HKBWS Office
BBS Member
BBS God
 
Posts: 1316
|
 |
BirdLife: Launch of Threatened Asian birds forum
« on: Nov 20th, 2002, 1:24am » |
 Quote  Modify
|
For members information
Quote"
BirdLife International's Globally Threatened Bird Update - an invitation to join in
BirdLife International's 'Globally Threatened Bird Update' aims to feed the latest information on threatened birds into the 2004 IUCN Red List of threatened species - and, most importantly, into setting priorities for bird conservation. The project will build on the wealth of information already compiled by BirdLife and others on the status of the world's birds, including, for example, Threatened birds of the world (2000) and Threatened birds of Asia (2001).
We'd like to invite you to take part in this important project. An exciting component is the launch of discussion forums on BirdLife's website, where contributors can share information on Globally Threatened Birds. Specifically you can 1) see which species are proposed for revised threat status; 2) contribute comment or new information on the proposed revisions; 3) suggest other species that may need revising. The discussions forums are organised by region and in some cases by species group (e.g. seabirds).
We are now launching the Threatened Asian birds forum, and invite you to join in. For background to the project and links to the forums, click the Globally Threatened Bird Update button on the BirdLife homepage (www.birdlife.net) or go straight to http://www.birdlife.net/gtbirds/index.cfm. You can browse the discussions as a guest, but to post a comment or to contribute new information you will need to login.
You don't need to keep visiting the forum through the web. You can choose to receive emails with new postings automatically, or daily or weekly digests. These can cover the whole forum or particular species only. You can also
contribute your information by replying to email messages.
The new system will make it much easier to credit information from particular contributors, and to acknowledge the large pool of experts whose participation is vital for ensuring that accurate and up-to-date data are used in assessing the threat status of these birds.
The Globally Threatened Bird Update focuses on species whose threat status may need revising (or assessment for the first time). It will complement and link to the 'Red Data Book: Threatened Birds of Asia' website project -
another BirdLife initiative being developed by the Asian Partnership. This will shortly be up and running, and more detailed bird data relevant to the RDB accounts can be added here.
Here are a few examples of the initial list of topics for discussion in the Threatened Asian Birds Forum:
* Baikal Teal: The latest winter counts from South Korea suggests this species may deserve downgrading to Near Threatened. But has there been genuine population growth, or just a shift in wintering distribution?
*
* Saker Falcon: Has capture for falconry reduced populations such that this species should now be listed as Near Threatened or even Vulnerable?
*
* Spoon-billed Sandpiper: New surveys suggest that this species should be upgraded to Critical. Is this warranted?
*
* Indian Spotted Eagle: should this newly split species be classified as threatened? All recent records and comments on its status are sought.
Other species under discussion include: Black-necked Stork, Giant Ibis, Chestnut-headed Partridge, Okinawa Rail, Sharpe's Rail, Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Black-bellied Tern, Sumatran Ground-cuckoo, Javan Woodcock, Little Sumba Hawk-owl, Javan Trogon and Large-billed Reed Warbler. Additional species and issues will be added in due course, and contributors can suggest new topics for discussion.
We expect the discussion forums to be an ongoing process and part of an annual cycle to review the status of threatened birds. For this round, we will aim to reach decisions on revised assessments by July 2003. This will allow them to feed into the 2004 IUCN Red List, which will comprise a major review and revision of several taxonomic groups.
BirdLife is the official Listing Authority for birds for the IUCN Red List. While we provide coordination and facilitation, the quality and relevance of the information itself rely fundamentally on the participation of thousands
of individual experts and key organisations, notably the bird specialist groups. We hope very much that you will want to be part of this important project, and look forward to your contributions.
If you have any questions or suggestions, don't hesitate to contact Stuart Butchart (stuart.butchart@birdlife.org.uk) who is coordinating this initiative.
Best wishes
Stuart Butchart, Global Species Officer, BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.
Ali Stattersfield, Global Species Programme Coordinator, BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.
Mike Crosby, Research and Data Manager (Asia Division), BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.
Simba Chan, Head of Conservation and Database Division, Wild Bird Society of Japan, Tokyo, Japan
Richard Grimmett, Head of Asia Division, BirdLife International, Tokyo, Japan
"Unquote
|
BBS
Help
Search
Members
Login
Register
Reply
Send Topic
Print
Author
Logged