Conservation Status

All species of birds occurring in Namibia have been evaluated against a set of IUCN conservation criteria to determine if they warrant special attention. The list of species below are those that met one or more of the criteria set by the IUCN for inclusion into Namibia's first Red Data book on birds. Those at the top of the list are more at risk than those towards the bottom and each species is given a full text with distribution map in the Red Data book. There are 18 raptors including vultures.

Categories

Regionally Extinct:
...a species with no individuals or breeding individuals known
Critically Endangered:
...a species with a 50% chance of going extinct in 5 years
Endangered:
...a species with a 20% chance of going extinct in 20 years
Vulnerable:
...a species with a 10% chance of going extinct in 100 years
Near-threatened:
...a species that does not quite meet the criteria for inclusion into any category but which is likely to enter the Vulnerable category in the near future

Red data species


(Click on each species name to see the full red data text and associated map).

SPECIESIUCN Red data category
Egyptian VultureRegionally Extinct
Pel's Fishing OwlCritically Endangered
Cape VultureCritically Endangered
African Marsh HarrierEndangered
Black HarrierEndangered
BateleurEndangered
Booted EagleEndangered
Martial EagleEndangered
Tawny EagleEndangered
African Fish EagleVulnerable
Lappet-faced VultureVulnerable
White-headed Vulture Vulnerable
Cape Eagle OwlNear Threatened
Lesser KestrelNear Threatened
Peregrine FalconNear Threatened
Pallid HarrierNear Threatened
Verreaux's (Black) EagleNear Threatened
White-backed VultureNear Threatened

Rare and Peripheral species

Species in this category are not threatened red data species, despite their rarity in Namibia. They are uncommon either because their distribution just enters Namibia (often from the northern tropical regions) or because they are naturally rare throughout their African range but not threatened in any way. None of these species reached the threshold set, stating that more than 5% of the world (or African) population must occur in Namibia to warrant their inclusion as threatened.

The philosophical reason for this is that for effective conservation measures, a substantial portion of the population must be conserved to make any difference to the species' overall status. Focus on small numbers can divert valuable resources from more threatened species whose conservation management may make a difference to their overall health in Africa.

The one exception to this is that species that do not reach the 5% threshold, but are globally threatened everywhere, are placed in one of the higher threatened categories. Migratory species that are rare in Namibia are also excluded unless they are threatened elsewhere.

Reference to globally threatened status comes from the Birdlife International compendium Threatened Birds of the World, or its updates and from South Africa the Red Data book. The only other regional red data book which has been published is from Swaziland from which some comparisons are drawn.

The rare and peripheral species in Namibia are:

The Red Data Book for Namibia will be published in 2006. The authors hope to release it as a CD and a book.

From: Simmons RE & Brown CJ 2006. Birds to watch in Namibia: red, rare and endemic species. National Biodiversity Programme, Windhoek, Namibia.
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