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South Africa's Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas

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South Africa's Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas South Africa’s Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas STATUS REPORT 2015 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CONTENTS THANKS TO OUR DONORS Government departments: CapeNature; City of Cape Town; Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Acknowledgements Agency; Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife; Free State Department of Tourism, Economic Develop- ment and Environmental Affairs; Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development; EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism; Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency; National Department of Environmental Affairs; North West Parks and Tourism Board; and South African National Parks. ACRONYMS 3 Rupert Nature Foundation Partners: Animal Demography Unit; BirdLife International; BirdLife Partnership African Secretariat; BACKGROUND 4 Endangered Wildlife Trust; Overberg Lowlands Conservation Trust; Percy FitzPatrick Institute of Objectives of the IBA Status Report 4 African Ornithology; NCC Environmental Services; South African National Biodiversity Institute; What are IBAs? 5 University of Cape Town; Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa; and World Wide Fund for Aims of the IBA Programme 6 Nature–South Africa. How are IBAs identified? 6 Charmaine Uys is thanked for her valuable contribution to BirdLife South Africa’s IBA Programme Monitoring the state of IBAs 7 while she was the regional conservation manager for Mpumalanga and Free State, including Key Biodiversity Areas 7 collecting data that contributed to this report. Jack MitcHELL Thank you to all the private and provincial nature reserve managers, private landowners, METHODOLOGY 9 ornithologists, birders and bird clubs, ‘Friends of’ groups, regional bird club forums and regional South Africa’s Important Bird and conservation committees who assisted with support, land access, providing information and SOUTH AFRICA’S IBAs 10 Biodiversity Areas Status Report 2015 collecting data. Without the financial support of our donors (see alongside), none of these IBA assessments would Published by BirdLife South Africa RESULTS & DISCUSSION 14 have been possible. Special thanks go to Mitsui & Co. Ltd, which funded many of the IBA assessments Compiled by Daniel Marnewick, State 14 Ernst Retief, Nicholas Theron, Dale Wright and the IBA review processes, and specifically the production of this first IBA Status Report. Edited by Leni Martin Pressure 16 Design by Bryony van Wyk Response 18 Cover photograph Knysna Turaco by BIRDLIFE SOUTH AFRICA In line with BirdLife Chris van Rooyen irdLife South Africa is a Country Partner of International, BirdLife CASE STUDIES 20 BirdLife International; is a registered Non-Profit South Africa commits: Thanks go to all the photographers who B IBAs are a tool for landscape conservation 20 have provided, at no cost, their images for Organisation and Public Benefit Organisation; and 1. To preventing extinctions in the wild. Best management practices for IBAs 21 this publication. Copyright remains with is the only dedicated bird conservation NGO in 2. To maintaining, and where possible improving, Protecting IBAs 22 the individual photographers. South Africa. BirdLife South Africa promotes the the conservation status of all bird species. conservation, enjoyment and understanding of 3. To conserving the sites and habitats important Threats to IBAs 23 Copyright © BirdLife South Africa 2015 birds and their habitats, which is achieved through for birds and other biodiversity. Supporting IBAs 24 Recommended citation a membership network of more than 6 000 4. To sustaining the vital ecological systems that Marnewick MD, Retief EF, Wright DR, members and 32 bird clubs, and through underpin human livelihoods and enrich the RECOMMENDATIONS 26 Theron NT. 2015. South Africa’s Important conservation, avitourism, lobbying, advocacy, quality of people’s lives. Bird and Biodiversity Areas Status Report Recommendations for Government 27 community conservation and education 5. In the process, BirdLife will empower people 2015. Johannesburg: BirdLife South Africa. programmes. As a BirdLife Country Partner, and contribute to the alleviation of poverty, and Contacts 28 BirdLife South Africa, Private Bag X5000, BirdLife South Africa accesses the expertise and will strive to ensure sustainability in the use of Digital Resources 28 Parklands 2121, South Africa global network of BirdLife International. natural resources. Tel. +27 11 789 1122 References 29 Fax +27 11 789 5188 E-mail [email protected] SECRETARYBIRD ALBERT FRONEMAN Website www.birdlife.org.za 1 EXECUTivE SUmmARY this publication any of the BirdLife International Country Partners use IBA assessments to generate IBA aims to provide Status and Trends reports. BirdLife International has used these country reports to “ Mpublish its own reports on the state of the IBA network across regions (such as an overview of southern Africa). This is South Africa’s first IBA Status Report and it will set the benchmark for future IBA Status and Trends reports, which will be published every four to five years. the state of the As a Country Partner to BirdLife International, BirdLife South Africa is responsible for the habitats in IBAs, management of the IBA Programme in South Africa. One of the programme’s objectives is to assess and monitor IBAs as well as coordinate and implement conservation actions within them. ALBERT FRONEMAN (5) the pressures South Africa’s revised network (2015) of 112 IBAs currently spans approximately 14 136 750 ha. Of themes, such as management, protection and monitoring. In conclusion, the report makes LEFT TO RIGHT Yellow-billed Stork is Endangered on the sites and these IBAs, only 51 (46%) are fully protected, while 33 (29%) have partial protection and 28 (25%) recommendations to stakeholders in order to guide their policy-making and management so and found in high numbers in IBAs such as Ndumo are completely unprotected. For the most part, this unprotected land is privately owned. that IBAs may be successfully protected for the conservation of birds and other biodiversity in Game Reserve and iSimangaliso Wetland Park. the conserva- IBAs are sites of global significance for bird conservation. They are identified nationally by the long term. This supports the ultimate aim of the IBA Programme, which is to mainstream Ludwig’s Bustard is also Endangered and occurs experts using globally standardised and scientifically agreed criteria. These are based on the IBAs into conservation planning, decision-making and action. The report’s target audience in drier IBAs in the Northern Cape. Southern Bald Ibis is Vulnerable and many of its breeding sites tion action significant presence of globally and regionally threatened bird species, assemblages of therefore comprises government departments and agencies, conservation organisations and are under threat. Pink-backed Pelican can be seen taken to miti- restricted-range and biome-restricted species, and large concentrations of congregatory environmental practitioners. in large numbers in the iSimangaliso Wetland species. Often, IBAs also have a significant role to play in the conservation of other biodiversity The three variables considered when monitoring the IBAs were the State (condition of the Park IBA. gate the threats and ecosystem services, including the provision of fresh water. habitats), Pressures (threats to the IBA’s habitats and birds), and the Response (management, As the first IBA Status Report for South Africa, this publication aims to provide an overview of mitigation, etc.) at the IBA. the state of the habitats in IBAs, the pressures on the sites and the conservation action taken to The habitat types found to be in the worst state are wetlands, grasslands and shrublands The Tsitsikama–Plettenberg Bay IBA was recently mitigate the threats. It gives a summary and analysis of data gathered for all 112 IBAs and (hereafter referred to as ‘fynbos’). This was true of all IBAs holding these habitats, but most notably expanded to include the Robberg peninsula.” presents these data by protection classes. It provides best-practice case studies across various in those IBAs that are partially protected or unprotected. Modification of the natural systems by excessive or unregulated fire and by grazing is a severe threat common to all IBAs. Partially protected and unprotected IBAs face high levels of pressure from agriculture and from invasive alien and other problem species (e.g. Phragmites australis and Typha latifolia in wetlands, and Eucalyptus and Pinus plantations). Invasive species also pose ACRONYMS a high level of threat to fully protected IBAs. Although conservation AEWA African-Eurasian Flyways Agreement response is, not surprisingly, higher in protected IBAs, there are signs that a BIRP Birds in Reserves Project lack of resources means that formal protection does not always result in CBD Convention on Biological Diversity effective conservation management. And while partially protected and CMS Convention on Migratory Species unprotected IBAs score low for conservation response, there are small but CWAC Co-ordinated Water Bird Counts encouraging signs that action is being taken in them nonetheless. DEA Department of Environmental Affairs Birds are good indicators of the health of ecosystems and habitats. By DEAT Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism monitoring both the presence of birds and the condition of the habitats DMR Department of Mineral Resources in IBAs, this report can demonstrate effectively which habitat types are EIA Environmental Impact Assessment most threatened
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