Integrating science, policy and sustainable development to address African-Eurasian migrant landbird declines: African perspectives on a flyway-wide issue

Flyway-wide collaboration is key to effectively support conservation action for declining migrant landbirds across their range. This project brings together African science and policy experts in collaboration with European experts to review existing science, policy and practice, and explore innovative trans-disciplinary opportunities to deliver migrant landbird conservation across rapidly-changing landscapes.

Project Aims

• Improve our understanding of African-Eurasian migrant landbird declines, highlighting the latest African research, and build a clearer picture of the drivers and potential solutions
• Improve the science-policy connection between African policy makers and conservation practitioners, and identify key research and policy questions
• Enhance capacity for policy and practice-relevant research by strengthening collaboration and networking of scientists working on African-Eurasian migrant landbird declines, encouraging collaboration to fill knowledge gaps
• Bring scientists, policy makers and human development specialists together, creating a novel community to identify opportunities and innovative solutions to tackle African-Eurasian migrant declines while addressing human development needs.

Key Activities

• Present the current state of knowledge with respect to African-Eurasian migrant landbirds and their declines
• Support African researchers working on migrant landbirds to network with researchers flyway wide and develop collaborations and joint fund-raising to address knowledge gaps
• Dedicated workshop session for African policy makers about the knowledge gaps and needs re:implementing effective conservation measures for migrant landbirds.
• Gain African perspectives on the feasibility of different approaches to delivering solutions for migrant landbird declines.
• Workshop session with the aid/development community in Africa to share knowledge and opportunies to  develop win-win solutions for human development and migrant landbird conservation

Conservation Impact

We will draw together a network of researchers throughout the flyway advancing policy and practice relevant research to help reverse alarming declines in migrant landbird populations. Conservation interventions in Africa will need to sit alongside, or be part of, existing development and aid initiatives, and human use of the landscape. We aim to forge a stronger link between environmental scientists, policy makers and the aid and human development community in Africa to strengthen our collective ability to identify and pursue interventions that are win-win, and secure landscapes that are delivering benefits for migrant landbirds and other biodiversity while supporting human development aims.

Outputs

This project brings African scientists and research institutions, policy makers and aid/development representatives together to develop an inclusive way of working regionally and across continents, connect African researchers with African policy makers and explore ways that large-scale or regional habitat-transformation projects including human development focused projects could also benefit birds.