HKBWS Surveyor

BirdLife's 2007 World Round-up - Part 1: Climate change

News from BirdLife International

28-12-2007

As the year draws to a close, we take this opportunity to look back on the events of 2007 from a BirdLife perspective.

Climate change dominated the news agenda across the world in 2007, in fact the environment has never been higher on the political and social agenda. BirdLife International attended the climate change talks in Bali in December, promoting a new mechanism that would result in reduced carbon by slowing and reversing deforestation in developing countries. The Birdlife Partnership, lead by Burung Indonesia and RSPB introduced the delegates to the world's first restoration forest, Harapan in Sumatra, which is supported by the conference's Indonesian host government. Tropical deforestation accounts for about 20% of all human-induced emissions every year; while tropical forests are the most ecologically rich of all forest types, home to 70% of the world's plant and animal species.

To coincide with the Bali conference, the Sierra Leonean government announced that the 75,000-hectare Gola Forest (best known for the White-necked Picathartes Picathartes gymnocephalus) was to become the country's second national park, protecting more than 50 mammal species, and 274 bird species of which 14 are close to extinction –while continuing to sequester huge amounts of carbon. The project has had huge input from the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone and RSPB and is backed by the European Commission and French government, providing the Bali conference with another compelling example of the mutual benefits that result when richer countries support conservation work in developing nations.

The RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) is to harness rising sea levels to create one of Europe's largest coastal wetlands and help wildlife adapt to climate change. Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project will restore the island's wetlands, creating the largest ‘tidal exchange’ scheme in the UK. The