Environment Minister helps to save threatened farmland bird

ENVIRONMENT Minister Richard Benyon has received a conservation award for helping to save a threatened farmland bird.

The grey partridge, whose numbers have been declining for the past fifty years, requires an insect-rich habitat to raise chicks.

After giving 1,000 acres of his Englefield Estate in Berkshire to help the bird, Mr Benyon’s efforts have been successful as the numbers of grey partridges on the Englefield estate have increased from two to 31 pairs.

And the Englefield estate’s team have been awarded with the Cotswold Grey Partridge Trophy by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) for their efforts to save the rapidly declining bird.

The grey partridge has declined in recent years, with numbers dropping from more than one million pairs in the 1950s to less than 50,000. GWCT claims a range of year-round habitats such as insect-rich areas for chicks and cover for winter is essential for saving the birds.

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Taiwan honored for preserving black-faced spoonbill

Toronto, June 23 (CNA) In recognition of its efforts to preserve the black-faced spoonbill, an endangered bird species, Taiwan received the "International Conservation Achievement Award" from BirdLife International in Ottawa, Canada Saturday.

BirdLife International is a UK-based global partnership of conservation organizations that strives to save birds and their habitats.

The 2013 Conservation Achievement Awards were awarded at a ceremony during BirdLife's World Conference, held from June 17 through 22 in Ottawa, Canada.

BirdLife's Conservation Achievement Awards are presented to individuals or institutions, including governments, trusts, foundations and companies, that have made especially significant contributions towards delivering a specific conservation action for a priority species, site or habitat within BirdLife's Strategy, according to the organization's official website.

The awards were presented on Saturday by BirdLife's Honorary President, Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado of Japan, to Chen Yen-ling, an official from Taiwan's Council of Agriculture, and Huang Kuang-ying, an official of Taijiang National Park Headquarters.

Every level of the Taiwanese government is dedicated to conservation, Chen said in the acceptance speech, noting that the government has established 89 conservation reserves, occupying 19.21 percent of the country's land.

In addition, Taiwan is preserving the black-faced spoonbill through education about conservation, research, and creating more wetlands, Chen added.

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