Asian economic boom deadly for waterbirds: study

Yahoo News 21 Oct 10;

MANILA (AFP) – Waterbird populations in Asia are shrinking at a faster rate than anywhere else in the world as rapid economic growth and urbanisation destroy their habitats, according to a study released Thursday.

The environment for waterbirds across the world is generally poor with a decline in many populations recorded in the three decades to 2005, said the report released by Wetlands International at a biodiversity summit in Japan.

However, while the picture for waterbirds in North America and Europe improved overall thanks to strong conservation legislation, 62 percent of all populations decreased or became extinct in Asia, Wetlands International said.

"The combination of a rapid economical growth and weak conservation efforts (in Asia) appears to be lethal," Wetlands International said.

"Waterbird populations are exposed to a wide range of threats such as the loss and degradation of marshes and lakes, water regulation, agricultural intensification, hunting and climate change."

Global warming was expected to pose an increasing danger for waterbirds in Asia and elsewhere, particularly because of changes in the Arctic, which is a vital breeding area for many species.

The tundra wetlands of the Arctic will decrease as the globe warms, wrecking the breeding grounds for hundreds of birds that migrate as far away as southern Africa, Australia and South America, the report said.

The report was released as delegates from 193 members of the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity were meeting in the Japanese city of Nagoya to try to work out strategies to stop the rapid loss of the world's biodiversity.

The summit is due to end on October 29 with delegates aiming to set a new set of targets for curbing species loss by 2020.