychelles Fody Foudia seychellarum and Seychelles Blue-pigeon Alectroenas pulcherrima.

Until 1968 Cousin was a coconut plantation which had lost most of its native vegetation. The Seychelles Warbler was almost extinct and fewer than 30 birds remained in the world; being confined mostly to a mangrove swamp on Cousin. In response, ICBP launched a world wide campaign and bought the island with the aim of saving the warbler. That year Cousin was declared a legally protected Nature Reserve by the Seychelles Government.

“Seychelles Warbler population was so small that a single severe climate, disease or man made event could have caused their extinction”, said Dr Mike Rands – BirdLife’s CEO and Director. “Transformation from a coconut plantation to an ecologically-restored island was achieved through careful habitat management and preventing alien predators - such as rats - from arriving”.

Source: BirdLife International

9th December 2008: Soaring migratory bird deaths in Egypt

Large numbers of migrating Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina and White Stork Ciconia ciconia have been found dead near a water treatment plant in Egypt. The exact causes of their death are not known. However, a new BirdLife project will address key threats to soaring migratory birds as they undertake their epic journeys.

Soaring migratory birds glide between areas of rising hot air to aid their long-distance passage. This method, which cannot be used over large water bodies or high mountains, limits the potential routes and concentrates birds into vulnerable corridors. Egypt is at a critical geographic bottleneck for soaring migratory birds, and at the time of the recent deaths thousands of birds were passing through the country.

In total, local bird watchers found 27 Lesser Spotted Eagles and over 30 White Storks dead near a water treatment plant in Sharm el Sheik, Egypt. In addition, BirdLife received reports of a grounded European Honey-buzzard Pernis apivorus and a number of dead 'wader' species.

"We don't know the exact causes of these deaths", said Hala Barakat, President of Nature Conservation Egypt (BirdLife in Egypt). "These birds face a number of different threats such poisoning, hunting, habitat-loss and direct collisions with structures such as wind-farms and power-lines".

"BirdLife's Migratory Soaring Birds project aims to address these threats. We will be working with these key economic sectors to better understand the underlying causes of the threats to soaring birds, and develop best practice guidelines", commented Dr Jonathan Barnard - BirdLife's Programme and Projects Manager. This will be achieved through regional awareness-raising and training, combined with six pilot projects in partnership with the key stakeholders across the Middle East and north-east Africa.

"Following lessons learned from our pilot projects, our aim is to set up an accreditation scheme to encourage companies to adopt a 'Soaring Bird friendly' approach to their work", noted Dr Barnard.

Source: BirdLife International

5th December 2008: Slender-billed quest

The RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) and other partners have launched a last push to find one of the world's rarest birds. They have issued a call to search for and find any remaining populations of Slender-billed Curlew Numenius tenuirostris. This announcement was made at the Ninth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (UNEP-CMS COP 9), in Rome, Italy, 1-5 December.

Classified as Critically Endangered, Slender-billed Curlew is the rarest species found in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, with no confirmed records since 1999. Regarded as very common in the 19th century, it declined dramatically during the 20th. It migrated from its presumed breeding grounds in Siberia, across central and eastern Europe to wintering grounds in North Africa and the Middle East. Flocks of over 100 birds were recorded from Morocco as late as the 1960s and 1970s. However, between 1980 and 1990, there were only 103 records, and from 1990-1999, this dropped to 74, with most recent verified records being of one to three birds. However, the Slender-billed Curlew is easily overlooked, challenging to identify and may use countries, such as Iraq and Iran, that have been relatively inaccessible to experienced birders in recent years.

"Although the situation for Slender-billed Curlew does look gloomy, the fact that other species have risen from the 'dead' recently does fuel our optimism. We are encouraging people not to give up on this bird", said Nicola Crockford of the RSPB and chair of the Slender-billed Curlew working group. "Additionally, this bird was known to inhabit remote areas - so it is just possible that small numbers of the bird may still be wintering in an isolated part of North Africa or the Middle East, or that some unknown nesting site may be discovered in the depths of Central Asia. But our quest is definitely a race against time."

The working group has developed a tool kit to assist people to identify and report Slender-billed Curlew in the field. This identification leaflet, a downloadable mp3 file of the call and a map of all recent sightings by season, mean that birders will now know what to look for, and when and where to look for it. Technological advances will assist with this work. Satellite tags are now small enough for use on Slender-billed Curlews; if any can be found and caught then the sites used during the migratory cycle could be determined. Also, research on feather samples from museum skins may soon enable a narrowing down of the search area for the breeding grounds (the only nesting records date from 1909-1924 in the Tara area of the Omsk-Novosibirsk region, south-west Siberia).

"This is the last chance to find Slender-billed Curlew. If we lose this species, it will be the first extinction of a European bird since Canary Islands Oystercatcher Haematopus meadewaldoi in 1981", said Richard Grimmett, BirdLife's Head of Conservation. "We've launched The BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme to save the world's most threatened birds. For many species - such as Slender-billed Curlew - the first step is to confirm if they still survive, and then identify and protect the sites that they use."

Source: BirdLife International

1st December 2008: Tanzanian Minister outlines Natron’s value

Speaking at a recent Conference of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, Tanzania's Environment Minister outlined the value of Lake Natron as the world's most important breeding site for Lesser Flamingos Phoeniconaias minor. Dr Batilda Salha Buriani stated that Lake Natron is: "The sole breeding ground of up to 2.5 million flamingos ... representing 75% of the global population".

During the conference, Tanzania's Environment Minister spoke about Lake Natron as: "the flamingo's birthplace". She continued: "Tanzania is conscious of the potential that the wise use of wetlands can offer to sustain the economic and social activities of a wide range of public and private stakeholders".

Responding to concerns raised over the proposal to construct a soda ash plant at Lake Natron, Dr Buriani assured delegates that: "Tanzania is very cautious and whatever decisions that will be made will not in any way be at the expense of nature and ecosystems values". Furthermore, she stated that: "The government recognises the contribution of Lake Natron to accelerated national economic growth, meeting the Millennium Development Goals and sustainable livelihoods of local communities and to poverty reduction initiatives, particularly through tourism".

"The Government of Tanzania and the global community have a unique opportunity to enhance the conservation values of Lake Natron for the benefit of local communities and its extraordinary wildlife", said Richard Grimmett, BirdLife's Head of Conservation. "There are few places on earth like Lake Natron. We should take advantage of the current goodwill to protect it in perpetuity".

There is a proposal to construct a plant capable of producing 500,000 tonnes of soda ash at Lake Natron. The project's Environmental and Social Impact Assessment was recently withdrawn after worldwide opposition. BirdLife International believes the development, and associated infrastructure, will displace and scatter the Lesser Flamingos, and is spearheading the "Think Pink" campaign to conserve Lake Natron. Similarly, the Lake Natron Consultative Group - a consortium of 46 concerned institutions in Africa, Europe, Americas and Asia - has called for a halt to the soda ash plant plans.

The Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention passed a resolution requesting that the 'Government of Tanzania provide the Secretary General with updated information in relation to the advice and recommendations of the Ramsar Advisory Mission to the Lake Natron Basin Ramsar site, in particular concerning the proposed development of soda ash facilities'. "Let me reiterate Tanzania's unfaltering commitment to the effective implementation of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands", commented Dr Buriani.

"I am one of those who strongly believe that we have not inherited this planet from our ancestors but rather we have borrowed it from our children ... whatever decision we make should be with their interests in our hearts", said Dr Buriani. 

"Africa faces many challenges including extreme poverty", said Achilles Byaruhanga, Nature Uganda's Executive Director and BirdLife Africa's Wetlands focal point. "However, we should avoid the temptation of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs in the process of addressing these problems. This might be the case if we allow soda ash mining to take place at Lake Natron".

Source: BirdLife International

28th November 2008: Nigerian community empowered by wetland project

A collaborative project by BirdLife and the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF; BirdLife in Nigeria) has empowered a community to improve a local wetland. Habitat management has greatly improved the wetland, and local people are already catching more and bigger fish. The forthcoming annual waterbird count will soon reveal how birds have also benefited.

The pilot scheme is part of the Wings Over Wetlands (WOW) project, a large collaborative initiative aimed at conserving migratory waterbirds and their habitats in the African-Eurasian region. WOW has been operational in Nigeria since the middle of 2007, and is working with local partners to foster local solutions to the environmental challenges they face with regard to the wetlands and their livelihoods.

The Hadejia Nguru wetlands are an Important Bird Area and Ramsar site in the Sahel zone of north-eastern Nigeria, and the location for the WOW demonstration project. The wetlands are an important wintering and stop-over site for waterbirds migrating between Europe and Africa. They offer respite and water for 68 species such as Ruff Philomachus pugnax and Spur-winged Goose Plectropterus gambensis.

The wetland is also very valuable to the 1.5 million farmers, herders and fishermen who depend on it for their income and subsistence. The area is a floodplain comprising permanent lakes and seasonal pools, all connected by channels. These pools are very important, as they allow fishermen to fish, and farmers to irrigate their land outside of the wet season.

However, the role of the plain, as both a habitat for birds and a livelihood resource, is under threat. Hydrological changes, caused by upstream dams and other land-use activities, have slowed the water flow through the channels, and have allowed the native Typha species - a type of reed - to thrive. This has blocked the waterways; stemming their flow, reducing the flooding needed to irrigate farms, and preventing pools from forming.

The WOW demonstration project is enabling one community - Dabar Magini - to restore an area of the wetlands. A village committee has been set up and provided with basic hand-tools to manually clear the Typha, and since the beginning of the year in excess of 10km of waterways have been reclaimed. Already local people are reporting benefits, saying pools are forming further from the lakes than before and that bigger and more fish are being caught. They're so impressed with the results that they've independently set-up a maintenance programme. An annual waterbird count will soon reveal how birds have also benefited.

Source: BirdLife International

27th November 2008: Project emphasises conservation and livelihood link

A pilot project in Burkina Faso, Botswana and Kenya implemented by BirdLife Africa Partners, has confirmed that communities do benefit from the sustainable use of natural resources. Over the last four years, the 'Improving Livelihoods' scheme has demonstrated clear links between biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction.

"The livelihood security of millions of rural people all over Africa is inextricably linked with biodiversity and the use of biological resources, either through the direct use of the goods which they supply to people, or indirectly through the wider environmental and cultural services", said Dr Hazell Shokellu Thompson, BirdLife Director for Africa and Secretariat Head. "This is what BirdLife in Africa has been showcasing through this project and it's satisfying to see results".

Women who have been implementing this project through Fondation des Amis de la Nature (BirdLife in Burkina Faso) have greatly benefited from the sale of products from parkia grains - increasing their incomes by 50%. As a result they are now taking great care of the indigenous trees that produce these grains, and enhancing biodiversity by planting more.

In Kenya, the Kijabe Environment Volunteers are one of BirdLife's Site Support Groups (SSGs), with NatureKenya (BirdLife in Kenya). They have been providing local communities with the information and resources they need to advance environmentally friendly businesses, implementing a management plan for the local forest and are providing practical livelihood and conservation training.

At Botswana's Lake Ngami IBA, canoeing bird guides are benefiting from their chaperoning activities by earning about 35 pula (just over 220 Euros or 280 US Dollars) from each tourist. Furthermore, Vulnerable Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres at the Mannyelanong Hill IBA are breeding more successfully, due to intervention of the Cape Vulture Environment Club, which is implementing the Mannyelanong management plan in collaboration with the Wildlife Division. This involves activities such as reducing human disturbance to vulture breeding sites. Both these projects are supported by BirdLife Botswana (BirdLife in Botswana).

However, as well as celebrating successes, stakeholders were now keen to push the project forward. "Our IBAs are in rural settings where often the poorest are also found, and continuing to emphasise this link between biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction is crucial", stressed Jane Gaithuma, BirdLife Regional Project Manager and Policy and Advocacy Coordinator for Africa.

"We are excited by the outcomes of this project, but clearer tangible results are needed to show win-win solutions for linking biodiversity conservation with poverty reduction", added Dr Karin Gerhardt, representative for the Swedish Biodiversity Project (SwedBio), who funded the scheme. "It is important for conservation organisations like BirdLife to scale up the project within the piloting countries, particularly on the level of empowerment, capacity building, linking today's knowledge about the 'free' ecosystem services and local knowledge. The Lessons learnt from the pilot project should be disseminated to the conservation and development NGOs, Governments, Donors and international policy maker".

There is already a scale up of the project through the collaboration between the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development and BirdLife Africa Partners. This is being implemented in Kenya, and will expand into Ethiopia and South Africa. BirdLife Africa hopes to continue work started in all these countries in the years to come.

Source: BirdLife International

24th November 2008: African Important Bird Areas get conservation toolkit

A toolkit that synthesises lessons learnt by the BirdLife Africa Partnership in the identification, monitoring and conservation of Important Bird Areas (IBAs) was recently launched. “This toolkit will be valuable, not only to the members of the BirdLife Partnership, but also to other practitioners interested in biodiversity conservation”, said Dr Hazell Shokellu Thompson, Regional Director for BirdLife in Africa.

In 2001 BirdLife published a directory of IBAs in Africa and its associated Islands. Since that time, BirdLife Partners in Africa have embarked on an ambitious process of advocacy, action and monitoring to protect these sites in perpetuity. The new book, entitled ‘A Toolkit for Important Bird Area Conservation in Africa’ presents the results of lessons learned towards the sustainable conservation of these key sites.

All stages of the IBA Programme are covered, from identification and monitoring, to undertaking conservation action through to training and development. “The toolkit is published in both English and French, as a resource aimed primarily at supporting BirdLife Partners and other conservationists to apply the IBA approach in identifying, monitoring and safeguarding sites that are critical to the conservation of birds and biodiversity”, remarked Dr Julius Arinaitwe, BirdLife’s Regional IBA Programme Manager.

“BirdLife wishes to thank the Aage V. Jensen Charity Foundation for the generous support, not only towards the production of the toolkit, but also to other key programmes of BirdLife’s conservation and livelihoods work” added Dr Thompson.

Source: BirdLife International

23rd November 2008: BirdLife volunteers receive prestigious prize

A group working to conserve the Kikuyu Escarpment forest Important Bird Area (IBA) in Kenya has won the prestigious Equator Prize for 2008. The Kijabe Environment Volunteers (KENVO) were chosen from 310 nominations and received the award at the IUCN World Conservation Congress, in Barcelona, Spain.

Site Support Groups (SSGs) like KENVO are key to BirdLife's work and one of the most practical ways of achieving conservation by local communities. They work to protect the most threatened biodiversity sites, whilst ensuring benefits from the wise use of the natural resources. SSGs are valuable tools for the future, due to their intricate relationships with the wider community and to the resources within IBAs.

KENVO are providing local communities with the information, education and resources they need to advance environmentally friendly businesses, by connecting local entrepreneurs with low-interest loans. They also provide practical training in bee-keeping and eco-tourism guiding, and work with clubs and local schools to promote conservation education. They contribute to direct management of Kereita forest - part of Kikuyu Escarpment forest - through a tree-planting initiative focused on indigenous species.

The SSG was one of 25 winners, chosen out of recommendations from 70 nations in the tropics. They were selected to celebrate outstanding community efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation of biodiversity. KENVO, which works with NatureKenya (BirdLife in Kenya), has shown remarkable success in addressing conservation issues at Kikuyu Escarpment forest, where human pressure has been increasing. This IBA is rich in bird species and is home to regionally threatened species such as African Olive Ibis Bostrychia olivacea and Crowned Hawk-eagle Stephanoaetus coronatus.

Source: BirdLife International

14th November 2008: British company endangers wildlife paradise

A British company wants to mine coal in the heart of one of South Africa’ most ecologically sensitive natural environments. Conservationists believe the prospecting rights obtained by Delta Mining, which is now majority owned by London Mining plc, is illegal and poses one of the most serious threats to the country’s natural heritage for decades.

The extraction of coal from almost 200 km2 of the Wakkerstroom / Luneburg region, a vast area of wetlands and grassland east of Pretoria, would destroy habitats used by over 300 bird species including South Africa’s national bird, Blue Crane Grus paradisea (Vulnerable).

More than 85% of the world’s Rudd's Lark Heteromirafra ruddi (Vulnerable) live on the Wakkerstroom where Bush Blackcap Lioptilus nigricapillus and Yellow-breasted Pipit Anthus chloris (Vulnerable) also thrive. Thousands of jobs could be lost if the development went ahead. The sources of four major rivers are found in the region and all could be heavily polluted by mining operations.

BirdLife South Africa supported by the RSPB has applied to the South African High Court for a judicial review of Delta’s prospecting rights in the Wakkerstroom / Luneburg region. These prospecting rights were obtained without proper consultation with affected landowners and without adequately taking the severe conservation impact of mining into consideration. The application is being opposed, by both Delta Mining and the South African Government’s Department of Minerals and Energy.

Wakkerstroom’s high altitude grasslands host more than 300 species of bird and more than 100 endemic plants, and more than 80% of bird-watching trips in South Africa include Wakkerstroom in their schedule. Among sites threatened by the prospecting is the Pongola Forest Reserve, which is a formally protected area and forms part of the Eastern Grasslands region. Delta Mining claims in its Environmental Management Plan that there are “no threatened species on the site”, yet 13 of the country’s endemic bird species are found only in this grassland region and this area was designated an Important Bird Area by BirdLife South Africa in 2001.

Carolyn Ah Shene said: “We have absolutely no confidence in the company’s promises of environmental safeguards. It has blatantly ignored the legal requirements for environmental impact studies so far, suggesting it has no regard for the impact of its proposed development on the region’s natural environment. Thousands of people who depend on farming and tourism in the region will lose their jobs if mining goes ahead”.

“This is one of the biggest threats to South Africa’s wildlife to emerge for decades”, said Paul Buckley, RSPB Africa Specialist. Wakkerstroom is known worldwide as a biodiversity hotspot and has long been a unique environmental showcase for South Africa”.

“British companies are improving their environmental records and we expect Delta Mining and London Mining to be equally responsible. They must go back to the drawing board, recognise the global importance of these grasslands and its biodiversity and undertake the required consultations legally required in South Africa. Those earning a living from showcasing Wakkerstroom’s rich natural environment expect nothing less”.

Source: BirdLife International

14th October 2008: Saving the Pink Pigeon

Hundreds of years after the Dodo became extinct, conservationists in Mauritius are trying to save one of the birds relatives, the Pink Pigeon. The Dodo lived on the island of Mauritius before the year 1700 but was hunted to extinction.

Pink Pigeons grabbed the attention of conservationists world-wide when a few of the birds - thought to be extinct like the Dodo - were discovered in a tiny section of the forest in the 1970s. Efforts to save the bird have been fairly successful, despite the danger posed by rats, cats and monkeys brought to the island by settlers 400 hundred years ago.

Thanks to institutions like the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation there are now Pink Pigeon sanctuaries in Mauritius and the numbers have increased to some 400 birds - enough to suggest the bird will survive into the future.

Source: Reuters to see a video of the conservation efforts on Mauritius.

13th October 2008: New sightings of the Ibadan Malimbe in Nigeria's newest proposed IBA

Surveys of the Ifon Forest Reserve, Nigeria, in November 2007 and March 2008 provided confirmed sightings of Endangered Ibadan Malimbe Malimbus ibadanensis, which is endemic to south-west Nigeria. These and earlier sightings have led Ifon Forest Reserve to be proposed as Nigeria's newest Important Bird Area.

"The sighting of the Ibadan Malimbe in Ifon Forest Reserve indicates an extension of the earlier range, and have raised interesting research questions about the distribution of Ibadan Malimbe in south-western forests", said Ademola Ajagbe of Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF, BirdLife Partner Designate in Nigeria),

Ibadan Malimbe was known only from a small area circumscribed by Ibadan, Ife, Iperu and Ilaro in south-western Nigeria. In December 2006, the species was first discovered in Ifon Forest Reserve of Ondo State, where six sight records were obtained during a ten-day survey. Foraging pairs were seen on two separate occasions and lone males were recorded twice. Records of this species from Kakum National Park, Ghana, in February 2002, September 2004 and February 2005 are yet to be confirmed.

One male was identified during the eight-day survey in 2007, while two males were identified at two different locations during the eight-day 2008 survey in the central and northern portion of the reserve. It was difficult to ascertain the presence of female Ibadan Malimbe during the 2008 survey as the males were observed in the company of several Red-headed Malimbe M. rubricollis pairs.

Widespread forest clearance for subsistence agriculture is cited as a possible cause of the Ibadan Malimbe's decline since the 1970s, and human pressure on forests within its range is ongoing. Most of the forest patches within the species's current range are community-owned forests and their preservation is dependent upon local communities.

Source: BirdLife

9th October 2008: Birds show that world is falling short of biodiversity target

In 2002 the world’s governments took the unprecedented step of committing themselves to achieve a significant reduction in the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. With two years to go, birds are showing that we are falling far short of the target – and that, far from slowing down, the rate of biodiversity loss is still accelerating. This is the conclusion of State of the Worlds Birds, a new website and publication from BirdLife International showcased today at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

“Global change in biodiversity is hard to measure and effective indicators are still in short supply”, said Alison Stattersfield, BirdLife’s Head of Science and lead editor on the State of the Worlds Birds report. “This is where birds can really help, as we know much more about them than for most other animals and plants. Birds provide an accurate and easy to read environmental barometer, allowing us to see clearly the pressures our current way of life are putting on the world’s biodiversity.”

State of the Worlds Birds highlights several indicators that help to measure progress towards the 2010 target. The Red List Index for birds, based on the number and status of threatened species, shows that bird species are slipping faster than ever towards extinction. Other measures, including the Wild Bird Index for Europe, highlight rapid erosion around the world in the populations of more common and widespread birds, including songbirds, birds of prey, waterbirds and many migrant species. Initial results from monitoring of key sites, the Important Bird Areas, shows that their condition continues to deteriorate, though, encouragingly, more conservation responses are being put in place.

“Overall, the rate of deterioration has been speeding up since our last global assessment in 2004,” says Alison Stattersfield. “The accelerating decline in relatively common and widespread birds is especially alarming and can be linked to ever-increasing pressures on natural habitats. Our data suggest that recent policy changes such as the drive towards producing biofuels are damaging biodiversity and seriously undermining efforts to meet the 2010 target.”

Not all the news is bad. A companion report, Critically Endangered birds: A global audit, also showcased today at the IUCN meeting, shows that 16 bird extinctions have been prevented in recent years through conservation action. Eighteen Critically Endangered birds have also now qualified for lower categories of threat.

“It is clear that conservation action can and does work”, said Dr Leon Bennun, BirdLife’s Director of Science, Policy and Information. “What we need is commitment, from decision-makers and not just conservationists. It’s time to recognize the real value of biodiversity and for Governments to honour the commitments they have made to invest in its conservation. Given the enormous benefits that biodiversity provides to people, the investment needed to look after it represents an absolute bargain.”

BirdLife’s State of the world’s birds website provides the most up-to-date information on bird indicators, threatened birds and Important Bird Areas, and a searchable database of carefully documented and referenced case studies expanding on and supporting the overall analysis. It is a flexible and authoritative resource for decision-makers, conservation practitioners and researchers looking for information on the condition of the world’s birds, the pressures on them and the responses needed.

Source: BirdLife

4th October 2008: Key conservation caucus urges protection of Lake Natron

Conservationists from all over Africa and other parts of the world have strongly urged the Government of Tanzania to ensure the protection of Lake Natron. The site is the world’s most important breeding site for Lesser Flamingos Phoeniconaias minor.

At the recently concluded 12th Pan-African Ornithological Congress (PAOC 12), held near Cape Town, South Africa, the experts expressed concern that the proposed soda ash mining at Lake Natron raises serious questions about the future of the lake and its flamingos.

In a resolution unanimously passed during the closing day, the meeting noted that the lake is uniquely suitable for Lesser Flamingo nesting because of the chemical composition of the water, the presence of a suitable substrate for nest construction, and very effective isolation from disturbance by humans and predators.

Tata Chemicals Ltd backed up by the Government of Tanzania has proposed to construct a soda ash plant capable of producing 500,000 tonnes of soda ash (sodium bicarbonate) at Lake Natron. The project has drawn worldwide opposition. BirdLife International led the “Think Pink” campaign against the project while a coalition of conservation institutions in Eastern Africa, Lake Natron Consultative Group, spearheaded another.

The PAOC 12 resolution further noted that the display of pink flamingos at lakes in the East African Rift Valley is a major tourist attraction, described as “the greatest ornithological spectacle on earth”. This natural heritage therefore needed to be conserved.

Source: BirdLife

16th September 2008: Delegates discuss flyway conservation

Over 150 representatives of government and non-governmental organisations as well as waterbird experts from 80 countries are meeting in Madagascar this week. They are discussing urgent conservation responses necessary to reverse the declines of many migratory waterbird species along the African-Eurasian Flyway.

The meeting highlights recent findings which show continuing declines of many waterbird species in Africa and Eurasia. Delegates are discussing how best to restore the status of these species to meet the target of ‘halting the decline of global biodiversity by 2010’.

“Flyway conservation at work – review of the past, vision for the future” is the theme of the Fourth Meeting of the Parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA). AEWA is an international treaty dedicated to the conservation of migratory waterbirds such as ducks, waders, storks, flamingos and many others which migrate along the African-Eurasian Flyways. Countries which have become Parties to the Agreement commit to putting measures in place to conserve the region's waterbird populations and the habitats on which they depend.

“BirdLife are working with partners on the largest international wetland and waterbird conservation initiative ever to take place across the AEWA region”, said Dr Vicky Jones, BirdLife’s Global Flyways Officer. The Wings Over Wetlands (WOW) project is aiding international collaboration along the African-Eurasian flyways, improving the availability of waterbird information, building capacity and demonstrating best practice in the conservation and wise-use of wetlands.

WOW supports field projects in eleven important wetland areas in 12 countries. These demonstration projects focus on a number of wetland-related conservation issues including community mobilization, management planning, ecotourism, field research, wetland restoration, control of invasive species, trans-boundary management, education and alternative livelihoods.

The project is also developing the Critical Sites Network Tool, an open access web portal which will  improve the availability of information on migratory waterbirds and the sites critical to their survival and help to unify conservation efforts along the flyways. Furthermore, a training and capacity development framework is being developed which focuses on enhancing the professional capacity and understanding of flyway-scale conservation concepts among conservation professionals and decision makers at various levels across the AEWA region.

WOW is a joint effort between Wetlands International, BirdLife International, the Global Environment Facility through the United Nations Environment Programme, the Secretariat of the AEWA, the Ramsar Convention Secretariat, the United Nations Office for Project Services and a range of donors and local partners along the African-Eurasian Flyways.

Source: BirdLife International

5th September 2008: Iron grip closes on Langebaan lagoon

BirdLife South Africa says time is running out for the Langebaan Lagoon - one of it's most precious Ramsar sites, and part of the West Coast National Park and Saldanha Bay islands Important Bird Area (IBA). Langebaan Lagoon is the most important wetland for waders in South Africa, regularly accounting for around 10% of South Africa's coastal wader numbers. The lagoon can support more than 37,500 non-passerine waterbirds in summer, of which 34,500 are waders, 93% of which are Palearctic migrants.

Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola, Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea, Sanderling C. alba, Red Knot C. canutus and Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres are the major components of the summer wader assemblage. The coastal strandveld supports several restricted-range and biome-restricted species, including the recently described Long-billed Lark Certhilauda curvirostris.

In winter, the lagoon regularly supports more than 10,500 birds, of which 4,500 are Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus and 4,000 are waders. BirdLife South Africa reports that this important Western Cape wetland is now plagued by port expansion, sewerage pollution, urban development and tourism infrastructure development, and may lose its conservation status as a important site for South Africa's breeding coastal birds.

The existing iron ore terminal is set to double its capacity for iron ore exports. This planned expansion has been seriously criticized by conservation organisations due to the expected impact on the hydrology, lagoon sediments, birdlife and shoreline of the lagoon. Evidence of the long-term negative impacts of the original port development in the early 1970s is visible on the eastern shores of the lagoon at the Langebaan village.

"The beaches have practically disappeared due to the scouring tidal action that was created by the causeway and jetty when the iron ore terminal was constructed," said Carolyn Ah Shene of BirdLife South Africa's Policy & Advocacy Division. "Tidal water that used to take four days to return to the Atlantic Ocean is now believed to take up to seventeen days to return. The extra dredging that will be required for the double capacity terminal will have devastating impacts on the lagoon sediments and its biota. We believe this will have a serious knock-on effect on bird diversity and numbers at the lagoon."

Source: BirdLife International

5th September 2008: Scientists axed in battle of flamingo dam

Three high-ranking scientists face disciplinary action and the loss of their jobs because of their work to save rare Lesser Flamingos in South Africa. All three were employed by the Northern Cape provincial government which has suspended them after discovering their links to a campaign to save Kamfers Dam, one of only six Lesser Flamingo breeding sites in the world. Deputy Director Julius Koen, ornithologist Mark Anderson and scientist Eric Herrmann have yet to receive charges or a date for their disciplinary hearing but have been suspended from their jobs with the department of tourism, environment and conservation.

They had called for action to tackle pollution of the dam, which is being blamed for swollen joints and lesions on the legs of many of this year’s 9,000 lesser flamingo chicks. In addition, plans to build a commercial park, shopping mall and 6,400 upmarket homes within the wetland’s protective buffer zone could force these vulnerable birds to leave.

Duncan Pritchard, Acting Executive Director of BirdLife South Africa, said: “The action against Mark and his colleagues has bewildered and outraged conservationists throughout South Africa and beyond. Kamfers Dam is one of the best places in the world to see lesser flamingos and could have the greatest potential of all lesser flamingo nesting sites in Africa, and especially southern Africa, to help these birds start recovering their numbers.” Kamfers Dam’s flamingo island was built less than two years ago to help reverse the lesser flamingo’s rapid decline. The idea was conceived by Mr Anderson in 1995 and he has been pivotal in the project since then. After the island’s construction in 2006, schoolchildren, scouts and guides built 1,000 nesting turrets on the site, which was designed in an S-shape to protect the island from wind and soil erosion.

More than 50,000 Lesser Flamingos – half the southern African population - have used the island for nesting and feeding already. The South African government has designated the 400-hectare wetland a Natural Heritage Site and images of the species grace buildings and business logos all over nearby Kimberley. The suspension of the three scientists is thought to have followed a complaint from a member of the public about the role of two of them in the Kamfers Dam Save the Flamingo campaign.

Mr Anderson, who worked for the state authority for 18 years, will soon become Executive Director of BirdLife South Africa but Mr Koen and Mr Herrmann may be out of work if disciplinary action goes against them. Mark Anderson said: “I feel proud of the work I have done. Many of the birds were sick because of the pollution and I was responsible for them. The support we have received has been incredible and the whole world seems to be behind us. This is publicising the flamingos’ plight internationally like nothing else could.”

The first webcam on any lesser flamingo site is being installed on Kamfers Dam island, looking down on the breeding colony. Campaigners hope live pictures beamed across the world using full sound and infrared cameras at night will bolster support for the birds. Lesser flamingos are also threatened at Lake Natron in Tanzania where the government and Indian multi-national TATA want to export soda ash. Lake Natron, in the Rift Valley, hosts between 1.5 and 2.5 million lesser flamingos in summer, 75 per cent of the world population.

Paul Buckley, an Africa specialist at the RSPB, which is backing the flamingo campaign, said: “Pollution and development are the most serious threats facing lesser flamingos in Africa. Safeguarding these birds at Kamfers Dam and Lake Natron is vital if we are to halt their serious and alarming decline. “We applaud local conservationists who are working tirelessly and at great personal cost to endure these sites remain protected and undisturbed sanctuaries. If they do not, the future is bleak for this beautiful and emblematic species.”

Source: BirdLife International

20th August 2008: New Bird Species Discovered In Gabon

Smithsonian Institution have discovered a new species of bird in Gabon, Africa, that was, until now, unknown to the scientific community.

The newly found Olive-backed Forest Robin Stiphrornis pyrrholaemus was named by the scientists for its distinctive olive back and rump. Adult birds measure 4.5 inches in length and average 18 grams in weight. Males exhibit a fiery orange throat and breast, yellow belly, olive back and black feathers on the head. Females are similar, but less vibrant. Both sexes have a distinctive white dot on their face in front of each eye.

The bird was first observed by Smithsonian scientists in 2001 during a field expedition of the National Zoo's Monitoring and Assessment of Biodiversity Program in southwest Gabon. It was initially thought, however, to be an immature individual of an already-recognized species. Brian Schmidt, a research ornithologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and a member of the MAB program's team, returned to Washington, D.C., from Gabon in 2003 with several specimens to enter into the museum's bird collection. When he compared them with other forest robins of the genus Stiphrornis in the collection, Schmidt immediately noticed differences in color and plumage, and realized the newly collected birds might be unique.

Source: Science Daily

20th August 2008: Government plan may save threatened Ndumo

South Africa's premier birdwatching destination is safe for the moment, despite a land invasion by local communities last month designed to open the Ndumo Game Reserve for agriculture. This week the KwaZulu-Natal cabinet accepted provincial agriculture and environmental affairs minister Mtholephi Mthimkulu's proposal for an integrated plan for the area. Mthimkulu said: "There is no need for de-proclamation at the moment."

The MEC said his plan would provide a more sustainable solution than de-proclaiming part of the reserve. The plan includes improving service delivery, better access to clinics and schools and increased interaction with communities.
Communities surrounding the reserve live in poverty and have little arable land. Early last month the Bhekabantu and eMbangweni communities cut the park's fence and occupied land, demanding that they be allowed to farm inside the park.

Riaan Aucamp, spokesperson for Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk, said the minister was worried about the Ndumo situation, but that the KwaZulu-Natal cabinet would handle it. The crisis poses a threat to the new Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Area, which will create a three-country mega reserve.

Source: Mail and Guardian Online

19th August 2008: Sharpe's Longclaw in trouble.

Sharpe's Longclaw Macronyx sharpei

We have already spent two weeks in the field. In particular, we were three days in the Aberdare National Park, one of the few protected areas where Sharpe's Longclaw Macronyx sharpei was reported in the past. Despite much searching we have not found any signs of Longclaw in the National Park. Either the species is very rare or even totally absent from there. What we found is that all the alpine moorland habitats in the National Parks are severely encroached by  shrubs and  dense grasses that make the habitat unsuitable for the Longclaw.

Management actions might be urgently needed to restore the habitat, and we fear that very similar situations might occur even on Mt Kenya and Mt Elgon. What we might find is that no Sharpe's Longclaw (or very few) occur inside National Parks.
Outside of protected is areas also very bad. The current world food crisis is enhancing the pace of conversion of grassland to agriculture. At several sites we counted the birds in grasslands while they were being ploughed. We have plans to visit Mt Kenya NP and Eldoret area soon. Mt Elgon and Mau Narok zones will have to wait until tribal clashes will calm a little bit.

Dominic Kamau, one of my field assistants has elaborated a small project for school kid education in the primary schools of the Kinangop plateau. Teaching kids about the conservation importance of Kenya's grassland is a key conservation action in my opinion. We are now collaborating with 10000 Birds, a UK-based blog, to advertise Dominic's idea on the internet and raise funds for Dominic's project. Charlie Moores, the owner of the blog, has already produced an introduction posting on the blog.

Source: Personal communication from Luca Borghesio. This project is supported by an ABC conservation award.

9th August 2008: Congo Basin passes 1 million ha milestone in swing to sustainable forestry

WWF today announced that more than one million hectares of Congo Basin forests have achieved certification under the world’s leading sustainable forestry scheme. The world’s second largest block of rainforests, the Congo Basin is a haven for indigenous peoples and endangered species like elephants and gorillas. It is also important in sequestering carbon and safeguarding water supply and quality.

“With rampant illegal logging, vague logging concession boundaries and massive blocks of pristine forest destined for the chainsaw, this is a laudable step towards avoiding an ecological disaster,” says James P. Leape, Director General of WWF.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification has now been achieved for forestry operations on 1.2 million hectares, a significant step towards WWF’s Green Heart of Africa network initiative goal of having certification achieved for 50% of production forest in the Congo Basin. The certification involves logging companies SEFAC, Transformation Reef Cameroon (TRC) and WIJMA in Cameroon and CIB in the Republic of Congo.

“While the certified forests will have to be maintained according to acceptable international standards, there is urgent need for other timber business operations in the region to adopt responsible forest management practices in order to ensure the conservation of this unique forest ecosystem for the benefit of people in the region and the world,” added Mr. Leape.

To promote responsible forest management and trade in the Congo Basin, WWF-CARPO has set up the Central Africa Forest and Trade Network (CAFTN), a part of WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) – which works to provide support, advice and guidance to logging companies to help them better understand how good logging practices can contribute to conservation of biodiversity, improve the livelihood of local communities and lead to a market advantage.

“Illegal forest exploitation and forest crimes are largely due to poor governance and insufficient law enforcement,” said Laurent Somé, WWF Central Africa Regional Programme Office (CARPO)'s Representative.. “WWF also recognizes that responsible forest management plays an important role in the economic growth of tropical countries and reducing poverty in forest communities.

“WWF is convinced that the adoption of responsible forestry schemes by logging companies will contribute greatly to the conservation of the Congo Basin forests and towards improving the national economy and also improve the livelihoods of local communities,” Mr Some said. “For the success of responsible forestry in the Congo basin, there is a high need for government to set up enabling conditions that include enacting adequate legislation and enforcement, and promoting good governance while providing support to responsible forestry initiatives.”

By 2012, WWF expects that 7 million hectares of forest in the Congo Basin will be under credible certification while another 5 million hectares will be progressing towards credible certification.

Source: World Wildlife Fund

6th August 2008: 'Net losses' for South African seabirds

A study of trawl fishing in South Africa suggests that around 18,000 seabirds may be killed annually in this fishery, highlighting trawl fisheries as a major threat to seabirds, especially several species of albatross already facing a risk of extinction.

Published in the journal Animal Conservation, the study was based on scientists monitoring catches on 14 different vessels, operating in the Benguela Current, off South Africa; one of the main hotspots for seabirds in the Southern Hemisphere.

The vessels were trawling for hake, and the majority of bird deaths were a result of collisions with wires - known as warp lines - leading from the stern of the vessels.

“We believe the seabird deaths the scientists recorded might be just the tip of the iceberg”, said John Croxall, Chair of BirdLife’s Global Seabird Programme. “It suggests that around 18,000 seabirds may be killed annually in this fishery alone,” he added. “Most mortality relates to the dumping of fishing waste behind the boat. This attracts seabirds which can either hit the warp lines or become entangled in the nets,” commented Dr Croxall.

The species killed during the study include South African breeding species such as Vulerable Cape Gannet Morus capensis, and species such as Vulnerable White-chinned Petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis, Endangered Black-browed Diomedea melanophris and Near Threatened Shy Albatross Thalassarche cauta, which visit the Benguela Current region from nesting islands dotted around the Southern Ocean. “The impact of this one local fishery has very widespread geographical repercussions”, warned Dr Croxall. “Potential mortality at this scale for the albatrosses is unsustainable”.

Potential solutions to reduce seabird mortality, such as improving waste management and using devices protecting warp cables from bird strikes, already exist. BirdLife International believes addressing the problems requires a combination of: implementing best-practice mitigation measures immediately, and making such measures a requirement for appropriate fisheries; and conducting research to improve mitigation measures.

Source: BirdLife International

6th August 2008: Birdfair finds Spoon-billed champion

WildSounds, the leading international wildlife book and sound guide supplier and African Bird Club corporate sponsor has become the latest Species Champion to support the BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme, it was announced today by Martin Davies and Tim Appleton MBE, co-organisers of The British Birdwatching Fair.

Furthering their long term commitment to environmental causes, WildSounds has now stepped forward to ‘champion’ Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus. “We are privileged to become a BirdLife Species Champion and help bring attention to the plight of Spoon-billed Sandpiper”, said Duncan Macdonald, Managing Director of WildSounds.

Populations of this wader have crashed over the last decade, and recent surveys of its breeding grounds in the remote Russian province of Chukotka by RBCU (BirdLife in Russia) suggest that the situation is now absolutely critical. Dr Evgeny Syroechkovsky of RBCU and Dr Christoph Zöckler of ArcCona Consulting will be attending the Birdfair Opening Ceremony on August 15 to present their latest findings.

Macdonald continued, “Conservation is our social responsibility and we fully support BirdLife International in helping the Spoon-billed Sandpiper back from the edge of extinction.”

“WildSounds is becoming a Species Champion in the nick of time for Spoon-billed Sandpiper”, said Jim Lawrence, the BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme Development Manager. “If we are to save this species, people and governments throughout the bird’s range should follow WildSounds’ lead and take action now.”

Many generous donors have already joined the growing community of BirdLife Species Champions but more are urgently needed, so Birdfair is drawing attention to the search by highlighting a ‘Super Six’ Critically Endangered Species in 2008 - Azores Bullfinch, Araripe Manakin, Tuamotu Kingfisher, Sociable Lapwing, Dwarf Olive Ibis and Spoon-billed Sandpiper. BirdLife International has plans in place to save them all and the work is ready to begin as soon as ‘Species Champions’ can be found to fund the essential conservation required.

Source: BirdLife International

6th August 2008: Bullfinch benefits from Guardian

For the past 5 years, SPEA (Birdlife in Portugal) and the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK), together with other partners, including the Azores Regional Government, have been implementing a LIFE project to save the Critically Endangered Azores Bullfinch Pyrrhula murina - or Priolo as it is known locally - from extinction. This species is Europe’s rarest songbird, and the second most globally threatened bird species in the whole continent. It occurs only in small pockets scattered in a 6,000 hectare mountain range on São Miguel island in the Azores. The species’s natural habitat, which was already patchily distributed and degraded, is currently severely threatened through invasion by aggressive exotic plant species.

The LIFE project has been improving the Azores Bullfinch habitat since 2003, by clearing exotic plants and planting native trees that provide the food that the birds depend on. Project staff have also been monitoring the population, which seems to be responding well to this habitat management – the population appears to be increasing fast, at least in the transects monitored by the LIFE project team.

Last year, conservation scientists decided that there was a need for a complete snapshot of the Azores Bullfinch distribution, as well as a more robust measure of the species density, habitat use and numbers. The team in Portugal and in the UK then developed a unique field experiment - a simultaneous survey of all the Azores bullfinches in the complete world range.

The event, partly funded by a generous grant of US$17,000 (€11,000) from the Disney Conservation Fund, attracted much interest and 50 volunteers from the UK, Holland, Brazil, Spain, France, mainland Portugal and the Azores spent several days in June being trained on Azores Bullfinch songs, habitat classification and distance sampling.

Almost 200 one-kilometre squares were checked and 287 point counts took place, with eight minutes spent at each point. A total of 78 Azores Bullfinches were counted, which should result in a final estimate of several hundred birds – an increase on the 200 individuals estimated five years ago. Encouragingly, there were a number of records from outside the core range for the species, suggesting it may occur more widely than previously thought.

SPEA has been appointed the Species Guardian for the Azores Bullfinch as part of the BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme and Birdwatch magazine recently stepped forward as a Species Champion. This support will enable SPEA to build on this work into the future. "This is great news for Azores Bullfinch and shows how the work of the Species Guardian is really making a difference", said Jim Lawrence, the BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme Development Manager.

Source: BirdLife International

24th July 2008: Congo wetland largest to achieve international recognition

An area of the Democratic Republic of Congo containing the largest body of fresh water in Africa has been added to the Ramsar Convention’s list of Wetlands of International Importance, making it the largest region ever to be designated as such. At more than six-and-a-half million hectares, the Ngiri-Tumba-Maingombe area is twice the size of Belgium and has one of the highest concentrations of biodiversity anywhere in the world. It is also a major carbon sink.

"WWF is delighted that Ramsar has recognized the importance of this extraordinary wetland and the efforts of the Democratic Republic of Congo to protect it," said James P. Leape, Director General of WWF International. "This is a significant step forward for the welfare of communities who depend on this wetland for their livelihoods and for the wildlife that lives there."

Recognition by the Convention, which was signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, means that there is now a framework to conserve the wetland, which is under threat from illegal logging, fishing and poaching, and a decline in water levels that is most likely attributable to climate change. The Congo basin is also the site of the world's third largest Ramsar wetland, the 5,908,074 hectare Grand Affluents area of the Congo river and major tributaries declared earlier this year.

“The Ngiri-Tumba-Maindombe area contributes to the regulation of flooding and regional climate and ensures that the quality of the water remains good enough for millions of people who depend upon it,” said WWF project Manager Bila-Isia Ingwabini.

Source: World Wildlife Fund

17th July 2008: Tana gets temporary reprieve

The Tana River Delta in Kenya has received temporary reprieve after the High Court stopped a controversial $370 million sugar and biofuels project. Mumias Sugar Company intends to convert 20,000 hectares of the Tana Rive Delta to plant sugarcane. BirdLife International, NatureKenya (BirdLife in Kenya), the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) and local conservationists within Kenya have vehemently opposed the proposal as it threatens biodiversity and the livelihoods of local communities. Tana delta is home to over 350 species of bird, and a large assemblage of globally threatened wildlife including nine plants, five fish, two amphibians, two primates and two reptiles.

“This is a very welcome move”, said Paul Matiku the Executive Director, Nature Kenya. “It is victory for the local communities that took the government to court. Nature Kenya and institutions under the umbrella of Kenya Wetlands Forum will now fight even harder to have the sugarcane project permanently stopped”, Matiku added.

In June this year Kenya’s National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) cleared the sugarcane project and issued an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) license. This move was criticised by environmental groups as biased because of its failure to balance arguments from both sides of the debate. “An independent economic study showed that the project was heavily overvalued because the costs of water, land and loss of community livelihoods were ignored” said Serah Munguti, the Communications and Advocacy Coordinator at Nature Kenya.  “Yet, NEMA ignored this information. At the same time the conditions in the EIA licence issued by NEMA were too weak”, she added.

Among other things, the new court order stops Mumias Sugar Company from making any further decisions regarding implementation of the sugar project. It also halts the Tana River County Council from taking any action in respect to the land which is the subject of the suit. Furthermore, it bars Kenya’s Commissioner of Lands from issuing a title deed for the land and the Water Resources Management Authority from issuing a water permit to the Tana Integrated Sugar Project.

BirdLife International welcomes the new development and fully backs Nature Kenya and other environmental groups in Kenya calling for a stoppage of the Tana Integrated Sugar Project. "We believe that the implementation of the project is not likely to lead to the improvement of the lives of the local people but will leave a trail of damage to the ecosystem and biodiversity", said Ken Mwathe from BirdLife's Africa Partnership Secretariat.

Source: BirdLife International

10th July 2008: Groundbreaking work will help Africa’s biodiversity combat climate change

Pioneering research to help biodiversity survive the impacts of climate change across Africa has been announced at a workshop in Kigali, Rwanda and hosted by the Association pour la Conservation de la Nature au Rwanda (BirdLife in Rwanda) on behalf of the BirdLife Africa Partnership. The work brings together the BirdLife Africa Partnership, RSPB, Durham University (UK), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and is funded by the MacArthur Foundation.

The project has mapped the current and future distributions of all bird species on mainland Africa by using climate change models to determine the distance and direction of shifts for each species in the future. A particular emphasis of the work is understanding how well the Important Bird Areas (IBAs) network in Africa can sustain the continent’s bird with future climate change. Dr Julius Arinaitwe, BirdLife International’s Regional IBA Manager for Africa, said “There are very few plans to protect biodiversity from the effects of climate change anywhere in the world. BirdLife International is leading the drive to develop strategies to protect our unique wildlife for future generations.”

Dr Steve Willis, a lecturer at Durham University’s Environmental Change Research Group, and a leading expert on climate change modelling, said “We have modelled the possible future distributions of all Africa’s birds and the results are worrying – many species are projected to suffer a reduction in range size and a small proportion may go extinct completely." More detailed analysis is being carried out within the Albertine Rift region of Africa to identify actions that will increase the resilience of the IBA network to future climate change.

The workshop in Rwanda brings together governments, academic institutions, NGOs and local community from Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, all of which are included within the Albertine Rift mountains complex. Dr Willis commented: “In the Albertine Rift, our models project that species will move upwards altitudinally, and clearly the higher up a mountain you go, the less land area there is. We need to start acting now to prevent these unique species disappearing altogether.”

“The main challenge is to try to protect the birds where they are now and at the same time to help them to follow a shifting climate. We need to start planning their conservation in areas where they currently do not even occur. The problems are huge but we cannot simply sit back and watch our natural heritage disappear”, Dr Arinaitwe added.

Important Bird Areas are essential for the livelihoods of many people in Africa, and are the backbone of the tourism industry, a major source of revenue for African economies. Most of these areas are also key reservoirs for water and pollinators and so their protection is an important component of adaptation to climate change in other fields such as agriculture, demography, energy, and urbanisation.

Source: BirdLife International

8th July 2008: African 'wall of trees' gets underway

Three years after it was first proposed, preparations for an African 'wall of trees' to slow down the southwards spread of the Sahara desert are finally getting underway. The 'Great Green Wall' will involve several stretches of trees from Mauritania in the west to Djibouti in the east, to protect the semi-arid savannah region of the Sahel and its agricultural land from desertification.

A plan for the proposed US$3 million, two-year initial phase of the project involving a belt of trees 7,000 kilometres long and 15 kilometres wide, was formally adopted at the Community of Sahel Saharan States (Cen-Sad) summit on rural development and food security in Cotonou, Benin, last month (17-18 June).

North African nations have been promoting the idea of a Green Belt since 2005.

The project has been scaled down to reinforce and then expand on existing efforts, and will not be a continent-wide wall of trees, despite the name of the project.

The Green Wall will involve two planting projects on the east and west sides of Africa.

Source: Environmental News Network

7th July 2008: Quick benefits can’t justify cutting down forests

Conserving the Congo forest, and indeed all of our forests in Africa, as well as accelerating forestation efforts, is vital to our survival on a continent where the Sahara Desert is expanding to the North and the Kalahari Desert is expanding to the Southwest.

For this reason the Congo Basin Forest Fund (CBFF) was launched in London on June 17. The initial financing of the CBFF comes from a pair of $200 million grants from the governments of the United Kingdom and Norway.

Ten countries in the Central African region established the Congo Basin Forest Initiative to manage the forest more sustainably and conserve its rich biodiversity. The Congo Basin Forest is the world’s second largest forest ecosystem and is considered the planet’s second lung, after the Amazon. The forests of the Congo Basin provide food, shelter, and livelihood for over 50 million people.

Covering 200 million hectares and including approximately one-fifth of the world’s remaining closed-canopy tropical forest, they are also a very significant carbon store with a vital role in regulating the regional climate. The diversity they harbour is of global importance.

Spanning an area twice the size of France, the Congo Basin rainforest is home to more than 10,000 species of plants, 1,000 species of birds, and 400 species of mammals.

Source and full text: The East African

3rd July 2008: Data management for successful biodiversity monitoring in Africa

A recent workshop in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, outlined how data management, analysis and presentation underpins effective conservation action and advocacy. This was the second workshop of an EC Funded project which is 'instituting effective monitoring of biodiversity in Protected Areas (IBAs) as a contribution to reducing the rate of biodiversity loss in Africa'. At practical level, people need to know how many sites are getting better and how many sites are getting worse’ said Dr Julius Arinaitwe of the BirdLife Africa Partnership Secretariat.

The workshop equipped project Partners in Africa with the requisite skills for handling data. It also drew attention to data-barriers faced in the conservation community and discussed ways to address these challenges. While some barriers are technical in nature, many are institutional, legal and cultural in origin. The workshop focused on the technical aspects of data collection, management, analysis and presentation. It covered tabular and GIS data, along with the more political aspects of data distribution both to partners in a project and to a wider audience.

Ian Fisher, the Head of International Information Management at BirdLife International / RSPB had wise words to share with members of the BirdLife Partnership. ‘If you don’t understand what is happening in the data, you could only be telling part of the story - be creative about how you use your data and the graphs associated with them, but be careful that you are correctly representing what is happening to your environments.

It is anticipated that the recipients of the Regional level training will produce national biodiversity training manuals on data management and transfer the knowledge gained at national level.

Source: BirdLife International

2nd July 2008: Press release from BirdLife South Africa regarding threats facing Kamfers Dam and its Lesser Flamingos

Development on the banks of Kamfers Dam outside the Northern Cape capital of Kimberley is threatening the only breeding population of Lesser Flamingos in South Africa. Kamfers Dam supports one of only four breeding populations in Africa. These birds bred during 2008, with an incredible 9000 chicks hatching on the dam’s artificial flamingo breeding island. It is anticipated that regular breeding will reverse the negative population trend of this globally “near threatened” species.

Kamfers Dam is currently the depository for raw sewerage that flows from the currently dysfunctional treatment plant, a result of poor management of the sewerage works by the Sol Plaatje Municipality. The increased constant eutrofication has lead to severe algal blooms and may be responsible for the current lesions and abnormalities being recorded on some of the Lesser
Flamingos.

According to BirdLife International, the African population of the Lesser Flamingo is declining due to a number of threats amongst which development and water pollution are paramount. Proposed housing developments around Kamfers Dam will destroy approximately 350 hectares of the dam’s buffer zone. Despite the fact that this development is against Kimberley’s Spatial Development Framework, the Sol Plaatje Municipality is adamant to steam ahead with it thereby ignoring South Africa’s obligation and commitment to abide by and honour international conventions, such as the Convention on Migratory Species and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Political leadership is failing South Africa in allowing and promoting unsound development that directly impacts on globally threatened birds.
BirdLife South Africa calls on the Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism to intervene and not to approve the proposed construction of housing developments in the Kamfers Dam buffer zone. We also call on the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry to issue directives to the Sol Plaatje Municipality to manage the sewerage treatment plant effectively and terminate the current pollution of Kamfers Dam. The municipality has an obligation to its ratepayers and the environment to ensure sound water management.

Should the pathological tests prove that the abnormalities observed in the Lesser Flamingos are due to deteriorating water quality, then many other waterbird species and even the entire aquatic system may be at risk. Concerned people are encouraged to visit the Save the Flamingo website (www.savetheflamingo.co.za), where one can obtain more information about Kamfers Dam, its flamingos and the serious threats to this wetland. Importantly, concerned people are asked to sign the online petition and to donate funds towards this important cause.

26th June 2008: Action Plan for White-winged Flufftail must address migration question

A workshop to develop an International Single Species Action Plan for Endangered White-winged Flufftail Sarothrura ayresi has been held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The action planning workshop was commissioned by the secretariats of the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, with funding from the Italian Ministry for the Environment, was convened by the Africa Partnership Secretariat of BirdLife International and hosted by the Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society (EWNHS, BirdLife in Ethiopia).

Although the flufftail has been recorded at nine wetland sites in South Africa between November and March, the only evidence of breeding comes from three wetland sites in the central highlands of Ethiopia between July and September.

It is not known whether a single population migrates between Ethiopia and South Africa, or each country hosts its own sub-population. Studies by EWNHS have suggested that the birds which breed in Ethiopia remain well into the dry season, and may wander within the country, rather than migrating.

But the flufftail’s seasonal marshes in Ethiopia are threatened by excessive trampling and grazing by livestock, human disturbance, cutting of marsh vegetation, drainage, catchment erosion and water abstraction, among others.

During the workshop, existing National Species Action Plans for South Africa and Ethiopia, developed in 2003, were used as the basis for updating both the threats and the actions required to address them, on an international basis.

Three days of intensive work (including visits to two of the breeding sites) generated a realistic and achievable international species action plan, as well as a renewed sense of urgency and vigour for the activities needed to ensure the continued survival of this threatened species. The action plan includes measures to increase the population by increasing the extent of suitable habitat. Key among these will be innovative actions to reduce habitat destruction, degradation and disturbance caused by intensive livestock grazing at the known core breeding areas in Ethiopia.

However, it was recognised that the securing of suitable habitat at breeding areas in Ethiopia needs to be done through sustainable use under community-based conservation programmes. “The marshes occupied by this species in Ethiopia are an integral part of the livelihoods of resident communities – mainly providing pasture for dairy cattle. The White-winged Flufftail habitats cannot therefore be secured without full engagement of these communities,” said Ato Geremew Gebre Selassie of EWNHS.

Much important work involving local communities is already being done by Site Support Groups like the Berga Bird Lovers IBA Local Conservation Group. These initiatives need to be extended to other sites. But before environmental management plans can be developed, many substantial gaps in our knowledge must be filled - not least, the mystery over the flufftail’s seasonal movements.

Also attending the workshop was a representative from Middelpunt Wetland Trust in South Africa, a trust created specifically for conservation of the White-winged Flufftail. Local and national government representatives from both Ethiopia and South Africa contributed to the effectiveness of the workshop.

Source: BirdLife International

24th June 2008: The plight of the African Penguin is now pretty serious

A group of us met at Gansbaai for a workshop recently. Among the things we did was an oil spill simulation exercise --- the first ever --- so if there is an oil spill impacting penguins this winter we are better prepared.

Another thing done at the workshop was to produce the "Gansbaai Declaration", reproduced below.

Please support the penguin conservation effort in whatever way you can, e.g. at SANCCOB, or the Dyer Island Conservation Trust's initiative to provide artificial penguin nests http://www.dict.org.za.

Gansbaai Declaration Introduction

Gansbaai Declaration

24th June 2008: Kenyan Government grants the destruction of Tana’s birds, biodiversity and livelihoods

The government of Kenya, through the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), has approved a proposal to turn 20,000 hectares of the pristine Tana Delta into irrigated sugarcane plantations. Conservationists and villagers living in the Delta, which provides refuge for 350 species of bird, lions, elephants, rare sharks and reptiles including the Tana writhing skink, believe the decision is illegal and are determined to block the development. The groups are considering what action they might take.

Paul Matiku, Executive Director of Nature Kenya (BirdLife in Kenya) said: “This decision is a national disaster and will devastate the Delta. The Tana’s ecology will be destroyed yet the economic gains will be pitiful. It will seriously damage our priceless national assets and will put the livelihoods of the people living in the Delta in jeopardy”. “The environmental assessment for the scheme was poor yet the government has defied even those very modest recommendations. We refuse to accept that this decision is final. The development must be stopped at all costs”

A report commissioned by Nature Kenya and the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) in May found that the developer’s plans overestimated profits, ignored fees for water use and pollution from the sugarcane plant, and disregarded the loss of income from wildlife tourists. The study said the Delta’s ecological benefits “defied valuation” and that the proposal would cause the “irreversible loss of ecosystem services” – benefits such as flood prevention, the storage of greenhouse gases and the provision of medicines and food.

The Mumias Sugar Company says the income from sugarcane cultivation will be US$2.45 million (EU€1.58 million) over 20 years but the report showed the revenue from fishing, farming, tourism and other lost livelihoods would be US$59 million (EU€38 million) over the same period. Paul Buckley, an Africa specialist with the RSPB, said: “Until now, Kenya’s support for global agreements to protect wildlife has been excellent but this development could severely damage Kenya’s reputation for caring for its environment.”

Conservationists say that an integrated management plan for the entire Tana River basin should precede any development considerations. The lack of project design documents - required by Kenyan environmental law - has been a critical omission in the whole Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process. “The current EIA was hurriedly produced and lacks vital information. NEMA should reject it and request for a new EIA study for the new project site”, stated Paul Matiku.

Source: BirdLife International

24th June 2008: Unlicensed diclofenac still on sale in Tanzania

A recent visitor to the Shoprite Complex veterinary retail shop in Arusha, Tanzania, reports that diclofenac is still on sale there. Diclofenac, which causes kidney failure in vultures, has been responsible for the near-extinction of three Gyps vulture species in India, with a decline of 99.9 percent in the case of Critically Endangered White-rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis.

The Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (WCST, BirdLife in Tanzania) has determined that diclofenac is not licensed for veterinary use in Tanzania, contrary to information received last year. However, investigations by NatureKenya (BirdLife in Kenya) have found that there are no restrictions on the distribution and sale of veterinary diclofenac in Kenya. This is the probable source of diclofenac on sale in Arusha.

According to the assistant in the Arusha veterinary shop, up to 25 packets of Ouro Fino diclofenac 50 have been sold so far. WCST and NatureKenya completed studies early in 2008 of the availability, distribution and use of diclofenac in Kenya and Tanzania, in an attempt to establish how much of a threat the drug poses to Africa’s vultures. Their reports are now available.

Dr Chris Magin, International Officer for the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK), said "it is frightening that an unlicensed veterinary drug is openly on sale in Tanzania, particularly given the catastrophic effects that diclofenac can have on vulture populations". Diclofenac is no longer covered by a patent, and many hundreds of companies around the world manufacture it in both branded and generic forms. Ouro Fino, the Brazilian manufacturer of this brand of diclofenac, has been contacted by BirdLife International but has so far not commented on the situation.

Source: BirdLife International

14th June 2008: Indian ocean seabirds get thrown a lifeline

The 12th meeting of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) this week (June 7-11 ) in Muscat, Oman has struck a major step forward for seabird conservation by adopting a measure to reduce the bycatch of vulnerable albatross and petrel species. All longline vessels fishing for tuna and swordfish in the southern Indian Ocean (south of 30°S) will be required to use a combination of at least two measures to reduce seabird bycatch.

Measures include requiring boats to set their hooks at night when birds are less active, using a bird streamer (tori) line to keep birds away from the hooks, adding weight to lines to make them sink more quickly out of reach of the albatrosses, and dyeing bait blue to make it less visible. The fisheries are given flexibility to choose which two measures from this list are most suitable to their fishery. The meeting agreed technical specifications for use of these measures.

The seabird proposal was led by Australia and the EC, and got support from Japan and Korea. BirdLife and the Agreement for the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) were present at the meeting as observers and were able to provide input and expert advice.

“This measure is a highly positive step for the conservation of these very vulnerable species. The measure isn’t perfect, and will need improvement as more data become available. In addition, to be effective, systems will need to be set up to monitor and enforce the measure. However, these future needs were recognised by parties, and the measure is a great achievement”, said Dr Cleo Small, BirdLife Global Seabird Programme, who has been working with IOTC on this issue since 2005.

Birds that will benefit include Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans, the Critically Endangered Amsterdam Albatross Diomedea amsterdamensis (only 17 pairs remaining), Shy Albatross Thalassarche cauta from Australia, and also Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophrys from South Georgia (a UK Overseas Territory),  which visit the rich feeding grounds off coast of South Africa in the non-breeding season.

The IOTC meeting noted the very important role that was played by the BirdLife International albatross and petrel tracking database, which has assembled data from remote satellite-tracking and other methods around the world to highlight the areas in which seabirds are at risk of being killed by fisheries.

Seabird bycatch data from South Africa have been instrumental in highlighting the problem occurring in the Indian Ocean tuna and swordfish fisheries, and BirdLife International’s Albatross Task Force is playing a key role in this.

Of the world’s five tuna commissions, four now have requirements for use of mitigation measures. The fifth (tuna commission in East Pacific), will consider a seabird measure at its meeting later this month (23-27 June) in Panama City.

Source: BirdLife International

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Last page update 28th November 2008 - note that older news stories from this page have been moved to the conservation pages of the relevant countries