More than half of all bird species are now in decline, according to a new global assessment, with deforestation driving steep population losses across the world.
On the eve of a major biodiversity summit in the UAE, scientists have issued a renewed warning about the state of global bird populations, revealing that 61% of assessed species are now experiencing declines.
From Schlegel’s asity in Madagascar to the tail-bobbing northern nightingale-wren in Central America, countless species have lost vital habitat to expanding agriculture and human development. Just nine years ago, only 44% of bird species were recorded as declining, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
Dr Ian Burfield, BirdLife’s global science coordinator, who helped oversee the assessment, said: “That three in five of the world’s bird species have declining populations shows how deep the biodiversity crisis has become and how urgent it is that governments take the actions they have committed to under multiple conventions and agreements.”
The findings come as hundreds of conservationists gather in Abu Dhabi on Friday for the IUCN Congress, where the future of many of the world’s most threatened species will be debated. In light of global challenges to environmental action, scientists are urging governments to honour recent commitments to strengthen nature protection.
Birds play a vital role in ecosystems – pollinating flowers, dispersing seeds, and controlling pests. Hornbills, for example, which inhabit tropical regions, can spread up to 12,700 large seeds a day per square kilometre.
Dr Malin Rivers, head of conservation prioritisation at the Botanic Gardens Conservation International, said: “The fates of birds and trees are intertwined: trees depend on birds for regeneration and birds depend on trees for survival.”
There was, however, a rare note of optimism from the IUCN’s director general, Dr Grethel Aguilar, who highlighted the green sea turtle’s recovery as a reminder that “conservation works.” Once listed as endangered, the species is now considered of least concern, thanks to extensive conservation measures. Populations have increased by 28% since the 1970s, aided by improved protection of nesting sites on Ascension Island, and in Brazil, Mexico, and Hawaii.
Roderic Mast, co-chair of IUCN’s species survival commission marine turtle specialist group, said the green turtle’s recovery was “a powerful example of what coordinated global conservation over decades can achieve to stabilise and even restore populations of long-lived marine species”.
In contrast, there was grim news for Arctic seals, which scientists warn are edging closer to extinction due to global heating. The loss and thinning of sea ice have led to sharp declines in populations of bearded and harp seals, making it increasingly difficult for them to find stable resting and breeding grounds. As a key prey species for polar bears, their decline is expected to have serious knock-on effects for the wider Arctic ecosystem.
Dr Kit Kovacs, Svalbard programme leader at the Norwegian Polar Institute, said: “Each year in Svalbard, the retreating sea ice reveals how threatened Arctic seals have become, making it harder for them to breed, rest and feed.
“Their plight is a stark reminder that climate change is not a distant problem – it has been unfolding for decades and is having impacts here and now.”
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At Natural World Fund, we are passionate about restoring habitats in the UK to halt the decline in our wildlife.
