Status of Breeding Seabirds in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden
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The Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA) Status of Breeding Seabirds in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden PERSGA Technical Series No. 8 November 2003 PERSGA is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the conservation of coastal and marine environments and the wise use of the natural resources in the Region. The Regional Convention for the Conservation of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Environment (Jeddah Convention) 1982 provides the legal foundation for PERSGA. The Secretariat of the Organization was formally established in Jeddah following the Cairo Declaration of September 1995. The PERSGA member states are Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. PERSGA, P.O. Box 53662, Jeddah 21583, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Tel.: +966-2-657-3224. Fax: +966-2-652-1901. Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.persga.org ‘The Status of Breeding Seabirds in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden’ was prepared by Dr. Mohammed Shobrak (National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development, Taif), Mr. Abdullah Alsuhaibany (PERSGA), and Dr. Omer Al-Sagheir (Yemen Society for the Protection of Wildlife). The work was carried out through the Habitat and Biodiversity Conservation Component of the Strategic Action Programme for the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, a Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded project implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Bank with supplementary funding provided by the Islamic Development Bank. The comments expressed in this document represent the views of the authors acting in their own capacities and do not necessarily represent the views of PERSGA or the agencies that assisted with funding the preparation of the report. Any outlines or descriptions presented do not imply the expression of any opinion, on the part of PERSGA or any funding agency, concerning the legal boundaries of any state, territory, city limit, frontier or boundary. © 2003 PERSGA This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes without the permission of the copyright holders provided that acknowledgement of the source is given. PERSGA would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this material as a source. This publication may not be copied, or distributed electronically, for resale or other commercial purposes without prior permission, in writing, from PERSGA. Photographs: Abdullah Alsuhaibany This publication may be cited as: PERSGA/GEF 2003. Status of Breeding Seabirds in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. PERSGA Technical Series No. 8. PERSGA, Jeddah. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................................................. ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..................................................................................................................................iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (FRENCH).............................................................................................................. iv 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 The PERSGA Countries – Geography and Climate ...............................................................................2 2. REVIEW OF SEABIRD STUDIES IN THE REGION ............................................................................... 12 2.1 Seabird Studies in Djibouti................................................................................................................... 12 2.2 Seabird Studies in Egypt....................................................................................................................... 12 2.3 Seabird Studies in Jordan ..................................................................................................................... 13 2.4 Seabird Studies in Saudi Arabia ........................................................................................................... 13 2.5 Seabird Studies in Somalia ................................................................................................................... 14 2.6 Seabird Studies in Sudan ...................................................................................................................... 14 2.7 Seabird Studies in Yemen..................................................................................................................... 15 3. SPECIES ACCOUNTS................................................................................................................................... 15 3.1 True Seabirds........................................................................................................................................ 15 3.2 Other Water Birds................................................................................................................................. 20 3.3 Terrestrial Birds.................................................................................................................................... 23 4. THREATS........................................................................................................................................................ 24 4.1 Human Disturbance .............................................................................................................................. 24 4.2 Human Exploitation.............................................................................................................................. 25 4.3 Introduced Predators............................................................................................................................. 25 4.4 Habitat Destruction............................................................................................................................... 25 4.5 Pollution ............................................................................................................................................... 25 4.6 Over-fishing.......................................................................................................................................... 26 5. CONSERVATION IMPLEMENTATION ................................................................................................... 26 5.1 Marine Protected Areas for Breeding Seabirds .................................................................................... 26 5.2 Important Bird Areas in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden....................................................................... 31 5.3 Institutional Frameworks...................................................................................................................... 37 5.4 National and International Agreements ................................................................................................ 40 6. GENERAL DISCUSSION.............................................................................................................................. 43 7. RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................................ 46 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................................... 48 APPENDICES ..................................................................................................................................................... 55 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (ARABIC) i LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1. Coastal Area of Djibouti ..................................................................................................................... 4 FIGURE 2. Egyptian Red Sea coastline showing the most important bird sites needing protection ..................... 5 FIGURE 3. Saudi Arabian Red Sea coastline, showing the most important bird sites needing protection............ 6 FIGURE 4. Northern Somali coast, Gulf of Aden, showing the most important bird sites needing protection..... 9 FIGURE 5. Sudanese Red Sea coast showing the most important bird sites needing protection......................... 10 FIGURE 6. Yemeni Red Sea coast showing the most important bird sites needing protection ........................... 11 FIGURE 7. Priority Sites for Seabird Protection in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden............................................. 45 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study was carried out through component 4 (Habitat and Biodiversity Conservation) of the Strategic Action Programme for the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (SAP). Funds for this regional project were received from the PERSGA member countries, the Global Environment Facility (UNDP, UNEP, World Bank) and the Islamic Development Bank. The project was implemented by GEF and executed by PERSGA. We are sincerely thankful to Dr. Nizar Tawfiq Secretary General of PERSGA, and to Dr. Mohamed Fawzi Deputy Secretary General, for their support and leadership in this endeavour. Our gratitude is also expressed to Prof. Dr. Abdulaziz AbuZinada Secretary General of NCWCD, for his encouragement and support through NCWCD; to A. Khojah, P. Paillat, and J. Judas at the NWRC Taif; and to M. Basheer and M. Abdul Rahman for their assistance