Avian conservation body’s
alarming report prompts Hong Kong birdwatcher to search out the species in
greatest danger, including the yellow-breasted bunting and spoon-billed
sandpiper
18 MAY 2018 / UPDATED
ON 22 MAY 2018
For many people in Hong Kong,
talk of endangered species conjures up images of wildlife whose natural
habitats are “out there”, somewhere far away – such as giant pandas in the
bamboo forests of Sichuan province, polar bears in the Arctic and miniature
monkeys in the Brazilian rainforest. If, like me, you are a birdwatcher,
however, the list of threatened species feels far closer to home.
The tally of the world’s
endangered birds is growing ever larger, with some populations shrinking at
startling rates. “The State of the World’s Birds 2018” report, which was
released last month by BirdLife International (the world’s leading authority on
avian conservation), notes that 13 per cent of the planet’s 11,000 or so bird
species – roughly one in eight – are threatened with extinction.
In Hong Kong, the endangered
proportion of the total is slightly lower, at about 10 per cent of 522 species.
This is no reason to feel upbeat, however: Hong Kong was deforested long ago,
wiping out “forest specialists” (birds that primarily breed in wooded
environments) and largely leaving room only for species adapted to living in
areas shaped by humans.
Indeed, according to the report,
human activity is responsible for losses worldwide. The main culprit has been
farming, which has affected the populations of 74 per cent of globally
threatened bird species. Logging and deforestation have caused declines in 50
per cent of the most endangered species, with invasive species (39 per cent),
hunting/trapping (35 per cent), climate change (33 per cent) and
residential/commercial development (28 per cent) also having a ruinous impact.
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