5 June 2012

Global tragedy for mirrors local declines, Red List update reveals

BirdLife Australia laments news of a dramatic increase in the risk of extinction for over 100 Amazonian birds. The new assessment is based on models projecting the extent and pattern of deforestation across the Amazon.

Of particular concern are longer-lived , such as Rio Branco , for which even moderate rates of deforestation can be important. Some species, such as Hoary-throated Spinetail, appear likely to lose more than 80% of their habitat over the coming decades and have been placed in the highest category of extinction risk – .

‘The disturbing news was revealed in the 2012 IUCN Red List update for birds released today by our partner, BirdLife International,’ said Graeme Hamilton, CEO of BirdLife Australia. ‘Previous studies underestimated the risk of extinction that many of Amazonia’s species are facing and recent weakening of Brazilian forest law may further increase the risk.’

The 2012 update is a comprehensive review, undertaken every four years, of all the world’s over 10,000 bird species. The update includes figures on Australia’s birds taken from The Action Plan for Australia’s Birds 2010 which was launched last year by BirdLife Australia, Charles Darwin University and CSIRO Publishing.

‘The new Red List describes a global tragedy that mirrors a more local tragedy,’ said Dr Hamilton, ‘In the 200 short years since Europeans arrived in Australia we have so diminished our natural capital that 234 Australian birds are either Extinct, threatened with extinction or Near Threatened.’

Australia is experiencing a rapid decline in many migratory species and seabirds, along with species that are threatened by habitat loss, predators or changes in fire regimes.

However, BirdLife Australia believes these figures should be a call for action rather than an excuse to abandon species as lost causes. ‘Every one of Australia’s threatened birds can be saved,’ said Graeme. ‘Both in Australia and overseas we have examples of the remarkable achievements that are possible where effort and dedication by conservationists and local communities are backed up with political support and adequate resources.’

Australia’s ‘good news’ stories include:

The Hooded Plover (eastern subspecies) is listed as Vulnerable but would have been Endangered if not for the work of hundreds of volunteers and staff from BirdLife Australia, improving breeding success by reducing disturbance and educating beach-users.

The Black-eared Miner is Endangered, but would have been Critically Endangered if not for the establishment of Gluepot Reserve — the species’ last stronghold — by BirdLife Australia, as well as subsequent breeding and translocation programs.

Gould’s Petrel, which was listed as Endangered in 1990, has been downgraded to Vulnerable because of effective pest eradication programs on Cabbage Tree Island in NSW and the establishment of a second breeding colony on nearby Boondelbah Island.

While BirdLife Australia members and many others in the community are willing to devote substantial portions of their lives to helping threatened birds, many birds also need professional help. That takes money.

‘Sadly, over the last decade, threatened species conservation appears to have gone out of fashion with government policy makers and public funding bodies’. According to Dr Hamilton, instead of species conservation, emphasis is being placed on landscapes without the necessary attention to the precious detail those landscapes contain. ‘Like the majority of the public, at BirdLife Australia we believe that a vital role for conservation agencies is the prevention of species loss.’

‘If we fail to take action for our Red List species, Australia will be a poorer place in which to live.’

MEDIA CONTACTS Graeme Hamilton, CEO, BirdLife Australia E [email protected] T 03 9347 0757

Notes for Editors

1. BirdLife Australia is Australia’s largest bird conservation organisation, created from the merger of two organisations that have been operating for over a century. Over the last 100 years much of our conservation work has focused on threatened species; our efforts are critical in ensuring better outcomes for Australia’s birds. For more information visit: www.birdlife.org.au 2. Total number of species recognised by BirdLife International in the 2012 Red List update is 10,064. Number of species by category as follows: Extinct 130; Extinct in Wild 4; Critically Endangered 197; Endangered 389; Vulnerable 727; Near Threatened 880; Least Concern 7,677; Data Deficient 60.To find out more about threatened birds visit www.birdlife.org/datazone/sowb/spotthreatbirds 3. BirdLife International is the Red List Authority for birds for the IUCN Red List. For more information visit: www.iucnredlist.org. 4. The Action Plan for Australia’s Birds 2010 lists 27 taxa as Extinct, 20 as Critically Endangered, 60 as Endangered, 68 as Vulnerable and 63 as Near Threatened as at 31 December, 2010. Of bird taxa known to have been present or to have occurred regularly in Australia when Europeans settled in 1788, 2.2% are Extinct and a further 11.8% are threatened.