Birds in decline - another cry for transformative change in our relationship with the natural world

Another day, another report reflecting shocking losses in the quantity and quality of wildlife.

Birds are well liked and relatively easy to locate and monitor, so they are convenient to observe to take a pulse check and determine the health of biodiversity.

We are not in good shape according to the 'State of the World’s Birds', published in the last few days: "Stunning declines in bird populations are occurring around the world."

The main threats to birdlife are grimly familiar to those who have given even a cursory glance to reporting on the biodiversity crisis recently: the loss and degradation of natural habitats and the direct overexploitation of many species are the principal causes, while climate change is identified as an emerging driver of the decline in bird biodiversity.

The evidence reported sounds a klaxon, warning of a new wave of extinction of continentally distributed bird species.

The research examined changes in avian biodiversity using data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature's "Red List" to reveal population changes among the world's 11,000 bird species: about 48% of these species are known or suspected to suffer a demographic decline. Populations are stable for 39% of species. Only 6% show growing population trends and the status of 7% is still unknown.

These alarming statistics are in line with what we unfortunately already know about the state of nature globally: extinction rates and population declines are enormously accelerated by human activities and we are in the midst of a new mass extinction of nature.

This report on the state of the avian word reflects findings from various parts of the Western hemisphere over the last 50 years: in the UK, where a continued trend of year-on-year decline sees native bird populations at 11% lower than they were in 1970; in Europe where more than 600 million breeding birds have been lost; and in North America where about 3 billion birds have been lost. As the new Red List of European birds had already confirmed, one in five species of bird is seriously at risk of becoming extinct in the coming decades. 

As sensitive indicators of environmental health, this widespread loss in abundance of birds signals a much wider loss of biodiversity and a clear and present danger to human health and well-being.

While the results feel ecologically near catastrophic, the 'State of the World’s Birds' author's strive for an optimistic tone:

"There is hope for bird conservation efforts, but transformative change is needed."

"We need to better consider how flows of goods can contribute to biodiversity loss and try to reduce the human footprint on the natural world."

"Fortunately, the global network of bird conservation organizations participating in this study has the tools to prevent further species loss and bird abundance. From the protection of the territory to the policies in support of the sustainable use of resources, everything depends on the will of governments and society to live side by side with nature on our common planet".

Indeed, transformative change is needed. Thanks to the painstaking work of professional ecologists, we know exactly where and how to act. From the establishment of protected natural areas to implementing sustainable policies for the consumption and management of resources.

So how many more reports do we need? Data and knowledge is no longer an issue, what is lacking is the political 'will of governments' to put into practice concrete conservation actions.

Reversing the course of this enormous decline in biodiversity is an immense challenge. Not insurmountable, but one that requires drastic change at all levels of society. For that, it seems to me we need to get politicians on board, to paraphrase an ecological paradigm: more politicians, quicker, better, joined-up - but how?

Welcome to hear some thoughts about this but perhaps the ecological community needs to step up, pronto, and spend time building deeper relationships with politicians at all levels. Twitching on the White House lawn or Parliament Square, to turn the people's representatives into the planet's representatives?

Views in this article represent the author’s personal opinions only.