Asia?s Bird Populations Threatened

A new and comprehensive assessment of the condition of Asian birds has found that hundreds of species are threatened with extinction because of human activities.
The assessment, conducted by BirdLife International, the world's largest bird conservation organization, was published on United Nations World Environment Day, June 5.

The Japanese Ministry of the Environment sponsored the assessment. The book detailing its findings titled, "Threatened Birds of Asia: The BirdLife International Red Data Book," was launched by Princess Takamado of Japan.

"I was shocked to learn that one in four Asian bird species are listed as threatened or near threatened," said the princess. "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."

The new assessment shows that out of a total of 2,700 bird species in Asia, there are 323 threatened species - about 12 percent of all the birds in the region.

In 1981, only 51 species were listed as threatened.

The assessment was compiled by more than 160 regional experts from 23 countries, with contributions from another 1,000 people. It explains why and how each species is threatened, maps their locations, and lists actions needed to save them from extinction.

As many as 41 species are listed as critically endangered this year, including the forest owlet. BirdLife researchers say this owlet has only a 50 percent chance of survivial without intensive conservation action.

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 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 has 32 critically endangered bird species that are native to the country and found nowhere else in the world, more than any other Asian country.

Heavy logging in Indonesia during the past 15 years has thrown more species there into the category of conservation concern than in any other country in the region. With 115 threatened bird species, Indonesia tops the list of countries with threatened birds.

China has 78 threatened bird species, in India 73 species are threatened, and in the Philippines 69 species are at risk. The Philippine eagle remains critically endangered, with a maximum 350 individuals left in the wild.

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.

The majority of threatened birds live in the moist tropical forests that 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 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 the conservation of Asian birds. Species that have recovered somewhat since 1994 include the crested ibis and black-faced spoonbill. Formerly listed as critically endangered, they are now considered endangered, but not critically so. BirdLife credits their start towards recovery to a combination of conservation action, a regional species action plan, 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.

Over 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.

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