Globally threatened species

Threats for birds in global scale

Around 10 000 different species of birds currently inhabit the Earth. Bird are found almost everywhere in the world, from the poles to the equator, from the lowest altitudes on earth to the highest mountain.

Despite these incredible adaptive capabilities almost 1200 bird species are globally threatened with extinction.

Over 12% of bird species are considered as globally threatened, because they have small and declining population and/or small ranges.

Species are going extinct at exceptional rate. We have lost over 150 bird species since 1500.

Role of birds in nature and society

Birds play an important biological, economical, social, and cultural role in the world owning their ecological functions. They are source of economic income, food and esthetic enjoyment.

Birds are useful environmental indicators. Important Bird Areas usually capture wildlife species other than birds. We can therefore use birds as indicators for the whole biodiversity. Changes in bird numbers and ranges reflect changes in the underlying threats to biodiversity, including, environmental pollution, climate change, habitat destruction. Birds can be used for identification of environmental balance of farming for agricultural and forestry activity. Bird can be easily identified and counted; many people enjoy watching the birds, therefore birds are more popular and monitoring of birds is carried out on broader scale than others.

Conservation Priorities of USPB and BirdLife International

• Conservation of all globally threatened species. Extinction is permanent and irreversible.
• Protection and where possible increasing number of populations and enlarging ranges of species with declining population. Without concentrate action, species suffering population decline will be globally threatened. Declining population and ranges reflect lost of biodiversity and unsustainable use of natural resource.
• Maintaining population and ranges of widespread bird species. All bird species are valuable and serve as important environmental indicators.

IUCN Red List

As the official Red Listing Authority for Birds for the IUCN Red List, BirdLife International monitors the state of the world's birds and identifies those species that are threatened with extinction, using standard numerical criteria based on measured or reasoned rates of decline, population levels, and range sizes. USPB as an official representative of BirdLife International has been also active in formulating and implementing broad-based action plans for the recovery and restoration of particular threatened species.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species provides taxonomic, conservation status and distribution information on taxa that have been evaluated using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. This system is designed to determine the relative risk of extinction, and the main purpose of the IUCN Red List is to catalogue and highlight those taxa that are facing a higher risk of global extinction (i.e. those listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable). The IUCN Red List also includes information on taxa that are categorized as Extinct or Extinct in the Wild; on taxa that cannot be evaluated because of insufficient information (i.e. are Data Deficient); and on taxa that are either close to meeting the threatened thresholds or that would be threatened were it not for an ongoing taxon-specific conservation programmeme (i.e. Near Threatened).

Bird Conservation in Ukraine

There are more than 400 bird species in Ukraine. Ten species are Globally Threatened Birds; 86 species have European importance, 67 species listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine (1994).

USPB has implemented projects on conservation of the following globally threatened species:

• Slender-billed Curlew,
• Corncrake,
• Great Bustard,
• Pygmy Cormorant,
• Aquatic Warbler,
• Red-breasted Goose,
• Saker Falcon.

For all listed species, surveys of key habitats were carried out thought Ukraine; National action plans were revised or amended.

© The Ukrainian Society for the Protection of Birds  
2002-2007