Habitats need to be restored.Ī compelling case emerges from Hungary’s Hortobágy National Park, where areas of cropland have been converted into restored grassland. Globally, the number of species is 10.6pc higher within protected areas compared with unprotected areas.īut protecting existing habitats is not enough to reverse declines. Currently, 18pc of the EU’s land surface area is designated as a Natura 2000 site, and the aim is to create a network of connected protected sites right across the continent.Įvidence on the effectiveness of protected areas is clear: when implemented appropriately, they work. Natura 2000, for example, are designated areas within the EU that contain rare habitats and important breeding and resting sites. In recent decades, there has been a focus on protecting sites for important bird populations. But there are some promising measures that can be implemented both nationally and internationally. More and urgent action is needed if we want nature to have a fighting chance. The assessment suggests that current efforts to halt and reverse the loss of Europe’s bird species are not sufficient. The new strain of avian flu that is killing birds worldwide adds further and very urgent threats to this already vulnerable group. This comes with energy costs for adult puffins and also means that the chicks are fed less often. This means that food quality, quantity and availability are all changing, which carries serious consequences for the breeding performance and survival of these top predators.Ī lack of prey near puffin colonies in the north-east Atlantic, for example, means adults are being forced to travel further to find food for their chicks. Petrels, shearwaters, kittiwakes and – perhaps the most well-loved and recognisable seabird – puffins, are among the species that are noted as being of global conservation concern in the assessment.Ĭlimate change is altering environmental conditions and industrial fishing practices are depleting stocks of the fish that these seabirds rely on. The outlook is equally worrying for Europe’s seabirds. Research reveals that agricultural intensification, including the use of pesticides and inorganic fertilisers, is one of the key drivers of population decline in farmland birds across Europe. This decline is even more dire in the UK, where turtle doves have suffered a staggering 98pc reduction in their population since the 1970s. But since 1980, the species has declined by almost 80pc across Europe. The gentle coo of the European turtle dove, for example, was once a familiar sound across Europe’s countryside. These species include many that, in the not-too-distant past, were common. In fact, almost 60pc of the species in the highest conservation concern category were associated with farmland habitats. The recent assessment, along with many others, found that farmland birds are among those of highest concern. In the assessment, migratory birds, raptors, waders and duck species were noted as being of high conservation concern. Habitat destruction and degradation, a key driver of bird population decline, affects 93pc of globally threatened species.Ĭertain bird groups are being hit particularly hard. These include changes both to the climate and how land is used, but also over-exploitation, competition with invasive species and pollution. Which species are at risk?īirds around the world are facing a multitude of threats. Many of the species that are declining have been doing so for at least the past three decades – and this study highlights that not much has changed. The number of species that are of conservation concern across the continent is worrying, but sadly not particularly surprising. Species were then assigned one of five categories depending on their extinction risk, considering whether a species is of global or European conservation concern and whether its distribution is concentrated within Europe. The assessment used data collected on 546 bird species to estimate population sizes and trends throughout Europe. Snowy owl, northern lapwing, Eurasian curlew, steppe eagle and bearded vulture have all been unlucky enough to make this list. Since the first assessment, which was carried out in 1994, the number of European bird species that are of global conservation concern has trebled. That means these species are declining and becoming scarcer across the continent.Īmong the birds of conservation concern are some familiar species, including dunnock, goldcrest and meadow pipit. A version of this article was originally published by The Conversation ( CC BY-ND 4.0)Īlmost two out of every five species of wild bird are of conservation concern across Europe, according to an updated and comprehensive assessment of their population status.
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