Zambian Ornithological Society Zambia's only endemic bird species, Chaplin's Barbet, features on the cover Zoom In

Zambia's IBA guide with a difference

30-09-2005

Most directories of Important Bird Areas can be used as site guides for birders. The newly-published Important Bird Areas in Zambia takes this one step further and even includes a section headed "Information for visitors", alongside the more familiar entries describing the site, its birds, other wildlife and conservation issues.

The book, published by the Zambian Ornithological Society (BirdLife in Zambia), is illustrated throughout with colour photos, including charismatic mammals like Thornicroft’s Giraffe (an endemic subspecies), and birds like Black-cheeked Lovebird Agapornis nigrigenis and Wattled Crane Grus carunculatus (both Vulnerable). Zambia’s only endemic bird species, Chaplin’s Barbet Lybius chaplini (Near Threatened) is depicted on the cover.

Forty-two Zambian IBAs are identified in the book, covering about 14 percent of the country's land surface.

"For a landlocked country dominated by a single biome, Zambia has a comparatively rich avifauna. To date, 750 species have been recorded." —Peter Leonard, author of Important Bird Areas in Zambia

Only 18 species on the Zambia list have not been recorded in an IBA at some time, and when rare vagrants are excluded, the number comes down to five – all of "marginal occurrence" in Zambia (better represented elsewhere), and none globally threatened.

82 percent of the total area of IBAs has some form of protection, as National Park, Game Management Area, National Forest or private reserve. Though as the book warns, this protection is often on paper only, and some National Forests have been "de-gazetted" in recent years, opening them up to exploitation.

There are still gaps in Zambia's IBA network. Some potential IBAs remain completely unexplored by ornithologists, and many of the sites which have been identified need a lot more investigation. The country's avifauna also continues to hold many mysteries. For instance, the White-chested Tinkerbird Pogoniulus makawai is still known only from the type specimen collected in NW Zambia.

However, this handsome and exciting book, with its practical advice on travel, access and facilities, will add immensely to our knowledge of Zambia's birdlife, and encourage many more amateur and professional birders into the field to help with the development of the country's IBA-based conservation strategy.

The Zambian Ornithological Society (ZOS, BirdLife in Zambia) has received support from NORAD (The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation) through the Norwegian Ornithological Society (NOF, BirdLife in Norway) and BirdLife International to implement the Zambia IBA programme. The programme was launched on 19 August 2005, coinciding with the publication of Important Bird Areas in Zambia.