Safeguarding Important Bird Areas requires diverse approaches

BirdLife Site Support Groups can help mobilise communities for conservation Zoom In

All IBAs need recognition as sites to safeguard. However, circumstances differ greatly from site to site – and so do the best conservation approaches. Formal protected-area designation may not be essential but local community support often is. Site Support Groups can play a key role in mobilising such support.

Protected-area designation may not be sufficient – nor, in some cases, appropriate

Incorporating Important Bird Areas (IBAs) into formal protected-area networks is often not sufficient to maintain their biodiversity. Many protected areas have effectively failed in their conservation objectives for want of resources, sound management and, in particular, local community support. Unthinking designation under restrictive laws could even be counter-productive, if, for example, it disrupts existing traditional land-use practices responsible for creating or maintaining a site’s significance. It is increasingly recognised that protected-area governance mechanisms can range widely, depending on circumstances—from strict protection to community management for sustainable use (see box 1). Unfortunately, legal regimes have often not caught up with this broader concept of 'protected area'. Changes are needed, especially since in many countries the scope for creating new protected areas under 'fenced-off' management is now very limited.

Site Support Groups can help mobilise communities for conservation

Whatever the governance model for an IBA, community engagement and involvement in its conservation will usually be desirable – and often essential. This is increasingly being achieved through the actions of local Site Support Groups (SSGs), who raise awareness in site-adjacent communities and help protect and monitor IBAs (box 2). An SSG is a form of independent community-based organisation, its members motivated by a shared desire to conserve 'their' site. SSGs build on local experience and existing organisational team spirit. Membership comes from the local community, who will often have been managing the natural resources of the site or surrounding areas for generations, even if their primary purpose has not been biodiversity conservation. Harnessing this knowledge and long-term commitment gives the best prospects for genuinely sustainable local conservation action. In Africa over 60 SSGs have been formed to take action at and for IBAs in ten countries. The results of such local involvement can lead to significant conservation benefit, even in difficult circumstances (box 3).

Boxes: case studies and scientific analyses

Download SOWB pp.62–63 (PDF, 408 KB) containing the following:

1. Protected area designation may not be the full, or best, solution for conserving African IBAs
a) Many East African IBAs are highly threatened, including those covered by protected areas
b) Priorities for conservation action among IBAs in Uganda

2. The Berga Floodplain Site Support Group – a local initiative for a globally important site

3. Community conservation action is showing success on Mount Oku, Cameroon
In the last decade there has been a conspicuous increase in the amount of forest cover on Mount Oku