Survey Finds Large Decline in Asian Bird Species

Environmental News Network

June 22, 2001

A comprehensive assessment of the status of Asian birds has found that
hundreds of species—about one in four—are threatened with
extinction because of habitat loss and other factors. The survey shows a
sharp decline in species over the past two decades.

BirdLife International, the world's largest bird conservation organization, conducted the survey, which was released earlier this month.

The results showed that out of a total of 2,700 bird species in Asia, 323 species—about 12 percent—are threatened. In 1981, only 51 species were listed as threatened.

The Japanese Ministry of the Environment sponsored the study and an accompanying book on the findings, titled Threatened Birds of Asia: The BirdLife International Red Data Book.

Princess Takamado of Japan, who was involved in the launch of the book, said: "I was shocked to learn that one in four Asian bird species are listed as threatened or near threatened. Birds recognize no national borders, and therefore concerted action and cooperation between countries is critical in our efforts to save threatened bird species and ecosystems."

Victims of Habitat Loss

The survey was conducted by more than 160 regional experts from 23 countries but includes contributions from at least a thousand people. The results explain why and how various species are threatened, maps their locations, and lists actions needed to save them from extinction.

As many as 41 species were listed this year as critically endangered. One is the forest owlet, which BirdLife researchers say has only a 50 percent chance of survival unless intensive conservation measures are implemented.

The researchers say that of the 41 critically endangered species, 11 may already be extinct, including the Javanese lapwing. Seven additional species have fewer than 50 individuals left in the wild.

All threatened species are at risk from what BirdLife calls "habitat loss or degradation resulting from unsustainable and often illegal logging, and land or wetland clearance for agriculture or exotic timber plantations."

Indonesia, with 115 threatened bird species, tops the list of countries with threatened birds. The country has 32 critically endangered bird species that are native to the country and found nowhere else in the world.

China has 78 threatened bird species, and India, 73 species. The Philippines has 69 bird species at risk, especially the Philippine eagle, which is critically endangered and has no more than 350 individuals left in the wild.

Reflection of Broader Loss

The loss of Asia's threatened birds from many sites is a measure of the more general deterioration of avian wildlife diversity in the region, BirdLife says.

Most of the threatened birds live in moist tropical forests, which are being rapidly logged. In addition, what BirdLife calls the "wholesale clearance" of lowland forests in Indonesia, Malaysia, southern Thailand, southern Myanmar, and Brunei is putting dozens of bird species at greater risk.

The Siberian crane, listed as endangered in 1994, is now listed as critically endangered, with an estimated 3,000 birds remaining in the wild.

There have been some modest successes in conservation efforts to prevent the loss of bird species in Asia. Species that have recovered somewhat since 1994 include the crested ibis and the black-faced spoonbill. Formerly listed as critically endangered, they are now considered endangered, but not critically so.

BirdLife credits the shift toward recovery to a combination of measures, a regional plan to protect various species, and increased public awareness.

A global survey of birds done by BirdLife International in 2000 identified a total of 1,111 bird species—11 percent of the world's birds—as threatened. Four of those species are already extinct in the wild.

More than a fifth of all bird species give "some cause for concern in terms of global extinction risk," BirdLife said, and many of the remaining 80 percent are declining in overall numbers.

(c) 2001 Environmental News Network