In 2016 the international conservation community developed a globally recognised standard to identify KBAs – the most important sites for biodiversity on the planet.
‘The global standard sets out criteria for the identification of sites contributing significantly to the persistence of biodiversity around the world, in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. It provides clear guidance on where conservation efforts should be focused, including for international financial investment, establishing protected areas and avoiding further loss of important biodiversity,’ says Daniel Marnewick, the KBA Community Chair and Africa representative, and manager of the Regional Conservation Programme at BirdLife South Africa.
South Africa is the first country in the world to complete a comprehensive national KBA assessment for all its ecosystems and across multiple groups of species (mammals, birds, plants, fish, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates).
The process started in 2018, when BirdLife South Africa and SANBI partnered to initiate a KBA assessment in South Africa. The partnership’s first task was to establish a KBA National Coordination Group, which BirdLife South Africa and SANBI co-chair.
The WWF Nedbank Green Trust and SANBI funded the national process and support Marnewick’s national role in leading this process and his regional support role in Africa.
Denne historien er fra September - October 2020-utgaven av African Birdlife.
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Denne historien er fra September - October 2020-utgaven av African Birdlife.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS
Keith Barnes, co-author of the new Field Guide to Birds of Greater Southern Africa, chats about the long-neglected birding regions just north of the Kunene and Zambezi, getting back to watching birds and the vulture that changed his life.
footloose IN FYNBOS
The Walker Bay Diversity Trail is a leisurely hike with a multitude of flowers, feathers and flavours along the way.
Living forwards
How photographing birds helps me face adversity
CAPE crusade
The Cape Bird Club/City of Cape Town Birding Big Year Challenge
water & WINGS
WATER IS LIFE. As wildlife photographer Greg du Toit knows better than most.
winter wanderer
as summer becomes a memory in the south, the skies are a little quieter as the migrants have returned to the warming north. But one bird endemic to the southern African region takes its own little winter journey.
when perfect isn't enough
Egg signatures and forgeries in the cuckoo-drongo arms race
Southern SIGHTINGS
The late summer period naturally started quietening down after the midsummer excitement, but there were still some classy rarities on offer for birders all over the subregion. As always, none of the records included here have been adjudicated by any of the subregion's Rarities Committees.
flood impact on wetland birds
One of the features of a warming planet is increasingly erratic rainfall; years of drought followed by devastating floods. Fortunately, many waterbirds are pre-adapted to cope with such extremes, especially in southern Africa where they have evolved to exploit episodic rainfall events in semi-arid and arid regions. But how do waterbirds respond to floods in areas where rainfall - and access to water - is more predictable? Peter Ryan explores the consequences of recent floods on the birds of the Western Cape's Olifants River valley.
a star is born
It’s every producer’s dream to plan a wildlife television series and pick the right characters before filming.
