Asian Important Bird Areas 2

Summary statistics on the Asian IBA network by country and territory

10. What actions need to be taken for Asia’s IBAs?

Given the scale of threats faced by IBAs in Asia, and, in particular, the fact that 43% of the region’s IBAs lie wholly outside of formal protected areas, there is a need for a comprehensive, region-wide programme of coordinated conservation action by governments, civil society, donors and the corporate sector. Important Bird Areas in Asia proposes the targets of such a programme, and outlines the priority actions that must be taken to attain them.

11. The IBA network should be formally recognised under multilateral environmental agreements, and by national governments, civil society, donors and the corporate sector

A significant proportion of IBAs lack any form of national or international recognition as important sites for conservation, as a result of which they are less likely to be prioritised for investment or safeguarded against incompatible development. There is, therefore, a need for formal recognition of the entire IBA network by key stakeholders and under multilateral environmental agreements. To this end, the following actions are necessary:

1. Formally recognise the contribution of the IBA network to the conservation of global biodiversity.
2. Where they meet the criteria, designate IBAs under multilateral environmental agreements and other mechanisms.
3. Incorporate IBAs into National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) and other national conservation plans.

12. Appropriate and effective site-based protection should be put in place at every IBA

At many IBAs, the most appropriate and effective form of site-based protection will be inclusion within a formal protected area. However, formal protected areas should be complemented by alternative, non-formal, approaches to site-based protection, including management by local communities and voluntary agreements with private land owners. To this end, the following actions are necessary:

1. Review and, where appropriate and feasible, expand national protected area systems to address gaps in coverage of the IBA network.
2. Strengthen management of formal protected areas that overlap with IBAs.
3. Where appropriate, develop non-formal approaches to site-based protection of IBAs.

13. The IBA network should be integrated into broader socio-political agendas by mainstreaming biodiversity into other policy sectors

At many Asian IBAs, site-based protection is being undermined by incompatible development projects and patterns of land use, such as road construction, agricultural intensification, coastal reclamation and aquacultural expansion. Consequently, there is a pressing need to integrate the IBA network into broader socio-political agendas, particularly in the agriculture, forestry, fisheries, mining, transport, energy and tourism sectors. To this end, the following actions are necessary:

1. Integrate IBAs into safeguard policies of national governments and donors.
2. Reduce subsidies, taxes and other incentives that promote natural resource and land-use practices incompatible with IBA conservation.
3. Promote natural resource and land-use practices compatible with IBA conservation, through subsidies, incentive schemes, certification and other market mechanisms.
4. Strengthen the legal framework for IBA conservation.
5. Use IBAs as anchors for landscape-level conservation.

14. A constituency for IBA conservation should be built among a broad spectrum of stakeholders

The entire Asian IBA network can be effectively conserved only with the support of stakeholders at all levels, including government agencies, donor agencies, civil society organisations, private businesses, local people and local authorities. To this end, the following actions are necessary:

1. Engage stakeholders in IBA conservation at the site level.
2. Establish and strengthen networks of stakeholders engaged in IBA conservation.
3. Strengthen capacity for IBA conservation at all levels.
4. Develop approaches to IBA conservation that deliver significant socio-economic benefits to local communities.
5. Raise awareness of the biological and socio-economic values of IBAs, and the threats that they face, among all sections of society.

15. A cost-effective, stakeholder-based monitoring system should be put in place for the IBA network

There is a growing need to develop an IBA monitoring system for the Asia region that could provide early warning of threats and enable prompt conservation action to be taken in response. The growing site-based constituency for IBA conservation presents an opportunity to develop a cost-effective monitoring system involving local stakeholders. To this end, the following actions are necessary:

1. Establish a region-wide IBA monitoring system, and link to policy, site management and site safeguard.
2. Develop and adopt indicators of conservation success based on IBAs.

16. A strong foundation of scientific knowledge should be put in place for the development and protection of the IBA network

If the utility of the IBA network as a guide to conservation action is to be maximised, it must be based on a strong foundation of scientific knowledge. The data presented within Important Bird Areas in Asiarepresent a good starting point of scientific knowledge on IBAs but must be kept up-to-date and supplemented, in order to increase both the quality and the depth of the information base for IBA conservation. To this end, the following actions are necessary:

1. Conduct surveys to fill gaps in coverage of the IBA network and keep the network up to date.
2. Conduct detailed ecological and socio-economic studies at IBAs.

17. An adequate, diverse and sustainable funding base should be put in place to support the long-term conservation of the IBA network

Given the scale of the IBA network in Asia, the funding required for its conservation is significantly greater than that currently committed. Consequently, the development and protection of the IBA network will require an adequate and sustainable funding base, drawn from a greater diversity of sources than at present. To this end, the following actions are necessary:

1. Use IBAs to guide allocation of existing conservation resources.
2. Expand and develop conservation financing mechanisms.
3. Resource IBA conservation via government and donor programmes in the natural resources sector.
4. Secure corporate support for IBA conservation.

18. Online Asian IBA data

All of BirdLife's Asian IBA data is available to view and download online via the Sites section of the BirdLife Data Zone. Click here to view.

Source: Birdlife.org