Climate change can threaten Asian bird survival: Study

MUMBAI: Climate change has been the alarming reality for some time now and humans have been grappling with the threat in various ways. But the disastrous impact of impending and accelerated climate change could strike our avian friends first. A new study in UK by Durham University and BirdLife International (of which BNHS is the India Partner) on Asian bird species reveals that many are likely to suffer due to climate change and will require not just enhanced protection of important and protected sites, but also better management of the wider countryside. In some extreme cases, birds may be required to be physically moved to climatically suitable areas for survival.

The research, published in the journal 'Global Change Biology', examined the potential future distribution of species where suitable climate is likely to remain within protected areas and conservation sites, such as important bird areas (IBAs) and also the likelihood of an IBA network to maintain suitable habitats outside protected areas. This study was conducted for 370 Asian bird species whose conservation is a cause of concern, across the biodiversity hotspots of eastern Himalaya and lower Mekong river basin regions.