Africa in Action

Mozambique - Moments Common Bird Monitoring in Africa. African Fish Eagle pictured. Zoom In

BirdLife’s work in Africa gives high priority to empowering people to manage and benefit from sustainable use of natural resources through livelihoods improvement, and all these are achieved through a four-pronged strategic objective of: Species, Sites, Habitats and People.

BirdLife's Africa Division is involved in and coordinates a number of regional and national initiatives. A full list as of August 2009 is as follows - please check back soon for updates.

1. Flyways Conservation

• Conservation of migratory birds: Strengthening networks for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats along the west coast of Africa (MAVA Foundation/VBN/Wetlands International). Click to download factsheet.

• GRV project: Support for the Development of the Great Rift Valley Serial Trans-national World Heritage Nomination (Jewish National Fund (JNF)). Click to download factsheet.

• Migratory soaring birds: BirdLife project on the conservation of Migratory Soaring Birds (GEF through UNDP). Click to download factsheet.

 2. Capacity Building

• Zambia IBAs (NORAD/NOF): Capacity development for biodiversity conservation in Zambia. For more information click here (PDF 109KB).
• STP (VBN): Enhancing capacity for sustainable biodiversity action. Click to download factsheet.

• Eastern Arc Small Grants (CEPF): Small grants for building research capacity among Tanzanian and Kenyan students. For more information click here (PDF 145KB).
• Wildlife Clubs of Africa: Linking African children to the global conservation community for the benefit of nature and people. Click to download factsheet.
• Dutch Bird Fair Projects- Ghana, Tunisia, Burkina Faso (VBN): Capacity Building and awareness raising for effective and sustainable wetland conservation with special focus on the Common Tern Sterna Hirundo. Click to download factsheet.

 3. Biodiversity Monitoring

• Africa IBA monitoring project: Instituting effective monitoring of Protected Areas (Important Bird Areas) as a contribution to reducing the rate of biodiversity loss in Africa (EuropeAid/ENV/2007/132-278).
• Remote Sensing (RSPB): Monitoring Africa’s IBAs through Remote Sensing. For more information click here (PDF 144KB).
• Developing a system of monitoring IBAs in Africa using Remote Sensing (IFS):
• Sustainable Biodiversity Monitoring (CEPF):Instituting a standardised Sustainable Biodiversity Monitoring System in the Eastern Arc and Coastal Forests of Tanzania and Kenya. For more information click here (PDF 106KB).
• Spotted Ground Thrush (CEPF, Conservation Safaris): Conservation and monitoring of the Spotted Ground Thrush in the coastal forests of Kenya and Tanzania. For more information click here (PDF 96KB).
• Common Birds Monitoring (RSPB/BirdLife). Uganda and Botswana.

4. Improvement of Livelihoods 

5. Publications

• Production of the 2008 IBA Status and Trends Report for Africa (Jensen Extension).
• Local Language Guide for Ghana.
• Conservation strategy for the Great Lakes Region of East and Central Africa and appendice

6. Conservation in the face of climate change

• Climate Change_Albertine Rift Project: Implementing and Monitoring an Adaptive Management Framework in the Albertine Rift (MACARTHUR FOUNDATION)
• Ecosystem conservation for climate change adaptation in East Africa ( Darwin funded project)

7. SSG development and networking

• SSGs – Site Projects (Jensen): Africa component: IBA Local Conservation Groups – harnessing community support for site conservation.

8. Research and conservation of species

• Coordination of the AEWA Species Working Groups for the Lesser Flamingo:
   Coordination of the AEWA Species Working Groups for the Lesser Flamingo Southern Ethiopia (UNEP/AEWA)
• Conservation Actions for Vultures of Africa 
  (The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund).
• Across the River Transboundary Peace Park (European Commission (EC) with additional funding from Vogelbescherming (VBN), BirdLife International, USAID, US Forest Service International Programs, Governments of Sierra Leone and Liberia, Jensen Foundation, STEWARD, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF)).
• The Gola National Park in Liberia: realizing its vast potential (The Aage V. Jensen Charity Foundation with additional co-funding through the “Across the River – a Transboundary Peace Park for Sierra Leone and Liberia project” funded by the European Commission (EC), BirdLife International and the Government of Liberia).

9. Site conservation

• Lake Natron Conservation Project:
  Enhancing the conservation and wise use of Lake Natron Ramsar site in Tanzania as a model for safeguarding threatened key biodiversity areas in Africa while improving community livelihoods. (AAGE V. Jensen Charity Foundation)
• LAKE NATRON CAMPAIGN 
  (HoA-REC/N)
• Do Protected Areas work? Assessing long-term land-cover change in priority sites for conservation in Africa using remote sensing (Cambridge Conservation Initiative, additional funding from RSPB, UNEP-WCMC, Zoology Department - Cambridge University).

10. Project coordination and management

• Eastern Arc Coordination Unit (CEPF): Project Monitoring and Sustainability in the Eastern Arc and Coastal Forests Hotspot. (Kenya and Tanzania); implemented in collaboration with ICIPE, WWF and TFCG. For more information click here (PDF 148KB). To find out more, please click to visit the project’s website.
• Global Policy and Advocacy, Africa component (Jensen). Click here for more details.