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State of the UK's Birds 2010: a conservation barometer
Last modified: 15 October 2010
The bittern is one of 24 species whose fortunes improved after 1994. Adult bittern wading in reedbed at the Lee Valley Country Park - Andy Hay (rspb-images.com, Ref: 2000_1140_009)
As nations gather in Nagoya, Japan, next week, for the world biodiversity conference, a coalition of UK conservation organisations has today [Friday 15 October 2010] published a report using the UK’s birds as a barometer of conservation success.
In 1994, the UK government identified 26 species of bird that were most in need of conservation help and set in train detailed plans of action for them as part of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. Using population trends from 24 of these, today’s report – State of the UK’s Birds 2010 – shows that the number of these species in steep decline has now more than halved, and that the numbers increasing has risen from four to six species.
"we are now faced with the twin challenges of helping more wildlife to thrive, while realising that the conservation coffers will be severely stretched over the foreseeable future"
In 1992, a ground-breaking world conservation conference spawned the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Eighteen years later – in the International Year of Biodiversity – conservation targets should have been met. But the report also reveals that the overall number of species in trouble has risen and that the UK therefore hasn’t met international or EU biodiversity targets for slowing or halting the loss of birds. An assessment of 232 populations of birds prior to 1994, showed that 38 of these were declining severely. In the period after 1994, that number had risen by 18 per cent, with 45 populations declining.
Promising
Dr Mark Avery is the RSPB’s Conservation Director. He said: “Without doubt, some of the UK’s most threatened birds are in a much better state than they were in the middle of the last decade. Bitterns are nesting across more of the UK and the recovery of the corncrake looks promising. Thanks to the efforts of farmers, the prospects for the skylark are looking a little brighter too. However, as more species are added to the endangered list, we are now faced with the twin challenges of helping more wildlife to thrive, while realising that the conservation coffers will be severely stretched over the foreseeable future.”
The report does pay tribute to the success that conservation efforts can bring to struggling species. In 1994 the bittern, corncrake and roseate tern all had populations which were declining, but the populations of these birds are now all increasing, thanks largely to conservation efforts. Additionally, the populations of six species - including, skylark, song thrush and tree sparrow - were all declining in the period prior to 1994, the populations of all these birds are currently stable. These encouraging figures show the potential for recovery through conservation action.
Worryingly, the report also features seven species which have continued to decline: common scoter; marsh warbler; red-backed shrike; and the formerly abundant and widespread corn bunting, grey partridge; spotted flycatcher; and turtle dove. The grey partridge and corn bunting are farmland species which have suffered from the effects of agricultural intensification. Despite conservation efforts by farmers, helped by government wildlife-friendly farming schemes, such species have failed to recover. Turtle dove and spotted flycatcher are migratory species that breed in Europe and winter in sub-Saharan Africa whose declines may be a combination of ‘home-grown’ effects and those operating outside the UK.
Helped to inform
Dr David Noble, of the BTO, said: “Volunteering for conservation has always been part of the big society, and it is largely thanks to the huge efforts of thousands of volunteer bird surveyors over the past 50 years that we have the evidence to know exactly how our bird species are faring. This has been followed up by focused scientific research on a number of these species which has established the main, and often multiple, causes of declines and helped to inform appropriate conservation action to improve their prospects.”
Tony Weighell is the head of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee’s Overseas Territories Programme. He said: “The biodiversity of the UK is important in global terms, particularly the UK’s Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. For example, they support 24 species of bird found nowhere else on earth – such as the Critically Endangered Gough bunting. They are also home to around 50 million seabirds, including many endangered albatross species. Current conservation efforts are directed at controlling introduced mammals, such as rats and mice, that predate vulnerable bird populations, and working with the fishing industry to reduce bycatch: a major cause of seabird mortality.”
Dr Tom Tew, Chief Scientist for Natural England, said: “This report reminds us once again of the critical importance of excellent science, and sets out the challenges facing the environment - many species are continuing to decline in front of our eyes. But it is also clear that targeted conservation efforts can make a real difference, highlighting the need for landowners, NGOs and government to remain joined up in the fight to save wildlife in the UK.”
Reducing the loss of biodiversity
Richard Hearn, of the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, said: “At his address to the UN in September, Ban Ki-moon emphasised the need for more and better monitoring in order to meet new post-2010 targets for reducing the loss of biodiversity. Monitoring is not just a case of knowing how species are faring; it gives value-for-money conservation by ensuring hard-won resources are channelled into the highest priorities. We have seen some successes since 1994, but the overall picture is bleak for birds and biodiversity generally. If we are going to do better in the future, we need to encourage more people to be involved, from hobbyists to the specialist biologists of tomorrow.”
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