State of the world's birds
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State of the world's birds 2004 examines what the best-known group of living things, birds, can tell us about the state of biodiversity, the pressures upon it and the solutions that are being, or should be, put in place.
Navigation
State of the world's birds is divided into three main sections:
- STATE: What birds tell us about condition and change
- PRESSURE: What birds tell us about problems
- RESPONSE: What birds tell us about solutions
As well as clicking on the links below, the buttons in the left-hand navigation menu can also be used to move around the sections.
Key messages
Birds are sending us some important messages that should not be ignored. They show that our global environment is under serious strain, with a massive and still increasing haemorrhage of biodiversity. They show that these losses are caused directly or indirectly by our expanding demands on the biosphere, driven by deeper problems that include widespread social inequities and distorted value systems. They show that there are solutions to both the immediate threats and their deeper causes. They show also that there is no time to waste: our options for conserving biodiversity are narrowing fast.
- One in eight of the world’s birds —1,213 species in total — face extinction
- The farmland bird index for Europe has declined by 34% since 1966
- Over 7,500 sites in nearly 170 countries have been identified as Important Bird Areas
- Agricultural expansion and intensification threaten 50% of Important Bird Areas in Africa
- 64% of Globally Threatened Birds, most of them in the tropics, are threatened by unsustainable forestry
- Alien invasive species impact 67% of Globally Threatened Birds on oceanic islands
- Scaled conservation investment is over 20 times higher in developed than developing countries
- 43% of Africa’s Important Bird Areas have no legal recognition or protection
- Conservation actions are underway for 67% of Globally Threatened Birds