26 June 2009 - The Dutch-German Wadden Sea has been added to the List of World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee at its meeting in Seville (Spain) this week (22-30 June 2009).

The listing has put the Wadden Sea on the same footing as the Grand Canyon in the USA, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Serengeti in Tanzania along with other natural wonders of outstanding universal value on the World Heritage List. [read on]

Cambridge, 24 June 2009 - BirdLife International has recently reported that LIPO (the BirdLife Partner in Italy) and one of the main Italian banks (Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena) have set up a credit card that helps nature.

BirdLife also reports that so far the initiative has been a great success and that already over 1800 credit cards have been activated. A pair of White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) are displayed on the front side of the credit card and Lega Italiana Protezione Uccelli (LIPU) receives 3 Euros for every new card issued. To learn more about this interesting scheme please see the full: [ BLI Announcement ]

Bonn, 23 June 2009 - Today the Bonn Convention, concluded under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme, celebrates its 30th Anniversary.

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) aims to conserve and manage avian, marine and terrestrial migratory species as well as their habitats throughout their range. [read on]

Over three decades have passed since the concept of AFRING - an African bird ringing scheme, was raised. Experts agreed that gaps in the knowledge of bird population dynamics, movements and migration in Africa limited the ability to implement effective science-backed conservation action, and that a coordinated approach was necessary to fill these gaps. However, limited trained personnel and lack of funding prevented the formalization of a continent-wide coordinated scheme but the concept never died.

Already in 1999 at its first meeting, the Parties to the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) recognized the importance of developing an African ringing scheme and identified it as one of their priority projects, and with start-up funding from AEWA, AFRING was born in January 2004. Two further project phases were funded by the AEWA Secretariat through voluntary contributions form the EU. [read on]

Washington, 10 June 2009 - a three-day hearing conducted by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is taking place in Washington this week to investigate the emergency landing of US Airways flight 1549 on the Hudson River. The airliner collided with a flock of geese in January shortly after take off from New York City and made a dramatic emergency landing in the Hudson River, saving all 155 people on board.

At the hearing scientists from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington announced that migratory Canada geese (Branta canadensis) were probably responsible for the forced emergency landing. In addition, the hearing is also shedding light on new technologies used to scare away birds in flight, including the idea of turning landing lights into strobe lights to make approaching planes more conspicuos to migratory birds. For more information please see this New York Times article:

• "Hearing to Seek Ways to Separate Birds and Planes" / Matthew L. Wald (New York Times, 8 June 2009)

New York / Nairobi / Mexico City / Bonn, 5 June 2009 - Commemorated yearly on 5 June, World Environment Day (WED) is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.

The theme for WED 2009 is 'Your Planet Needs You-UNite to Combat Climate Change'. It reflects the urgency for nations to agree on a new deal at the crucial climate convention meeting in Copenhagen some 180 days later in the year, and the links with overcoming poverty and improved management of forests. [read on]

London, 20 May 2009 - More than half the populations of waders in Europe, West Asia and Africa are declining at an accelerating rate. There is a need for better protection of the key wetlands along their flyways, especially in Africa and the Middle East.

This is the conclusion of the Wetlands International’s Wader Atlas, the first comprehensive overview of key site networks for waders in Europe, West-Asia and Africa, launched in London today.

• WI Press Release (PDF)

Bonn, 15 May 2009 - Migratory birds have a considerable economic, ecological and cultural value. Birdwatching activities, such as the World Migratory Bird Day for instance, provide a turn-over of billions of US$ each year.

If we want to continue profiting from, and enjoying, migratory birds, their ecological requirements will need to be met throughout their lifecycles, and all along their flyways. The numbers of many migratory bird species have gone down significantly, by 40% on average, due to a variety of threats. In order to halt this downward trend, effective measures have to be implemented.

• CMS Announcement
• Flyway Brochure (PDF Format)

Cambridge, 14 May 2009 - The annual update of the IUCN Red List for birds by BirdLife International revealed that more bird species than ever are threatened with extinction. This year’s Critically Endangered category - the highest threat category - lists two further species, amounting to 192 species in all. In total, 1,227 species (12%) of all bird species are now classified as Globally Threatened, including an increasing number of previously common birds. [read on]

Gland, 12 May 2009 - The World Resources Institute (WRI) has produced a new report called “Mapping a Better Future: How Spatial Analysis Can Benefit Wetlands and Reduce Poverty in Uganda”, in collaboration with Uganda’s Wetlands Management Department, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, and the International Livestock Research Institute.

The maps that appear in this report demonstrate that both poor and developed areas in Uganda have experienced wetlands degradation, dispelling the myth that wetlands loss only occurs in poorer areas. It also provides information on how to reduce poverty through better management of the country’s wetlands. [read on]

Bonn, Nairobi 8 May 2009 - This upcoming weekend (9-10 May 2009), thousands of people around the world will be taking part in World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) events to draw attention to the many man-made obstacles birds face during their migration.

The central theme for this year’s World Migratory Bird Day - “BARRIERS TO MIGRATION” - aims to highlight the effects man-made structures such as wind turbines, communication masts, tall buildings and windows, power lines and fences have on migratory birds. [read on]

Full press release: [ english ] [ français ] [ spanish ] [ german]

Cambridge, 1 May 2009 - BirdLife’s newest flyways project is being launched this week at an inception workshop in Jordan. “This marks a significant increase in our efforts to conserve migratory soaring birds in one of world’s most important migratory flyways”, said Dr Jonathan Barnard, Senior Programme Manager at BirdLife International. [full BLI story]

Athens, 28 April 2009 - A conference on Biodiversity Protection beyond 2010 organized by the European Commission in Athens, took place in Greece from 27-28 April 2009. All important actors engaged in the development and implementation of EU biodiversity policy together with international institutions and globally recognized experts met in Athens to examine the progress made to halt the loss of biodiversity and the ways to improve its performance.

The conclusion made is that on the one hand, good progress has been made in the establishment of the largest network of protected areas in the world but on the other hand, it was also noted that the target to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2010 would not be met. Taking into account the speed and scale of the loss of biodiversity, it was agreed that urgent action must be taken. [read on]

Ulcinj, 18 April 2009 - The first Adriatic Flyway Conference took place in Ulcinj, Montenegro from 14-17 April 2009. Nature conservationists and ornithologists from the Balkans joined 120 representatives from international organisations working in bird protection at this conference organised by EuroNatur and its partners. The main goal of the meeting was to facilitate the dialogue between these groups and to point out the major importance of the East Adriatic Coast within the Central European migration route.

The venue was situated close to the Bojana-Buna-Delta, a coastal area between Albania and Montenegro including a riverine corridor that had not been developed, as it was situated behind the Iron Curtain. Border crossings were closed for over 40 years. The area is of significant ecological value in particular for birds that breed, migrate and winter in this region. [read on]

Cambridge, 6 April 2009 - Nature Iraq (BirdLife in Iraq) has completed their fifth winter survey of Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) across the country. “From Kurdistan in the north, to the Mesopotamian Marshlands in the south, our surveys have highlighted the global importance of Iraq for birds, biodiversity and people”, said Dr Azzam Alwash – CEO of Nature Iraq.

Along with sightings of several Globally Threatened and endemic birds, the survey teams discovered an endemic sub-species of otter, and observed a worrying drought. Nature Iraq have been working in coordination with Iraq's Ministry of the Environment to conduct survey and monitoring work at KBAs since 2005. "Nature Iraq's KBA project has sought to locate and assess potential areas of biological diversity, and to install a programme of monitoring", said Dr Alwash. [full BLI story]

Cambridge/Brussels, 2 April 2009 - Efforts to conserve Europe’s threatened natural heritage received much-needed support from high-level decision makers in Brussels today. On the occasion of a BirdLife International event celebrating the 30th anniversary of the EU Birds Directive, the Commissioner for the Environment, Mr Stavros Dimas expressed the need to strengthen efforts in halting the decline of species and habitats (biodiversity), building on existing nature legislation such as the Natura 2000 network of protected areas. [full BLI story]

On Saturday 28 March 2009 between 8.30 and 9.30 pm people, communities and cities around the world are being encouraged to turn off their lights for 60 minutes to mark EARTH HOUR a global WWF campaign aiming to encourage communities to take a stand against global warming.

The Earth Hour was launched by WWF two years ago in Sydney, Australia, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the campaign went global and landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and billboards in Times Square were turned off to mark Earth Hour. [read on]

Bonn/ Cambridge/ Madrid/ Gland, 23 March 2009 - A new 3-year project on “Strengthening waterbird and wetland conservation capacities in North Africa (WetCap)” is embarking on its first year of implementation as of this month. Within the framework of this project capacity building activities will take place in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt and Mauritania.

The WetCap project is linked to the ongoing UNEP-GEF African-Eurasian Flyway Project, also known as “Wings over Wetlands (WOW)”. It will be implemented under the umbrella of the UNEP Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA), in cooperation with its project partners BirdLife International, SEO/BirdLife (Spanish BirdLife partner), Wetlands International and the Ramsar Convention. [read on]

Bonn, 23 March 2009 - A delegation from the Russian Federation headed by Dr. Amirkhan M. Amirkhanov, Deputy Director at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection and joined by Mr Vladimir Ivlev, Deputy Director at the Department of International Cooperation at the same ministry, visited the CMS Secretariat and its co-located Agreements (AEWA, EUROBATS and ASCOBANS) at the UN Premises in Bonn, while in Germany for German-Russian consultations on nature conservation projects.

The meeting was organised by the CMS Secretariat in close cooperation with the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and was attended by representatives from the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, UNDP/GEF, WWF Russia, BMU, BfN and the CMS, AEWA and EUROBATS Secretariats. [read on]

Cambridge, 21 March 2009 - Birdlife International has announced the launch of its "Born to Travel" Flyways Campaign, which aims to protect migratory birds along the African-Eurasian flyway.

Launched on the first day of the northern spring, the new BirdLife International campaign will try to create more awareness on migratory birds which travel across Africa and Eurasia with the aim of securing better protection for them. [read on]

Cambridge, 9 March 2009 - One of the last and largest gaps on the world’s Important Bird Areas (IBAs) is being filled, with newly-published IBA directories for Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The 219 sites cover over 20 million hectares of steppe, semi-desert, desert, mountain and wetland, an area almost equal to the land surface of the UK.

Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan stand at the crossroads of several flyways (the Black Sea-Mediterranean, West Asian-East African, and Central Asian-South Asian). They encompass parts of several major biomes, including important remanants of Eurasian steppe, the world’s least protected habitat. [read on]

A Red-breasted Goose Conservation Workshop took place during 23-25 February in Moscow, Russia. The workshop was organized by the Red-breasted Goose International Working Group and was hosted by the Goose, Swan and Duck Study Group of Northern Eurasia, Moscow Zoo and the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Science.

The meeting was generously supported by the African Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (UNEP/AEWA), the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds(RSPB), the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), Vogelbescherming Nederland, and Moscow Zoo. [read on]

Rome, 3 March 2009 - The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has agreed a ground-breaking set of best practice guidelines to reduce the accidental deaths of seabirds in fisheries. The new guidelines extend the scope of the FAO’s seabird action plan from just longline fisheries, to also include trawling gear and gill-nets.

Up till now, the FAO’s seabird action plan has only addressed longline fisheries, in which seabirds get caught and drowned while trying to snatch bait from hooks on lines targeting tuna, swordfish, toothfish and other high value stocks. The new guidelines extend the scope to address what countries can and should do to also reduce bycatch of seabirds in trawling gear and gill-nets. The scope is also extended from fishing nations to the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) which govern fisheries on the high seas. New standards are set for research and data collection, education, and observer programmes. [Click here for the full story from BirdLife International]

The Iraqi Marshlands - the largest wetland ecosystem in the Middle East are being threatened by a severe drought, intensive dam construction and irrigation schemes in Iraq and surrounding countries.

The marshes used to cover an area of up to 15,000 square kilometers and secured the access to drinking water, providing livelihoods for Marsh Arabs and habitats for many migratory waterbirds. [read on]

Bonn, 12 February 2009 - The Common Wadden Sea Secretariat has published new population trends of 34 waterbird species that occur in the international Wadden Sea area. The main outcome of the recently completed assessment is that the population trends of one third of all counted waterbird species has decreased in the last 20 years.

Wadden Sea species, that are showing significant decreasing populations trends are the Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus), the Ruff (Philomachus pugnax), the Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) and the Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus). [read on]

Bonn, 11 February 2009 - The first meeting of the Steering Group of the relaunched Slender-billed Curlew Working Group (SbCWG) took place yesterday at the UN Premises in Bonn in the framework of the Convention on Migratory Species’ (CMS) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the critically endangered species.

The meeting was attended by representatives and experts from the RSPB, BirdLife International, WIWO (The Netherlands), Wetlands International, FACE (also representing CIC), Instituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (Italy), and the CMS and AEWA Secretariats. [read on]

Launched on 2 February 2009, the website of the International Advisory Working Group of the Northern Bald Ibis is now accessible to the public. The new website provides information on different topics dealing with the biology and the conservation of the Northern Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita).

The Northern Bald Ibis is a highly endangered species with populations in Morocco, Syria and Turkey. Formerly it was widespread throughout North Africa and in some parts of the Middle East (Morocco to Algeria, Turkey, Syria and Iraq). Very little is known about where the remaining wild populations of the Northern Bald Ibis migrate to and where they spend the winter. [read on]

A new fund has been established to boost species conservation and to help push it to the forefront of the environmental debate.

The fund was initiated by His Highness Sheikh Mohames bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Unites Arab Emirates. The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund amounting to 25 million Euros, is now open for grant applications in the field of species conservation. [read on]