Zambian Ornithological Society One way in which the Zambian Ornithological Society are engaging with communities is to work with children. Zoom In

Protecting Africa's IBAs – People and Partnerships

27-02-2009

A new report documenting the condition of Kenya’s 60 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) has been launched. It shows an overall slight improvement in their conservation status, with the greatest progress being made at protected sites. However, this was offset by the continued deterioration of many unprotected locations. “This impressive report shows the importance of site protection for Kenya’s IBAs”, said Dr Leon Bennun, BirdLife’s Director of Science, Policy and Information.

IBAs are key sites for the conservation of birds and other biodiversity, and have been identified all over the world using BirdLife International’s objective and scientific criteria. Over 1,200 IBAs have been identified in Africa; many of which are threatened by habitat degradation and a lack of legal protection.

‘Kenya’s Important Bird Areas - Status and Trends 2007’ is the result of concerted effort by NatureKenya (BirdLife in Kenya), government environmental agencies and Site Support Groups (SSGs). It documents that thirty-five IBAs (58%) are under the protection and management of the Kenya Wildlife Service and the Kenya Forest Service, and shows that increased patrols have led to a substantial reduction in the number of illegal activities.

However, despite increased action at Kenyan IBAs, it is still too little to offset the ever increasing pressures. “The overriding threat to Kenya’s IBAs continues to be the increasing human demand for land, coupled with changes in land-use”, commented Dr Bennun.

“This impressive report shows the importance of site protection for Kenya’s IBAs” —Dr Leon Bennun, BirdLife’s Director of Science, Policy and Information

The report predicts that in future years, agricultural expansion will pose an even bigger threat. Growing crops to produce biofuel – such as the proposed Tana Integrated Sugar Project – can lead to food insecurity and degrade land currently under biodiversity conservation. “The issue of biofuels must be urgently addressed as it threatens not only biodiversity but also human survival”, said Paul Matiku – Executive Director of Nature Kenya.

Fifteen IBAs now have fully operational SSGs. These are local volunteer groups which undertake conservation management and monitoring activities at IBAs. “An important aspect of work at IBAs is monitoring to inform future management”, said Paul Matiku.

The Kenyan IBA review supports a new study in Bird Conservation International – BirdLife’s journal – reporting that IBAs within Protected Areas hold more Globally Threatened bird species than those outside them.

The scientists studied patterns between the presence of particular kinds of threats at IBAs and the characteristics of the sites. Importantly, they concluded that the most prevalent threats could be detected from satellites. This would allow monitoring of a greater number of sites than is feasible by conventional, ground-based approaches; saving time and money.

“The paper proposes at least a partial solution to one of the biggest barriers to effective conservation of biodiversity in Africa - the timely detection of threats and their extent and severity of their impacts”, said Dr Julius Arinaitwe, the regional IBA Programme Manager for BirdLife in Africa.

Successful IBA management also involves working with local communities who depend upon the land for their livelihoods. This principle is embraced by the Zambian Ornithological Society (ZOS; BirdLife in Zambia) who believe that local communities' use of natural resources is critical to poverty reduction, food security and biodiversity alike.

“Since the start of the programme, there has been an increased interest in the environment, conservation and birds” —Pius Lilanda , Zambian Ornithological Society’s Coordinator of the Zambian IBA Schools Programme

One way in which ZOS are engaging with communities is to work with children; getting them involved in hands-on conservation activities in and around their local IBAs. The ‘Zambia IBA Schools Programme’ aims to improve the conservation status of all IBAs involved in the scheme by the end of the project in 2011. “Since the start of the programme, there has been an increased interest in the environment, conservation and birds, especially in areas around 11 IBAs which the programme is focusing on”, said Pius Lilanda - Coordinator of the Zambian IBA Schools Programme.

As part of the successful scheme, ZOS recently ran a wildlife story competition in their IBA schools. Children were asked to write stories about birds, animals or plants. Titles of stories included: ‘The Hard Working Eagle’; ‘The Pied Crow’; ‘Barn Owl Poem’, and; ‘The Cardinal Woodpecker’.

Due to the large number of entries received, ZOS decided to give a wide variety of prizes for this competition and a panel of judges selected a winner from each school. “The competition has achieved tremendous results, none the least being a sense of pride that school children have in participating in a highly targeted and yet world-wide conservation programme”, said Dr Lizanne Roxburgh, Chairperson of ZOS.

To read about BirdLife's work assessing land cover and threats in Important Bird Areas in Africa, please click here.