Africa Site Casework
The Africa Site Casework Webpage showcases efforts by the BirdLife Africa Partnership to save key threatened sites through advocacy campaigns.
Africa’s 58 countries and territories are host to more than 1,231 Important Bird Area (IBAs).The IBAs are priority sites for biodiversity conservation identified using objective and scientifically proven criteria. These criteria are based on information on birds, but the sites themselves are often important for other biodiversity and provide ecosystem services that underpin local livelihoods and national economies.
IBAs in Africa, in recent years, have been facing serious threats from the human needs for development. Large ‘unsustainable development’ projects and the pressures of population growth are among the key threats. These threats could mean very severe damage to the IBAs, the biodiversity and the birds within it that are of significant concern. As a result lives and livelihoods of adjacent communities are put under threat.
Site Casework in Africa is coordinated by the African Sites Casework on Emerging Threats Taskforce (ASCET) which was established in 2010. the In 2003, the Council for African Partnership (CAP) which is the main body for governance – set up the Africa Policy and Advocacy Working Group (APAWG) to advise Partnership on policy and advocacy approaches. APAWG comprises of focal points from Partners, nominated based on expertise and/or Partner interest in a subject, e.g. desertification.
Under APAWG, ASCET (Africa Casework and Emergency Threats Taskforce) was formed in 2010. The Taskforce has been supporting already on-going advocacy work at sites (case-work) and also looking into how best to address emergency threats in a pro-active way.
What is on the Africa Site Casework Webpage?
The BirdLife Africa Secretariat has been leading the work especially to support partners faced with emergency threats at IBAs. The following sites highlight BirdLife Africa Partnership efforts to save some of Africa’s most threatened IBAs.
As this website develops more cases will be added.
1. Lake Natron
3. Mutulanganga
4. Tana Delta