RESPONSE: what birds tell us about solutions

Michael Poulsen/BirdLife Important Bird Areas urgently need recognition, nationally and internationally, as priority sites for conservation Zoom In

Investment in biodiversity needs to be much larger and more strategic. Priorities can help to target efforts, but existing commitments must be made effective and resources massively scaled up. Time is short, but birds provide a focus for positive change and can help us to monitor progress.

Awareness of biodiversity, its value to humanity and the need for its conservation has been growing steadily, supported by better data than ever before. Yet global investment in conservation does not come close to matching what is needed, either in the amount available or where it is spent. Because resources are still so scarce, immediate action must focus on priorities.and the information we have on birds can help to set these.

Since 2000, key actions have been identified for all Globally Threatened Birds. Action at sites will protect most, but not all, species. Many actions are underway but there are still crucial gaps. Examples show that, with the right measures, individual species can be saved from extinction.

Important Bird Areas (IBAs) urgently need recognition, nationally and internationally, as priority sites for conservation.the backbone of a larger network of key biodiversity areas. These sites must be effectively safeguarded. The best approach for this will differ from site to site, involving a range of governance mechanisms. For many IBAs, local Site Support Groups should have a significant role.

The future of IBAs, and of many dispersed and nomadic species, also depends crucially on conservation of the wider environment, where most people live and work. It is here that sustainable development must be achieved if biodiversity loss is to be halted.

Commitments made under existing international agreements have enormous potential to achieve biodiversity conservation. However, they need to be activated in national legislation and made effective in practice. Most importantly, political will must be manifested in a dramatic scaling-up of the resources available for conservation. This is required both nationally and internationally, drawing from a much wider range of sources than at present.including the private sector.

As these responses are put in place, birds can provide a key part of a global system to monitor progress. The data come from the rapidly growing number of people who care deeply about birds. For many such people, birds are a gateway to understanding and caring for the environment. Effective biodiversity conservation is unlikely to happen unless demanded by an informed and concerned public. Birds can help to create this constituency for positive change and thus bring about, eventually, a genuinely sustainable world.